This is a cake that I owe to my Grandma Grace, my mothers mother. I dug this out of a dusty old recipe box at my mom’s house years ago, and it was a delightful find! This recipe got quite a bit of use, considering the big old plum tree in my parent’s front yard. And, really, this cake recipe can be used with any type of fruit. In the Northwest, we are usually overwhelmed with stone fruit’s, (plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, and cherries) all summer long, and then there are the berries! When fall comes, we are also lucky enough to have an amazing selection of apples and pears. This recipe works for all of them!

Plum Upside Down Cake

-1/2 stick butter (4 Tbs)
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-3-4 plums, sliced thinly
-1 stick butter (8 Tbs)
-1 cup sugar
-1 Tb Lemon Zest
-2 eggs
-1 1/3 cup Cake flour
-1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/4tsp allspice
-1/2 cup whole milk

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2) Melt 4 Tbs of butter, and pour into the bottom of an 8″ round pan. Sprinkle the bottom evenly with the brown sugar.

3) Arrange the sliced plums in a circle on top of the butter and sugar, overlapping the slices.

4) Cream together the stick of butter, lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and combine well. Add the milk, and mix until combined.

5) Separately, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix until it is a smooth batter.

6) Gently pour the batter over the plum slices.

7) Bake the cake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, or until just done.