Elegant, sophisticated, and yet so simple. This cake reminds me of my childhood, when we ate according to what the season brought us. No cardboard strawberries in January — you waited until June or July, when they were abundant and actually tasted like strawberries. It was the same with stone fruit: my mother would make jams in late summer, or turn them into an upside-down cake like this one. A simple white cake with a strong hit of vanilla makes for an exquisite summer dessert.
I’ve used nectarines and blueberries here, but this recipe is endlessly adaptable to whatever’s in season. It works just as beautifully with pineapple, peach, apricot, pear, or rhubarb. This one’s a keeper!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 35–40 minutes
Servings: 8 portions
Ingredients
For the topping
- ¼ cup butter, melted (57 g)
- ½ cup light brown sugar (110 g)
- 2 nectarines, pitted and sliced
- ½ cup blueberries (75 g)
For the cake
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (180 g)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113 g)
- ¾ cup sugar (150 g)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt, at room temperature (82 g)
- ⅓ cup whole milk, at room temperature (82 g)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Before I prepare the topping, I place a piece of parchement paper at the bottom of my pan, just to be sure.
For the topping, pour the melted butter into a 9-inch pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter, then arrange the nectarine slices in straight lines or a design of your choice, tucking blueberries into the gaps.
For the cake, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. (I use this method instead of sifting — it’s just as effective and much faster.)
In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until creamy and soft. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add the milk along with a third of the flour mixture, and mix well. Add the sour cream (or yogurt) with another third of the flour, and mix again. Finally, fold in the remaining flour mixture and the vanilla extract, mixing until just combined.
Pour the batter evenly over the fruit and place in the oven.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cake rest for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a serving dish.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy this one warm, the day it’s made — though I won’t judge if you sneak a slice cold from the fridge the next morning.
Hello and thank you for what seems to be a winner recipe…. But I have a question… What kind of pan do you use?? Looks like a round cake… Is it a no stick pan? Can you use a spring form cake pan (moule à charnière)?
Thank you in advance for your answer.
VM