This Blackberry Upside Blackberry Cake made with Almond Meal is super easy to make and makes a delicious summer cake! The berries are baked under a butter and almond cake batter to create a delightful fresh dessert.
Note: this recipe was update in June 2020.
Why we love this recipe
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 Upside Down Blackberry Cake recipe is exactly what you need!
Upside Down Cakes are super fun to make, and always look impressive (but easy!). Whether it is made with Plum, Apples or even Blood Oranges, Upside-Down Cakes are just always a good idea!
Ingredients
There are two groups of ingredients needed to make this Upside-Down Cake with Blackberries. First, the berries themselves that will go at the bottom of the pan, then the butter and almond cake batter that will bake over it.
Blackberries
- Blackberries - fresh or frozen
- Brown Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Cornstarch
The berries will release a lot of moisture when they cook so it is important to add an ingredient like Cornstarch that will help thicken all juices. It is the best way to avoid having a soggy cake!
Cake Batter
- Brown Sugar
- Unsalted Butter, very soft
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Plain Flour
- Almond Meal
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Full Cream Milk
- optional: Lemon Zest
How to make Blackberry Almond Cake
The first step of the recipe is to prepare the Blackberries:
- Preheat your oven on 180'C/350'F and line your Baking Pan with Baking Paper.
- Place the Blackberries in mixing bowl and toss them with the Sugar, Lemon Juice and Cornstarch. Set aside.
Once the fruit are ready, you can start preparing the cake batter:
- Cream the Brown Sugar and very soft Butter in the bowl of your stand mixer for about 5 minutes. It needs to look very pale and fluffy
- Add the Eggs one at the time, mixing well between each eggs, then stir in the Vanilla Extract and Lemon Zest (if using some).
- In a separate bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together: Flour, Almond Meal, Baking Powder and Salt.
- Add about half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient and mix until incorporated.
- Pour in the Milk and mix it in, then add the rest of the Dry Ingredients. Quickly mix until all incorporated, but be careful not to overwork the batter.
Lastly, it is time to assemble the cake:
- Place the Blackberries (and any juices) on the bottom of your lined baking pan. Spread them evenly to cover the bottom
- Cover the fruits with the Cake Batter. You can use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to evenly (but carefully) spread it over the fruits.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the tip of a skewer comes out clean.
Baking the 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.
Recipe FAQs
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.
If using frozen blackberries, do not thaw them before before making this cake and use them straight out of the freezer. They will release some moisture while baking so using cornstarch to thicken the juices is really important!
More Berry Desserts:
- Easy Cherry Clafoutis
- Strawberry Custard Tartlets
- Double Raspberry Mousse Cups
- Super Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes
- Easy Raspberry Coulis
- Mixed Berry Compote
- Lemon & Raspberry Muffins
- Chocolate and Raspberry Brownies
Blackberry Upside-Down Cake
Ingredients
Blackberries
- 2 1/2 cup (350gr) Blackberries - fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp. Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 tbsp. Cornstarch
Cake Batter
- 1/4 cup (50gr) Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup (120gr) Unsalted Butter, very soft
- 3 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup (150gr) Plain Flour
- 1 cup (100gr) Almond Meal
- 1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1/3 cup (90ml) Full Cream Milk
- 1 Lemon, Zested - optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on 180'C / 350'F and line your baking pan (*) with Baking Paper
Blackberries
- Place the Blackberries in a large bowl and toss in the Brown Sugar, Cornstarch and Lemon Juice until the fruits are evenly covered. Set aside.
Cake Batter
- Using a stand (or hand) mixer, Cream the Brown Sugar and very soft Butter on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until very pale and fluffy.
- Add the Eggs one at a time, mixing well between each egg. Mix in the Vanilla Extract and Lemon Zest (optional)
- In a separate bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients: Plain Flour, Almond Meal, Baking Powder and Salt. Add about half of the Dry Ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Mix in the Milk, then add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined (2)
Assembling the Cake
- Put the Blackberry Mix (including any juices) at the bottom your baking pan and spread them evenly.
- Cover the fruits with Cake Batter, and use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to evenly (and carefully) spread it over the fruits.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the tip of a skewer comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool down for at least 15 minutes (3), then place a plate over the top of the pan. Carefully holding both the plate and the pan, quickly flip it upside down to release the cake.
Notes
- I lined my quiche pan with baking paper I had cut in a circle the size of the bottom of the pan. Even though the pan has a removable bottom, using additional baking paper is a great way to make sure none of the fruits are going to stick to the bottom of the pan when you flip it.
- Stop as soon as all the ingredients are combined to avoid overworking the batter. You can stop to scrape the edges of the bowl with a spatula if needed.
- It is important to leave the cake cool down a little bit before flipping it or it will be too soft and might break. If using a pan with removable bottom, the cake can be pushed out of the pan before flipping it.
Did not like the texture of the whipped eggs whites and 3o minutes in the oven was not long enough, still soggy
Sorry to hear that! Every oven is different so it is entirely possible that the cake would take longer in your oven 🙂
Hi, just a quick question. This looks delicious and I'd love to make it, and clearly with only 1/4 c of sugar in the cake part, it's not overly sweet. But I just wanted to check, is it actually sweet enough with only 1/4 c?
