Cherry Cornmeal Upside-down Cake
Yesterday was our last day in Tofino, and still I hadn’t really made anything summery, except maybe one huckleberry crumble. No plum butter cake or crostata or pie. I had been waiting to do something with the summer apricots and cherries abundant at Beaches grocery when I was not at risk of passing on my phlegmy flu. It’s still hanging on – in fact, it turned around and took another run at me.
There were 12 people in the house, most of them kids, and only one of those kids not a boy 8 or under. Everyone kept buying cherries. There were bags everywhere, and stray cherries left on plates at almost every meal. This was made like most any upside-down cake, with butter and brown sugar in the bottom of the pan, this time with a wee splash of balsamic vinegar – a hit of acid makes a big difference, but feel free to use lemon juice instead. (In fact, feel free to swap the cherries for thickly sliced apricots or peaches or plums.) The cherries go almost as dark as prunes.
The fruit starts to cook down as you mix up the cornmeal batter, which you then pour over the fruit and bake. What else can you do when it feels like your brain is trying to escape from your head through your face?
Cherry Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from Bon Appétit
1/2 cup butter, divided
1/4 cup canola or other mild vegetable oil
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 cups halved, pitted fresh Bing cherries or other dark sweet cherries
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar (or half sugar, half brown sugar)
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milkPreheat the oven to 350°F. Place 1/4 cup butter with brown sugar and vinegar in a 9-inch cake pan or cast iron skillet; set in the oven until melted, then stir until smooth and add the cherries. Return to the oven while you mix up the cake batter – the cherries will start to soften and release their juices.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, beat the remaining 1/4 cup butter, oil and sugar for a minute or two, until starting to get pale and fluffy; beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Add the flour in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions, beating just until incorporated after each. Spoon batter over the cherries in the pan or skillet, and spread to cover the cherries.
Bake cake until top is golden and springy to the touch, about 45 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes, then run spatula around the edges of the cake to loosen. Invert onto a serving plate while it’s still warm.
August 08 2011 | cake | 13 Comments »
