Sweet Cherry Upside-Down Cake

Name: Sweet Cherry Upside-Down Cake
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: Yields One 9-inch cake; 1 pound/450 grams sweet cherries, halved and pitted (about 2 1/2 cups); 1/4 packed cup/55 grams light brown sugar; 2 teaspoons lemon juice; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black or white pepper, plus more if you like; 8 tablespoons/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and cooled to room temperature; 2 large eggs, whites and yolks separated; 3/4 cup/150 grams granulated sugar; 1/2 cup/120 milliliters sour cream; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 3/4 cups/225 grams all-purpose flour; 1 cup/240 milliliters cold heavy whipping cream; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

By Jerrelle Guy

Updated Aug. 4, 2020

Sweet Cherry Upside-Down Cake — Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.

Total Time: 45 minutes, plus cooling
Rating: 4(287)
Comments: Read comments

There’s a little black pepper in this cake, which provides just enough heat to enhance the sweetness of the cherries. If you’re worried about the pepper, cut back on the amount called for, but if you’re excited about it, you may want to double it. This is a sweet, rustic and rich upside-down cake that’s sturdy enough to hold up to its juicy fruit topping. Once the finished cake gets inverted onto a platter, the extra cherry juice soaks back into the cake as it cools, which means it gets better as it sits. Serve the cake with lemon whipped cream made by beating cold heavy cream with the leftover lemon juice and some sugar until stiff. It’s helpful for covering up any imperfections in the cake, too!

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Ingredients

Yields One 9-inch cake

For the Cake

1pound/450 grams sweet cherries, halved and pitted (about 2½ cups)
¼packed cup/55 grams light brown sugar
2teaspoons lemon juice
¾teaspoon kosher salt
¼teaspoon coarse ground black or white pepper, plus more if you like
8tablespoons/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and cooled to room temperature
2large eggs, whites and yolks separated
¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
½cup/120 milliliters sour cream
1teaspoon vanilla extract
½teaspoon baking soda
1¾cups/225 grams all-purpose flour

For the Lemon Whipped Cream (optional)

1cup/240 milliliters cold heavy whipping cream
1tablespoon lemon juice
1tablespoon granulated sugar

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a 9-inch cake pan (or cast-iron skillet), add the cherries, brown sugar, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, the pepper, and 2 tablespoons melted butter; toss gently to combine. Place in the oven for up to 10 minutes to begin softening the cherries while you make the cake batter.
Step 2
In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, granulated sugar, sour cream, vanilla and baking soda with the remaining 6 tablespoons melted butter and ½ teaspoon salt until smooth. Sprinkle the flour over top then fold it in until evenly combined and a thick batter is formed.
Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or in a medium mixing bowl with a handheld electric beater, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes or until stiff. Add ⅓ of the beaten egg whites to the cake batter and gently fold, then add the remaining egg whites and fold until fully incorporated, trying to keep as much air as possible in the whites.
Step 4
Remove the hot pan from the oven, shake it gently to toss the fruit a final time, then dollop the cake batter over the top, and gently spread it evenly to the edges. (It’s OK if some fruit juice or cherries pool over the edges of the batter.)
Step 5
Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, run a butter knife around the edges, and then allow it to rest for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting it onto a lipped platter to catch any juices.
Step 6
Once the cake has cooled, make the lemon whipped cream, if desired: In the cleaned bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or in a medium mixing bowl using a handheld beater, add the heavy cream, lemon juice and granulated sugar, and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds to thicken and combine, then turn the speed to high and beat until desired stiffness.
Step 7
Serve the cake at room temperature, with lemon whipped cream, if using.

Ratings

4 out of 5

287 user ratings

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Comments

Steve at the cabin4 years ago

For those not wanting to turn on a hot oven, we cooked the entire ensemble in the outdoor grille using a cast iron skillet. We used Trader Joe's frozen"Very Cherry Berry Blend" which created lots of berry juice that settled nicely into the cake mix. Everything turned out perfect - even the cake mix at a high altitude (8,000 ft), and the flipping of the mixture into a glass container was easy. The whipped cream topping is essential and we found the cake best a day after being in the frig.

jeanaiko3 years ago

Cardamon is a great sub for black pepper. It has the flavor of white pepper without the heat, and goes very well with strawberries. Strong stuff so don't use too much!

Sue4 years ago

I turned this into a gluten free recipe by substituting 1 cup 1-for1 gf flour and 3/4 cup almond flour. I added a tsp of baking powder to help lighten it. The batter was a little heavy for folding in egg whites, so I'd cut down on the gf flour next time, but it was delicious nonetheless!

Elan10 months ago

I stuck to the recipe and t worked fine—no need for additional liquid before folding in. The egg whites. My cherries were dark so the appearance was quite different. Delicious cake. We ate it with vanilla ice cream rather than the lemon whipped cream. I would definitely make this cake again. I weighed the flour rather than measure by volume. I wonder it people who had to add extra liquid used volume measures and ended up with too much flour as a result.

Roberta McClellan10 months ago

So I just made this with some lovely summer cherries. Delicious! One note: the batter is definitely on the thick side. I think it depends a lot on the consistency of your sour cream. I used plain greek yogurt (kind of thick to start with) and added oak milk and ended up with a thick but nice cake batter. Just another option. Great with vanilla ice cream served warm.

KM11 months ago

Love the savory notes from the pepper, and the cake came out with a beautiful texture. I used 2 pints of cherries but kept everything else the same. Baked in a 10" cast iron pan, and it was done at 20 min. The batter is thick, but do your best with the egg whites; it doesn't need to be runny to get that light, moist crumb. Will be making every season!

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