Plum Upside-Down Cake with Cardamom

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •10-inch cast iron skillet or 9-inch round cake pan
• •Stand mixer or hand mixer
• •Offset spatula
• •Serving plate larger than your pan

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pan

   Position a rack in the center of your oven and heat to 350°F. Melt the 6 tablespoons of butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet or cake pan over medium heat. When the butter foams and the foam subsides, add the brown sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves into the butter and the mixture bubbles gently, about two minutes. Remove from heat immediately. The caramel will continue to darken as it sits.

   Cast iron is ideal because it holds heat evenly and travels straight from stovetop to oven. If using a cake pan, melt butter and sugar in a small saucepan, then pour into the pan.
2. 2

   Arrange the plums

   Working quickly while the caramel is still warm, arrange the plum slices in concentric circles over the sugar, skin side down. Press them gently into the caramel. Overlap slightly if needed. This bottom layer becomes your top, so take a moment to make it beautiful. The plums will soften and shift during baking, but the pattern will hold.

3. 3

   Mix dry ingredients

   Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl. Bring the cardamom to your nose. It should smell warm and floral, almost citrusy. If it smells like nothing, it is too old. Start with fresh.

4. 4

   Cream butter and sugar

   In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about three minutes. The mixture should lighten in color and increase in volume. This builds the structure that gives the cake its tender crumb.

5. 5

   Add eggs and vanilla

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla with the second egg. The batter should look smooth and glossy, like thick cream.

6. 6

   Combine wet and dry

   Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions, beginning and ending with flour. Mix on low speed just until each addition disappears. The batter will be thick but spreadable. Do not overmix. The moment you see no more dry streaks, stop.

7. 7

   Top the plums

   Drop spoonfuls of batter over the arranged plums. Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the batter gently and evenly to the edges of the pan. Work carefully so you do not disturb the plum arrangement beneath. The batter should cover the fruit completely.

8. 8

   Bake until golden

   Bake until the cake is deeply golden, springs back when touched, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. The edges will pull away slightly from the pan and you will see caramel bubbling up around the sides. This bubbling is what you want.

9. 9

   Rest and flip

   Let the cake cool in the pan for exactly 10 minutes. No longer. The caramel needs to be warm enough to release. Run a thin knife around the edge, then place a serving plate over the pan. Hold both firmly and flip with confidence. Lift the pan away. If any plum slices stick, simply peel them off and press them back into place. No one will know.

   If you wait too long to flip, the caramel will harden and grip the pan. Set a timer.
10. 10

    Serve warm

    Serve the cake warm or at room temperature, with cold cream poured over each slice. The contrast matters: warm, jammy fruit against cool cream, the gentle heat of cardamom threading through everything. This cake is best the day it is made, but it will keep, covered, for two days.

Chef Tips

• •Seek out Italian prune plums at the farmers market in late August and September. Their oblong shape and firm flesh make them ideal for baking. Ask your farmer which variety holds up best to heat.
• •Grind cardamom fresh from green pods using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Remove the papery outer shell and grind only the black seeds inside. The aroma should be immediate and intoxicating.
• •If plums are not in season, this cake welcomes other stone fruits. Apricots, nectarines, and peaches all caramelize beautifully. In winter, try pears poached briefly in honey, or blood oranges sliced thin.
• •Room temperature ingredients matter. Cold eggs and milk will seize the butter and create a dense, heavy cake. Set everything out an hour before you begin.

Advance Preparation

• •The cake can be baked up to 8 hours ahead and left in the pan at room temperature. Warm gently in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes before flipping to loosen the caramel.
• •Plums can be sliced and held in a single layer, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours before baking.
• •This cake does not freeze well. The caramel weeps and the texture suffers. Make it fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g)