The first upside down cake I ever saw was a pineapple one made by Ofelia on TV – I believe it’s fair to say that she was the Brazilian equivalent to Julia Child and I loved her cooking show when I was younger (11-12 years old, to be more precise). Back then, her show was aired weekday mornings, while I was at school, but my brother would tape it every day for me – you might think he did that out of sheer kindness but in fact he did it because he knew that I would cook and bake all those delicious recipes as soon as I got home. :D
Many years later, when I started blogging, I saw Martha’s gorgeous cranberry upside down cake and fell in love with it, but unfortunately fresh cranberries do not exist here in Brazil. That image got stuck in my head, though, and after that I ended up making upside down cakes with other flavors, but I have to say: this blackberry version, a recipe from DH magazine, is the prettiest and tastiest of them all.
Blackberry and almond upside down cake
slightly adapted from the always amazing Donna Hay Magazine
450g frozen blackberries
1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar, divided use
125g unsalted butter
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
slightly heaping ¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
½ cup (50g) almond meal
2/3 cup (160ml) buttermilk*
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter a 20x7cm round cake pan (do not use one with a removable bottom or the juices will escape), line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
Place the blackberries on paper towels and let them thaw slightly while you make the cake batter.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, 180g of the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, almond meal and buttermilk and beat on low speed just until incorporated. Set aside for a moment.
Cover the bottom of the baking paper with the blackberries and sprinkle with the remaining sugar (70g). Spoon the batter over the berries, then bake for about 50 minutes or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for about 2 hours or until just warm. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate, remove the pan, then the paper.
Serve it on its own or with whipped cream.
* homemade buttermilk: to make 1 cup buttermilk place 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a 240ml-capacity measuring cup and complete with whole milk (room temperature). Wait 10 minutes for it to thicken slightly, then use the whole mixture in your recipe
Serves 8-10
7 comments:
So beautiful, I love the blackberries!
That looks so fresh and yummy. Must try!
Patricia, I love the intense purple colour of the cake!!!
Blackberries aren't very widely used in Estonia, so I've actually never ever baked with them (but I have used them to make simple berry desserts).
it looks yummy!
I love fruit cakes and this one has a pound of them!
Hi Patricia,
I made this cake today for a friend who was coming over for lunch. She and I thought it was delicious and beautiful. Blackberries, almonds and lemon go so nicely together. Also, the cake has a lovely, light texture.
The best compliment was that I gave a slice to the seven year old boy next door, and he immediately came over to ask for more. This is only the second time he's asked for more of a baked good I've given him. The other time it was your pistachio cake with lemon icing.
Thank you very much for being so generous with wonderful recipes.
Yours,
Ellen
Hi, my dear!
I am so glad you like this cake, it is one of the prettiest I have made and I love blackberries so much!
Glad even the 7 year old liked the cake!
xx
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