Plum-perfect cake to enjoy upside down - San Francisco Chronicle

Summer is my absolute favorite season, when I devour all the fruits that I can get my hands on.

Stone fruits play a big role in my kitchen. Peaches, nectarines, apricots, pluots, plums, cherries — all are part of the stone fruit family. There are two varieties in this family: freestone, whose pits come out freely when the fruit is cut in half, and clingstone, whose pits cling to the flesh of the fruit.

Right now, different varieties of plums are popping up at the local farmers’ markets and grocery stores: Japanese plums, Damsons, Greengages, Cherry plums, prune plums, Santa Rosas and Mirabelles. They vary in the color of their skin, and it is always a surprise what color they will be on the inside. My favorites are the Santa Rosa and the Greengage varieties — both have flesh that tastes like candy. My personal preference is eating them when they are firm and crisp; I love that juicy crunch.

For this absolutely wonderful Plum, Fennel & Cardamom Upside-Down Cake, I use Santa Rosa plums, which have a purple-reddish skin and yellow-orange flesh. The plums, when bought, should be firm to the touch. You can leave them out to ripen over three to four days, or put them in a brown paper bag and they will ripen faster.

This tea cake has notes of toasted fennel and ground cardamom. Fennel seeds are the fruits of the fennel plant, which is a flowering plant. Fennel bulbs are used in cooking savory dishes and salads, while the fennel seeds are aromatic and impart licorice-like sweet flavor and scent. Growing up in Mumbai, fennel seeds were a huge part of our dishes, be they sweet or savory. Fennel seeds are used widely as a digestive and mouth freshener in India, often eaten after a meal. Fennel drinks are popular during the brutal Indian summers, providing instant relief.

To create the potent fennel flavor, the fennel seeds have to be toasted, cooled and then coarsely crushed before they’re added to the cake batter. The ground cardamom adds a floral touch and complements the flavor combination.

Toasty notes of brown butter give this simple one-bowl cake a caramel-y flavor. To ensure the plum slices are fanned properly at the bottom of the cake pan, make sure they are evenly thin. And when placing them in the pan, overlap them slightly, so as not to leave any gap at the bottom for the cake batter to seep through. This will result in a pretty pattern on the top, when you turn the cake down-side up.

The cake bakes quickly as well. You have to wait for it to cool completely before indulging in an ever-so-slightly warm slice with cold whipped cream and afternoon tea — my favorite way to enjoy this cake.

Amisha Gurbani is a Bay Area food writer, author of “Mumbai Modern” and blogger behind the Jam Lab, @thejamlab. Email: food@sfchronicle.com

Plum, Fennel & Cardamom Upside Down Cake

This is a one-bowl recipe that starts off with brown butter, which gives the cake a lovely nutty and caramel taste. Use the freshest plums of the season; they pair beautifully with the licorice notes of fennel seed and floral cardamom. This teatime cake comes together very quickly and is complemented nicely by masala chai.

The plum topping
½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 to 5 medium-size plums, cut into ¼-inch slices

The cake
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup low-fat Greek yogurt (full-fat is fine too)
2 tablespoon neutral oil, such as vegetable oil
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange
1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup almond flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon toasted fennel seeds, then coarsely ground (using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Sweetened whipped cream and plum slices, to serve

Prepare the plum topping: Coat a 9-inch cake pan with baking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Lightly spray the paper with the baking spray.
Place the butter in a small bowl and melt it in the microwave. Immediately stir in the brown sugar and salt. Mix well to combine.
Pour the brown sugar mixture into the prepared pan, and spread it with an offset spatula to cover the bottom of the pan completely.
Starting at the outside of the pan, layer the plum slices, slightly overlapping them in a concentric circle to the center of the pan. Leave no gaps on the bottom of the pan.

Prepare the cake: In a small saucepan, on medium heat, add the butter. As the butter starts melting, make sure to stir it occasionally to ensure that it melts evenly.
In 3 to 4 minutes you will start seeing foam on the top and it will slowly transition to bubbles. As soon as you get the nutty fragrance, the butter has started browning. The butter browns to a darker brown color very quickly, with the milk solids at the bottom looking toasty. The process takes about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour it into a bowl to stop the process of browning. Let cool.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Pour the brown butter into a large bowl. Add the granulated sugar and mix with a rubber spatula. Add the yogurt and oil and mix to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix well to combine. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Add the orange zest and mix again.
Add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, crushed fennel seeds and ground cardamom, and mix well until just combined.
Pour the cake batter on top of the arranged plum slices, and spread evenly using an offset spatula.
Place the cake pan in the lower middle rack of the oven. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown on the top and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for about 30 minutes.
Place an offset spatula vertically between the pan and the cake, and run it around the pan to release the cake from the sides.
Place a plate on top of the cake pan, and gently invert it.
Gently remove the parchment paper from the top to reveal the plum pattern.
Let cool completely for another 30 minutes.

To serve: Serve the cake with the whipped cream and plum slices.
Note: The cake will keep in a cool place for up to 3 days. Keep it covered to prevent drying.

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