Strawberry Upside-Down Cakes
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This was part of my Strawberry Extravaganza I did for the Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24. Check out the post and enter to win homemade jam!
When I think of strawberries I automatically think of dessert. It’s kind of hard to be innovative in the strawberry dessert arena, but I gave it a shot.
One of my favorite desserts I’ve made was Mark Bittman’s upside-down apple cake that I made for my local harvest potluck. I wanted to see if I could somehow re-create that with strawberries. It’s not really a new idea, but in my searching none of the recipes I found were really what I wanted.
The whole wheat pastry flour in this cake makes it more substantial, reminding me a bit more like a strawberry shortcake than a traditional airy cake. Feel free to top it with some whipped cream, or balsamic chocolate sauce if you really want to mess with your taste buds.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ¾ cups raw sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out
- 2 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups strawberries, sliced vertically
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease cupcake tins. Sprinkle a teaspoon of brown sugar into the bottom of each cup, then arrange 4-5 strawberry slices on top. Reserve extra berries and sugar.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and raw sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In another, whisk together milk and both vanillas. (I just use a liquid measuring cup.)
- Alternate adding flour and milk mixtures to the large bowl, starting and ending with the flour. Make sure everything is well combined, but don’t overmix.
- Divide batter equally between cupcake wells. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center is clean. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto a cookie sheet. Carefully replace any strawberries that didn’t stick to the cakes.
- While cakes are baking, cook the reserved berries and brown sugar over medium-low heat, until thick and jam-like.
- Cut the rounded tops off the cakes so each cake can sit flat. Add a spoonful of the cooked berries to the top of each cake and serve.
What a great use of seasonal strawberries! I like the idea of individual cakes – a perfect little portion of summer goodness. 🙂
Thanks for this tempting recipe (with whole-grain goodness, to boot).
I quite enjoyed your site – immediately drawn to the editorial terminology in your blog’s name, too, as someone with academic publishing training years ago (U of C Press).
Congrats on making FB Top 9!
Dan