Upside-Down Cake w/ Candied Pecans

This cake is an evolution of my grandmother’s berry cobbler, one of my favorite childhood desserts. But instead of picking the blackberries for hours in the hot East Coast sun, these berries were purchased at the local Farmers' Market, and this cake is gluten and dairy-free. It’s delicious, though, and perfect for creating new summertime memories on this Fourth of July weekend.

Ingredients:

For the candied pecans:

3/4 cup pecans
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (use ghee or butter substitute if sensitive to butter)
2 teaspoons Muscovado sugar, or other brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the cake topping:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup Muscovado sugar, or other brown sugar
2-3 cups stone fruit and/or berries (I used blackberries and peaches)

For the cake:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temperature (use ghee or butter substitute if sensitive to butter)
3/4 cup pure cane sugar 
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups gluten-free flour, preferable Cup4Cup
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt


Directions:

For the candied pecans:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

1. Place pecans on a baking sheet.
2. Melt butter in saucepan. Pour over pecans and mix. 
3. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over nuts; bake for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. 

Leave oven on for cake.

For the cake topping:

1. Melt the butter in a pan; mix in the sugar until dissolved. Pour into 9” pie glass pie shell, or other 9” pan. Sprinkle the candied pecans evenly over the pie pan.

For the cake:

1. In a stand mixer with the beater attachment, cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until thickens. Add one egg at a time, mixing well. Add the vanilla and mix briefly.

2. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until the flour is incorporated in the cake batter - about 1 minute.

3. If using stone fruit, cut 1/4 inch slices and place in pattern over the butter/nut mixture. Add the berries to fill the space. The fruit will shrink, so add as much as possible.

4. Scrape the cake batter with a rubber spatula and drop over fruit. Spread it out with the spatula. The batter will be thick, but should cover the entire pie pan.

5. Put in 350 degree F oven for 30-40 minutes. The top of the cake will be slightly browned and a toothpick or fork should come out clean.

6. When the cake is done, rest the pie pan on a rack for about 1 minute. Then put a serving plate over the pie pan and, using hot pads, turn the cake over. This needs to be done as soon as possible so all the fruit comes out.

7. Let the cake cool; serve warm. The cake is better the next day, so can be made a day ahead and kept covered in fridge, or frozen after 3-4 days.

Serve plain or with Coconut Whipped Cream (see "Himalayan Mousse,” 9/14/14)

#upsidedowncake #cake #berry #dessert #glutenfree #dairyfree #4thofjuly #pecans

Adapted from "The Kitchn’s" recipe here.