Whenever fresh strawberries come into season, I get so excited. Strawberries from the garden or fresh from the local farmer have a special sweetness that you just can’t find from store-bought berries. It makes me want to bake all the things!
And first up at my house this year is a strawberry upside down cake.
Strawberry Upside Down Cake
To make an upside down cake, you put the fruit on the bottom of the pan.
Then you pour the batter over the top and bake it.
Cool it for a few minutes after baking, then flip it upside down onto a serving dish.
If you’re lucky (and you greased the pan well enough), your cake will release in one piece and you’ll have yourself a fruit-astic dessert.But, if there was a little sticking, it’s usually easy to fix because the strawberries are all flibbity-jibbit on the cake anyhow.
I think the cake is especially yummy served warm with a scoop of ice cream, but don’t be afraid to serve it at room temperature either. It’s still scrumptious!
But here’s the thing about the strawberries… If you don’t serve the cake soon after it’s baked, the fruit will start to fade and turn a less appealing shade of red. There’s nothing wrong! Cooked fruit just loses its color. It doesn’t bother me, but for guests…
There’s an easy fix: add some strawberry glaze. (You can find it near the strawberries in the grocery store.) Just spread some over the top of the berries, and it will retain a bright red appearance.
It took me a couple tries to perfect the sponge of this cake. I really wanted a soft, tender and moist cake so I tweaked the recipe a couple times until I was completely happy. And I am! It’s perfectly scrumptious!
Love strawberries? Try this strawberry banana cheesecake salad too!
Strawberry Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 4 cups sliced strawberries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 large eggs (2 whole + 1 yolk)
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ cup oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup strawberry glaze optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly grease a 9 or 10-inch round cake pan.
- Combine strawberries, sugar, corn starch and vanilla. Pour into bottom of pan.
- In small bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In mixer, beat eggs and sugar together well. Gradually add butter and oil. Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients into batter. Spoon batter over strawberries evenly.
- Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto serving plate. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
