My first try on upside down cake and it turned out to be a huge success…
When I first heard about upside down cakes, I paused for a second and thought: don’t I flip all the cakes upside down after it comes out of the oven? Yes, we do invert all the cakes after it has baked well and then we might top the cake with frosting or whipping cream to make it look even more prettier. But, when you are making the real upside down cake you will be layering the pan with a few things mostly fruits, nuts etc before you pour the batter into the pan. This way when you turn over the cake, you will already have a decorative topping and you can indulge in it right away.
Yesterday was one of my friend’s birthday and I wanted to surprise her. I couldn’t think of anything better than a cake to surprise her. I had to pretend till noon that I didn’t even know it was her birthday. After lunch, along with the other co-workers, we opened the cake, lighted the candles and called the birthday girl into the room. As soon as she entered we sang the birthday song so loud, she was literally shocked and surprised to see the cake. Her surprise look and excitement made me feel very happy. After the cake cutting, when it was time for tasting the cake, I kept my fingers crossed. When I heard the “Mmmm” coming out of my friends and when I myself did the “Mmmm” after taking a bite of it, I felt so relieved. It was such a delicious cake! Rich in chocolate flavor, very soft and moist inside and not too sweet. Everyone raved about it.
Recipe Courtesy: Gale Gand. I did make a few modifications to the original recipe like I only added 4 tbsp pf butter to coat the pan and baked the cake for 45 minutes.
A few tips for beginner bakers:
- When you crack eggs directly into the mixing bowl, make sure you don’t unknowingly put any small egg shells. It’s good to crack them into a separate bowl and then add to the mixture.
- Don’t pour the cake batter till the very top of the pan, always leave some space for the cake to rise, else the batter will spill over and the top of the cake won’t be even.
- Always preheat the oven to the temperature that’s called for.
- Do not open the oven now and then to see whether the cake has baked, I know it’s hard to wait till 45 minutes or so, by doing so will change the inside temperature of the oven and it might take more time to bake.
- To check if the cake has cooked well, insert a sharp knife or fork into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, you can stop baking it.
- Most importantly, measurements are very important in cake baking, so don’t just eye ball any of the ingredients.
Chocolate Almond Upside-Down cake
Ingredients:
For the Caramel topping:
- Butter, unsalted and melted- 4 tbsp
- Brown sugar- 3/4 cup
- Honey- 1/4 cup
- Almonds thinly sliced, lightly toasted- 1 cup
For making cake:
- All purpose flour- 1 1/4 cups
- Cocoa powder- 1/2 cup
- Baking soda- 1 tsp
- Salt- 1/2 tsp
- Butter, unsalted and softened- 1/2 cup or 1 stick
- Sugar- 1 1/2 cups
- Eggs- 3, large
- Buttermilk- 1 cup
- Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Instruction
Prepare the topping on the pan:
- Use a 10 inch round pan, grease the sides of the pan with 1 tbsp butter.
- Pour the melted 4 tbsp butter into the pan and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the melted butter, drizzle honey over the brown sugar.
- Top this evenly with toasted almonds. Keep the pan aside.
Making the batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together three times to make the cake extra light.
- Place the butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment ( I used the flat beater) and beat until smooth and fluffy.
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, use electric hand mixer instead.
- Add sugar and continue mixing.
- Add eggs, one at a time and mixing after each addition, mix till smooth, about 3 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, add a third of dry ingredients (flour/cocoa powder/baking soda and salt) and mix to combine.
- Add half of the buttermilk and continue mixing.
- Using a spatula clean the sides of the bowl.
- Add another third of the dry ingredients, mix and add the remaining buttermilk and vanilla extract, mix.
- Now, add the rest of the dry ingredients, mix until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan over the almond layer. Make sure the batter doesn’t fill till the top of the pan, leave some room for the cake to rise. (As you can see I poured the batter till the very top of the pan and I kept my fingers crossed praying that the batter doesn’t spill over, it didn’t spill over but it rose and spread to the sides of the pan)
- Bake for 45 minutes, insert a fork or sharp knife into the center of the cake, if it comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven. Else bake for a few more minutes keeping the pan on the upper rack.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan, immediately invert the cake onto a platter, it will fall nicely onto the platter.
- If there is any almonds sticking onto the pan, remove using a spoon and top on to the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool down. cut into desired shapes and serve.
- Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and can be served the next day.
- Butter, unsalted and melted- 4 tbsp
- Brown sugar- ¾ cup
- Honey- ¼ cup
- Almonds thinly sliced, lightly toasted- 1 cup
- All purpose flour- 1¼ cups
- Cocoa powder- ½ cup
- Baking soda- 1 tsp
- Salt- ½ tsp
- Butter, unsalted and softened- ½ cup or 1 stick
- Sugar- 1½ cups
- Eggs- 3, large
- Buttermilk- 1 cup
- Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
- Use a 10 inch round pan, grease the sides of the pan with 1 tbsp butter.
- Pour the melted 4 tbsp butter into the pan and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the melted butter, drizzle honey over the brown sugar.
- Top this evenly with toasted almonds. Keep the pan aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together three times to make the cake extra light.
- Place the butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment ( I used the flat beater) and beat until smooth and fluffy.
- If you don't have a stand mixer, use electric hand mixer instead.
- Add sugar and continue mixing.
- Add eggs, one at a time and mixing after each addition, mix till smooth, about 3 minutes.
- With the mixer on low speed, add a third of dry ingredients (flour/cocoa powder/baking soda and salt) and mix to combine.
- Add half of the buttermilk and continue mixing.
- Using a spatula clean the sides of the bowl.
- Add another third of the dry ingredients, mix and add the remaining buttermilk and vanilla extract, mix.
- Now, add the rest of the dry ingredients, mix until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan over the almond layer. Make sure the batter doesn't fill till the top of the pan, leave some room for the cake to rise.
- Bake for 45 minutes, insert a fork or sharp knife into the center of the cake, if it comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven. Else bake for a few more minutes keeping the pan on the upper rack.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan, immediately invert the cake onto a platter, it will fall nicely onto the platter.
- If there is any almonds sticking onto the pan, remove using a spoon and top on to the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool down. cut into desired shapes and serve.
- Any leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator and can be served the next day.