Hi Rebecca, I guess it is all a question of preference! I personally don't like overly sweet desserts so all of my recipes are on the lower-sugar side. I believe that reducing the sugar content is not only better for your health, it also improves the flavour of all baked goods as you start to really taste all the other ingredients better once you drop the sugar! That being said, and as mentioned above, it is a question of personal taste and preference 😉 If you are afraid this might be not sweet enough for you and/or have a sweet tooth, you can absolutely increase the amount of sugar to this recipe to suit your taste! Let me know how you go 🙂
Thanks for your reply. I don't like desserts overly sweet, and neither do the family I'm making it for. I'm going to make it just as you have it. 😊
Hope you all enjoy it then, and please let me know how you go 🙂
Such a lovely dessert! Looks beautiful and looks like it tastes just about amazingly!!! Great job!
Thank you Michelle!
Blackberries are my favorite but I have never used them in a cake! This looks amazing - a must try for sure!
You definitely should try, blackberries bring such a delicious flavour to baked goods 🙂
What a beautiful cake! This would be perfect for any occasion. Thinking Easter and hoping mine turns out as gorgeous as yours! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
It would be a perfect bake for Easter!
I love upside down cakes -- they're so much. This one is so beautiful! And I can't believe how quickly this deliciousness can be made and out of the oven. Love it!
I think thats the best part of this one, how quickly you can sit down and enjoy it 😉
This looks incredible I cannot wait to make it!
Thanks Tawnie!
Hello there,
My name is Aly and I would like to know if you would have any interest to have your website here at thefoodiejourney.com promoted as a resource on our blog alychidesign.com ?
We are in the midst of updating our broken link resources to include current and up to date resources for our readers. Our resource links are manually approved allowing us to mark a link as a do-follow link as well
.
If you may be interested please in being included as a resource on our blog, please let me know.
Thanks,
Aly
Hi Aly - sure!
Hey Sylvie,
WOW another beautiful cake from you Sylvie! I LOVE the combination of ingredients the squeeze of lemon in both cake and topping. I really look forward to trying it. I can always taste the beautiful flavours in my mouth!!! Cheers
Thanks Adrianne, I'm glad you enjoyed the combo! The squeeze of lemon is always a great way to make flavours burst 😉
Hi Sylvie, I did make it using 1 tsp baking powder and it worked. I wasn't overly keen on the flavour combination of using both lemon and cinnamon with the blackberries though as it wasn't to my liking. Jo
Hi Jo, I am sorry to hear that you didnt enjoy the flavour combination. Thanks for letting me know!
Hi Sylvie, thanks for replying so quickly. I will be making it at the end of the week, so will let you know! Jo
My pleasure! Please let me know how you go so I can update the recipe if it works well with only 1 tbsp 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
Hi Sylvie,
This recipe says 1TB baking powder - just checking if this is correct or should it be 1tsp.
Many thanks, Jo
Hi Joanne, I personally use 1 tbsp of baking powder because the one I find here is not very strong. If the baking powder you use is a strong one, you could definitely drop the quantity to 1 teaspoon. Let me know how you go!
That looks so yummy!!
Thank you Sasha, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Omg that looks delicious! I must try!
Thanks Yanna, I hope you do try it!
This looks so gorgeous and perfect for Autumn!
Thanks Kat, it really is!
I'm a huge fan of upside down cakes Sylvie, as you say they're such a doddle to make, need nothing fancy and yet the result is so incredibly yummy! I love the colours that the blackberries give when the cake is turned out - simply stunning. Thankyou for sharing with #BakingCrumbs Sylvie,
Angela x
Thanks Angela, glad you liked the recipe! We all need one of those super easy recipe that always turns out great in our books, right!?
Oh wow love the sound of this. A perfect Autumnal bake. Gorgeous!
Thanks Corrina, definitely perfect for Autumn!
I love how impressive the upside down cakes look and your one is yet another example Sylvie 🙂 The sponge looks beautifully moist and the blackberries on top, well they look soo tempting... You simply need to help yourself to a slice. I'm really surprised how quick it was to make too- perfect! Thank you for sharing with #BakingCrumbs 🙂 x
Thank you so much! It really is one of my favourite cake to make - so easy, quick, yet so delicious!
I love a quick and easy dessert recipe! I don't like to spend a ton of time preparing the cake, I like to spend most of my time eating the cake! Haha. This sounds so good!
Thanks Amanda! This cake is definitely for you then, though I dont know if you will have lots of time to enjoy eating the cake - it may be gone really fast haha!
This is so pretty!
Thank you 🙂
Excuse me while I drool over these pictures! I need this in my life right NOW!
Haha thanks Deanna! Go make some!
Super tempting with all the berries. Such a lovely bake and like your tip of lining the bottom with parchment paper to avoid the fruit sticking to the bottom.
It is definitely a great way to make sure the cake flips well 🙂
This cake looks wonderful! I must buy some blackberries to keep in the freezer. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Marcella! I love having lots of berries in the freezer, it is so handy!
I will print your recipe and will keep my fingers crossed that mine will look as beautiful as yours.:)
I'm sure it will!