Plum-Blueberry Upside Down Cake

I love this cake- I first made it a few times about 6-7 years ago to use up some plums from my Aunt's tree.  I also had access to wonderful blueberries from a U-pick farm back then.  This time I just got the least old-looking ones from my store, lol.  (Not sure how frozen blueberrie would work since I've never tried it).  This is the first (and only) upside down cake I've ever made. 

You arrange sliced plums in a nice pattern around the cake pan, and then dump blueberries in the middle "hole".  The recipe calls for 3/4 cup blueberries, but once, I put them all in, and for some reason, it made the batter above the blueberries not cook all the way through, so now I only put in about a heaping 1/2 cup.  Put in as many as you want; just make sure the toothpick comes out completely clean before taking this out of the oven, so you don't slice into raw cake, like I did once.

I added some almond extract to this, because I love that flavor with fruit.  I also a dash of cinnamon to the batter.  My plums weren't very good this time around; they were not really juicy and had a woody texture. But, they were GREAT in this cake- so tasty with a great flavor.  So this cake is a great way to use less-than-stellar fruit, but of course it's also wonderful with really good fruit.  I've also made this with fresh nectarines and liked it even more than the plums.  These photos are all with plums, though. 

Plum-Blueberry Upside Down Cake
adapted from Allrecipes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

4 black plums, pitted and thinly sliced

3/4 cup blueberries

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch cake pan. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2.  In the prepared pan, combine 3 tablespoons butter and brown sugar. Place pan inside the preheated oven until the margarine melts and begins to bubble. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the 1/3 cup butter and 1 cup white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated.               

3.  Arrange plums around the edges of the prepared pan, overlapping slightly. Distribute the blueberries in the center. Pour batter into prepared pan, covering fruit completely. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving and turning over onto a serving platter.               

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