French Apricot Upside-Down Cake

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Author: Delphine Fortin
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: Cakes and Pies

This French apricot upside-down cake is a grandma recipe that is reminiscence of my childhood.

Ingredients

Scale

For the caramel syrup:

4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons water

For the cake:

1 pound (450g)* fresh apricots, pitted and halved
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon (100g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3.5 ounces (100g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 pinch of salt
Pistachio cream, for decoration (optional)
Toasted sliced almonds, for decoration (optional)

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C). Grease a non-stick 9-inch (23 cm) round cake pan with removable bottom, and place the cake pan on top of a baking tray covered with parchment paper (to catch any potential drips later on).
Spread evenly 4 Tablespoons sugar and 4 Tablespoons water to cover the bottom of the pan. Place in the oven for a few minutes, until the syrup starts bubbling and becomes slightly golden.
Remove the tray with the baking pan from the oven and arrange the fruit, cut side down, on the bottom of the pan. Fit the fruit in as tightly as you can, without crushing it. It’s fine if there are small spaces in between.
Using a food processor or an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating in between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together and add to the wet ingredients. Mix just until just combined.
Spread the batter over the apricots and smooth out evenly to cover all the apricots. Try not to disturb the apricots.
Bake for 10 minutes at 390°F (200°C), then 20 minutes at 350°F (180°C) or until baked through but still with a moist crumb.
Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, and then flip it over onto a serving plate**. Drizzle with pistachio cream if desired and sprinkle toasted almond all over before serving lukewarm or at room temperature.

Notes

* You may need more or less apricots, depending on size of the fruit. The idea is to need enough halves to cover the bottom of the pan.

** The best way to do this is to cover the top of the pan with a plate, and then in one swift move flip the whole thing over. Gently open the removable bottom of the pan, and place a palette spatula or a large knife in between the cake and the bottom part of the pan (placed on top of the cake) to ensure no apricot is dislodged when inverting the cake. If some are dislodged anyway, just patch them back together.

Note: This upside-down cake also works with other fruits depending on the season, such as nectarines, peaches, cherries, apples, pears…