Want to make a cake, but aren’t so confident in your baking skills? You’ve got to try an upside-down cake. They’re quick, easy, and pretty much decorate themselves.
Seriously, is there anything more beautiful than fresh fruit? Pineapple upside-down cake is the most classic, but you can pretty much put anything underneath cake batter, bake it, flip it, and have a stunner of a dessert.
For this version, we kept it simple with strawberries, meaning you can make this for any occasion this summer. We love it for outdoor picnics, birthdays, BBQs, or even after a casual weeknight dinner.
It’ll make even the most humdrum of summer meals extra special.
Because this recipe is so simple, we’ve got a few tricks to make sure yours comes out perfectly. Firstly, make sure to prepare your pan (the liner doesn’t have to be perfect!) and preheat your oven before you start making the batter.
Then, make sure to cool your melted butter before you add it to your egg, sugar, and sour cream mixture (if it’s too hot, it may start to cook the eggs, and you definitely don’t want that). It can be a little tricky getting the batter to smooth over the strawberries, so wet your hands or a spatula to help spread it.
Finally, let that cake cool. It will be very tempting to flip it early, but trust us—good things come to those who wait.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. strawberries, thinly sliced into rounds
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 c. granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Directions
- Step 1Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 12″ oven-safe skillet, add a parchment circle, then grease again.
- Step 2In a large bowl, stir together strawberries, brown sugar, and cornstarch until fully coated and juicy. Add to skillet and spread in an even layer.
- Step 3Make cake batter: In small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, sour cream, butter, and vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Step 4Pour the cake batter over the strawberry mixture and spread as evenly as possible with a rubber spatula. If you need to, use wet hands to spread batter over berries.
- Step 5Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
- Step 6Let the cake cool in the skillet, about 15 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter or large plate and gently remove parchment paper. Let cool completely or refrigerate before slicing. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
