Upside-Down Cake with a Late Summer Twist (and Salted Caramel!)

Here in the Black Hills, mid-August is winding down toward our long Autumn, and it's time for the late summer fruits and vegetables.

September is when the trucks from the Pacific Northwest arrive with cases of tomatoes, peaches, and pears.

A few of 2013's cases of produce.

I haven't decided how many cases I'll be buying this year, but whatever I buy will be going into the dozens of empty glass jars waiting on shelves in the garage.

But there's nothing like fresh fruits and tomatoes, is there?

This recipe came into to our house by way of my daughter's obsession interest in the Food Network and its magazine, appropriately called the "Food Network Magazine." The September 2014 issue has several recipes for upside-down cakes. She tried one, switched things around, and made this fantastic dessert.

Summer Fruit Upside-Down Cake with Salted Caramel

Caramel layer:

3/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Fruit layer:

4 nectarines, peaches or plums, cut into 1/2" slices



cake:
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk


First, make the caramel. You can either make it in an oven-safe skillet, like Carrie did, or you can transfer it from your skillet to a square baking dish.

Stir the sugar and salt together over medium heat until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Then continue cooking the caramel, swirling occasionally but not stirring, until it takes on a light amber color - about 5 minutes.

Pour it into your greased baking dish, or take your chances with the oven-proof skillet.

Next, layer your sliced fruit on top of the caramel.

Now, mix your cake batter.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

In another bowl (the one that goes with your mixer), cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, and then beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, one-third of each at a time. Begin and end with the flour mixture, and mix just until the ingredients are all incorporated.

Pour the batter over the caramel and fruit layer, and spread it out evenly.

Bake the cake at 375° for about 50 minutes, or until it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (I always use the touch test: lightly touch the center of the cake with your finger. If the cake springs back, it is done.)

If the cake is browning too quickly, place a sheet of aluminum foil lightly over the top of the cake.

When it's done, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Carefully loosen the edges with a knife or spatula....

Invert it onto a platter....

Wait!!! Oh no!!!! What happened????

Inversion fail!!!!!

No worries. We can fix it.

Give the messy part to the boys. They won't care :)

And they won't care because it's so delicious!