nectarine upside down cake

Now, I am a bit embarrassed to write this post.

Why?

Well, I guess it is because this post is evidence of what an "Auntie" I have become.

I was at the supermarket with my mom, who is the epitome of an "Auntie", when I saw white nectarines going cheap.

By cheap, I am referring to $4 for like 7 nectarines.

$4?

Of course the "Auntie" in me could not resist, so I bought one box of nectarines.

And then I had to go google what to do with them afterwards, because, well, the nectarines were inedible in their natural state.

After much research, I decided to make an upside down cake because I could use up four of the peaches!

To start, I melted some butter and poured half the butter into a baking tray. I swirled the butter all over so that the base and the sides were well coated.

Onto the butter, I added brown sugar.

Then I cut the nectarine into slices, and arranged them on the pan.

This was set aside.

In a large bowl, I sifted flour, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and salt.

In another bowl, I whisked together buttermilk, eggs and the remaining butter.

The wet ingredients were added to the dry, and using a spatula, I mixed them.

And poured the batter onto the nectarine slices.

Very carefully, I spread the batter evenly. Well, as evenly as I could since the batter was so thick.

This was baked for about 50 minutes. At the end, the cake would pull away from the side of the baking pan.

The cake was allowed to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before I ran a knife around the edges (to be really sure nothing was sticking) and inverted the cake onto a cake stand or serving plate.

 

This cake is best served warm.

With some whipped cream, if you like. Or custard, maybe.

Or not.

RECIPE
Nectarine Upside-Down Cake (Serves 8-10)

Ingredients:
2 cups plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
113g unsalted butter, melted and divided into 2 halves
2 large eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
4 nectarines, sliced into wedges

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, half of the butter and eggs.
4. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
5. Add the remaining butter to the bottom of a cast iron skillet or 9-inch cake pan, swirling the pan until the bottom and sides are well coated. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the melted butter. Arrange the nectarine slices on top in a single layer. Scoop the batter evenly over the nectarines, smoothing out the top.
6. Place into oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and turn upside down onto a serving plate. Serve immediately.