Apricot-Cornmeal Upside Down Cake

For someone like me who is not a big fan of chocolate,baking with fruits is one of the most favorite things.It gives a perfect opportunity to experiment recipes with fruits & relish the results.Baking with fruits always overwhelms me, the way the flesh, natural oils and sweetness transform inside the oven is intriguing.Take for example an apple, the texture before and after baking is completely different and good in its own way..while the fresh one is juicy & crunchy, baked is dense & succulent.

Me and P adore fruits & try to include them as much as possible meals.With temperatures already soaring in Vegas,fruit based recipes are absolutely delightful.I saw really gorgeous stone fruits at the grocery store a week back.There is something about pink/plum/red colors – they catch my eye from far away and seem to call my name.I rushed towards them.There lay boxes of fleshy,bright-colored peaches, nectarines & apricots in front of my eyes,each trying to catch my attention.Helpless at being able to choose, I bought all of them – all in the name of health foods! Gnawing my teeth into fleshy stone fruit is super exciting.The rush of juices between the teeth & the texture from the flesh add a refreshing dimension to my dull, lazy days.Eating fruits heals me psychologically, it’s comforting to feel the intake of antioxidants the most natural way possible.

Our tastes in fruits match  to the extent that we LOVE them but differ in the kind of fruit.While he is a tropical fruit fiend, I swear by berries & stone fruits.The moment,I picked up the first apricot,Oh what a pink blushing beauty it was outside.I pitted it knew that I had to make something to showcase inside-oozing with juices, accurately tart & with golden-colored flesh, just waiting to be baked!

Started my google search and found this perfect recipe from Good houseKeeping of an apricot cornmeal upside down cake.It has very less quantity of oil.And one of my favorite ingredients to bake with – buttermilk! I was slightly apprehensive because I had never baked with cornmeal what if we don’t like the taste or it doesnt rise much or is dry? It was painful to think about  a 8″ cake making its way into the bin.But then, unless I took a leap, I would not have discovered the delight of baking with cornmeal.We totally loved it.It was moist, perfectly sweet & very homey looking.The slight tang from the buttermilk complemented the sweetish tartness of apricots very well.A perfect cake for summertime get togethers. Below goes the recipe:-

Ingredients :- [ Makes one 8″ tall cake]

Printable Recipe

[Adapted from here ]

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 4 whole ripe apricots
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp freshly grated lime zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

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Method:-

• Wash the apricots if using fresh.Ceach cut in half and pit them.Set aside.If using canned apricots, drain them and discard the liquid.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 8″ cake pan with at least 2″ high sides. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over bottom of skillet. Arrange apricot halves, cut side down, over brown sugar.
• In a large bowl, whisk flour, granulated sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda until blended.
• In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk, eggs, butter, oil, lime zest, and vanilla extract until blended.
• Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until just blended. Pour batter over apricots and using a spatula spread evenly.
• Bake 30 to 35  minutes, or until skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean.Mine took 32 minutes.
• Let cool in skillet on wire rack 10 minutes. Run knife around side of skillet. Place platter on top of skillet and carefully invert cake onto platter. Remove skillet.
• Cool cake slightly to serve warm, about 30 minutes.

Notes:-

• I thought that  just 4 tbsp oil+butter for a 10″ cake was less.So I increased the oil quantity by a tbsp.
• If you like your cakes very sweet, then you may need to increase the sugar quantity in this recipe.
• This recipe will work well with all kinds of fruits.

Enjoy & Thanks for stopping by!