Upside Down Blueberry Cake
The elegant look of this cake belies the quick and easy technique. If you use blueberries or blackberries, add lemon juice and zest in the batter; when you choose cranberries, use the orange juice and zest.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, blackberries or cranberries
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice or ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest or 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine 2 tablespoons of the butter and the brown sugar in a small bowl, then spread the mixture evenly in the bottom o f a lightly greased 9-inch round cake pan. Spread the berries over the mixture and set aside.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Reserve. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup butter, sugar and eggs and beat until creamy smooth. Add the reserved dry ingredients, lemon or orange juice, milk, vanilla and lemon or orange zest and beat until well blended. Pour the batter over the berries and bake until the top is golden and a skewer tests clean when inserted into the center, 50-55 minutes. Remove from the oven, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan, cover the cake with a serving plate and invert the cake onto the plate fruit side up. Cool slightly before serving warm.
Makes 1, 9 inch cake; serves 8-12.
