Nectarine Upside-Down Cake

Nectarine Upside-Down Cake

**Susan's note: I adapted this Martha Stewart recipe. It called for rhubarb, but I am not a big fan, so I used nectarines instead! I love nectarines. I didn't peel them, just sliced them, and you don't need to dot the pan with the 4 TBS butter called for in the recipe. Just lightly butter the pan. And you don't need as much sugar - maybe 1/2 cup - to toss over the nectarines.

This cake has a crumb "topping" that actually ends up on the bottom. Each bite has a surprisingly crunchy texture.

Prep: 25 minutes
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

Makes one 9-inch cake; Serves 10
FOR THE TOPPING
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Coarse salt
FOR THE CAKE
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for buttering pan
1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and cut on a very sharp diagonal about 1/2 inch thick
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest plus 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the topping: Stir together butter, flour, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until moist and crumbly.
Make the cake: Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Dot with 4 tablespoons butter (cut into pieces). Toss rhubarb with 3/4 cup sugar; let stand for 2 minutes. Toss again, and spread in pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Beat remaining stick butter and cup sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in zest and juice. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, until smooth. Spread evenly over rhubarb. Crumble topping evenly over batter.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and top springs back when touched, about 1 hour. Let cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake, and invert onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
From Martha Stewart Living, May 2010


Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. The rhubarb will be too hot to handle safely right after baking. But if the cake sits much longer, it may stick.