September 2, 2018

Blackberry Upside Down Cake

Name: Blackberry Upside-Down Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8 people (9 inch / 22cm Pan)
Ingredients: 1/4 cup (40gr) Brown Sugar; 4,5 oz (125gr) Butter at room temperature; 3 Eggs, separated; 3/4 cup (75gr) Almond Meal; 1/2 cup (75gr) Plain Flour; 1 tbsp. Baking Powder; 1 Lemon (Juice + Zest); 2 cup (250gr) Frozen Blackberries; 2 tbsp. Brown Sugar; 1 teasp. Cinnamon (Optional); 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice; 1 tbsp. Cornstarch

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Sometimes, you feel like following long, complex cake recipes. Other times, you just want to find a quick and easy (yet delicious) recipe to whip up a dessert in no time. This Upside Down Blackberry Cake with Almond Meal is one of those!

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So picture this. It’s the middle of the afternoon, you have been out all day and some of your friends (or family) randomly decide to invite themselves over for dinner. You don’t have time to prepare much, but you still want to have a yummy cake for dessert. We all have been in this situation, haven’t we!? If you have too (or are right now), this Blackberry Upside Down Cake recipe is exactly what you need.

How to make a Blackberry Upside Down Cake

There isn’t much to write on this recipe, other than man… it is such a simple, DELICIOUS cake! I brought this Blackberry Cake to my in-laws, along with leftovers from a complex French layered cake. I didn’t think much of this berry cake compared to the other one that had a ‘wow factor’.

Funny enough, everyone loved the Blackberry Upside-Down Cake way more than the other one! It really makes you think that sometimes, sticking to simple, basic cakes is way more effective that trying to show off with a crazier one…

Why is this cake so simple? Because as long as you have Blackberries in your freezer and the pantry of a casual baker, you should be able to whip up this cake in less than 30 minutes. Of course, you don’t have to use frozen berries; if you are lucky enough to have fresh ones in the kitchen, they will be perfect for this recipe too!

Almond Meal Cake with Blackberries

The cake batter is super simple to make but has some ingredients and techniques that make all the difference. First, it uses a mix of Plain Flour and Almond Meal which makes the batter super light and moist. Yes, once again, I praise my favourite ingredient – mister Almond Meal… but it is seriously such an awesome one to use in cake! You can mix it with Plain Flour like for these Almond Madeleines, or completely replace any type of Flour with it like in this Strawberry Almond Cake recipe. You should try it!

Secondly, you want to separate the Eggs and use the yolks and whites differently. Like for many recipe, using egg yolks in the main batter then folding in whipped egg whites brings extra lightness to the cake, making it really nice and fluffy. It is a great way to avoid getting a dense and heavy cake – and the principle can basically be applied to any cake recipe. You should try it and see how it makes a difference!

To make this Blackberry Cake:

Separate the Egg Yolks and Whites.
Cream the Brown Sugar and Butter together, then add the Egg Yolks one at the time. Stir in the Lemon Juice and Zest.
Sift in the Plain Flour, Almond Meal and Baking Powder.
Whip the Egg Whites in a separate bowl to medium peaks. Gently fold them in the rest of the cake batter.
Prepare the Blackberries in a third bowl by mixing in the Sugar, Lemon Juice, Cornstarch and Spices (optional).
Line the Pan with Baking Paper (optional) and place the blackberries at the bottom. Cover with the Almond Cake batter and bake for about 20 minutes.

How to prepare the Blackberries

The last important element of this recipe is the Blackberries itself. You could use plain blackberries only, but I added a few extra ingredients to them. A little bit of sugar to help the berries caramelise nicely, some cinnamon for that spicy note, a tablespoon of lemon juice to make the blackberry flavour truly pop and lastly, some cornstarch.

When they start baking, your blackberries will release a lot of moisture that could make your cake soggy. Adding cornstarch to them is an easy way to avoid this. It will help thicken any liquid that comes out of your fruit, which is perfect for an upside-down cake!

Can you use Frozen Blackberries to make this cake?

You absolutely can use frozen blackberries instead of fresh ones. I love to use frozen berries in my cakes for two reasons: they are usually cheaper than fresh fruits and you can find them all year around.

I did not thaw the blackberries before making this cake and used them straight out of the freezer. They will release some moisture while baking so using cornstarch to thicken the juices is really important!

Baking the Berry Upside Down Cake

To bake this cake, I used the same Quiche Pan with removable Bottom that I had used for this Spiced Pears Double Chocolate Cake. A Quiche Pan is very similar to a Tart Pan but has higher sides. It is great to use if you know that your cake will rise too much to be baked in a tart pan but you still want the nice wavy edges detail. The removable bottom is really essential for upside-down cakes as it makes it so much easier to flip!

I have found that even though using a pan with removable bottom is really useful to make any upside-down cake, adding an extra layer of baking paper at the bottom of the pan makes it even easier to flip. This is optional, but a good way to make sure no fruits are sticking to the bottom of the pan!

Note that Alternatively, you can use a simple 9 inch / 22 cm Round Springform Pan to bake this cake if you do not have a Quiche Pan.

Looking for more Easy Cake Ideas?
Check out these recipes:

Easy French Apple Cake

Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake

Almond Orange Cake (Gluten Free)

Easy Cherry Clafoutis

Easy Chocolate Brownie Bites