I made this blueberry upside down cake for my brother as a goodbye and good luck cake. He is now in Europe, and will be gone for many months. I felt a cake that is made upside down is appropriate when someone is putting their life in a bag and traveling to the other side of the globe.
Because I am hi-lar-ious I told him that when he comes back I’ll make him a cake that’s up the right way.
I highly recommend turning your life upside down from time to time. I tend to do it quite frequently.
The first time I did it, I was 21 and moved to London. I call it my girl-meets-world tour. But it was a bit more girl-gets-a-slapped-in-the-face-by-the-world tour. I’d never even lived out of home before in my small home city of Perth. I ended up back in Perth six months later broke and somewhat dazed.
Then I moved to Melbourne a few years later. And a few years after that back to London. Now I’m in Melbourne again. Phew. I’d really like to go to New York next… if anyone would like to sponsor me? Americans make it tricky with all your visa restrictions.
And I’ve been well and truly upside down a few times. I’ve had my bag stolen, forgotten my passport, ended up homeless in the middle of the night, hospitalised with allergies, and so broke I’ve had to call Mum for a loan. Twice. Thanks Mum.
Anyways, this cake is clever because you put the topping in the cake tin first, then the cake batter, cook it up, turn it over and voila! Cake! Upside down can work.
So good luck o’brother of mine. I’ll make you another cake soon, but not too soon.
Notes: This cake makes one 8-inch cake that is about 3 inches high. However I did not have an 8-inch cake pan that was that deep, so not to be deterred, I made two makes that were about 8 inches wide and 1 1/2 deep. That’s why mine look smaller. The downside was that two cakes means two tops so I had fewer blueberries on my cakes. But it still tasted awesome. When you make yours, and you have the proper size tin, you’ll end up with a more concentrated layer of blueberries on top.
Ingredients
For the topping:
2 tablespoons (25 grams) unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup blueberries
For the cake:
115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup sour cream
Method
- Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease a tin that is either 8-inches round with 3-inch tall sides. Or you can also use a 9-inch round with 2-inch sides. See my note above for what I used.
- Place butter in the cake pan and place in the oven. When butter is melted, remove pan from the oven. Using two pot holders, tilt the pan around and around, coating the sides of the pan with butter. Once sides are coated, set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Using electric beaters cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed. Cream until slightly pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract. Beat for 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir until the batter just comes together. Batter will be pretty thick.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup brown sugar into the melted butter in the cake pan. Sprinkle blueberries over the butter and sugar in a single layer. Spoon batter over the strawberries and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cake rest for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the cake and inverting the cake onto a cake plate. Serve warm with sweetened sour or whipped cream.
Makes: One 8-inch cake that is about 3 inches high
Healthy? Cut into 12 slices, it’s 260 calories a slice.
Storage: In an airtight container or you can cut up and freeze as a school/work snack.
Source: Altered from Joy the Baker’s strawberry upside down cake with cardamon.
