Blueberry Cornmeal Upside Down Cake

Some recipes are winners, some recipes are complete duds, most are like this one - pretty okay. It’s an easy, straightforward recipe that yields a pretty tasty cake. Nothing special, nothing lifechanging.

I’m still sharing this recipe because I actually make it almost every summer. Inevitably, when overwhelmed with the abundance of in-season produce at the market, I impulse purchase way too much and have to deal with a fridge full of fruit I can’t eat. This is one of my go-to recipes, mostly because it’s so easy.

Like the Paula Wolfert chicken recipe, this one comes from the Food & Wine compilation book I bought the summer after college. It was there before any professionally collected recipes were added to my arsenal. And with every summer and every iteration, it just further cements its role as an essential summer staple.

I guess I just don’t want to overhype something that is, honestly, a little plain. One of the main reasons I make it every year is ….because I make it every year. But plain isn’t a bad thing. If the idea of a course-crumbed corn cake sounds good to you, you won’t be disappointed. You just might not be wowed either? And that’s okay!

8-inch cake pan

leftover batter turned into plum cake

Blueberry Cornmeal Upside-down Cake

For a 10-inch cast iron pan

Fruit Layer

1. In the bottom of the cast iron pan, melt together:

   • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

   • 115g brown sugar

2. Simmer mixture over low heat until sugar is dissolved completely, about 2-3 minutes. Stir constantly.

3. Remove from heat, then add:

   • 3 cups blueberries

4. Spread the blueberries in one even layer as much as possible, and set aside.

Batter & Bake

1. Using a mixer, thoroughly cream together:

   • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter

   • 300g sugar

2. Add slowly:

   • 4 eggs, room temperature

   • 2 tsp vanilla

   • This is one of few cakes where not breaking the emulsion actually makes a difference in the final product. Allow your eggs to come to temp (shortcut: soak them in lukewarm water) and add it one by one, scraping well in between additions.

3. Add and mix together on low speed:

   • 200g AP flour

   • 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

   • 1 Tbsp baking powder

   • 1 tsp salt

4. Lastly, fold in:

   • 3/4 cup plain full-fat yogurt

5. Top the fruit layer with the batter, roughly spread it into an even layer, and bake at 350F until cooked through in the center, about 40-50 minutes.

6. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then flip it onto a plate.

   • Unmold the cake while it’s still warm!

   • If you leave it and forget, you will need to pop it into a low oven again to rewarm the bottom

7. Serve with ice cream or (as I prefer) a dollop of unsweetened creme fraiche whipped cream.

the batter is thick

Plum wedges in mini mold

Freshly unmolded

Notes

• Blueberry and corn are a classic combo, but the batter will also work with most summer fruits. In the past, I’ve also added orange zest since it’s my favorite thing to combine with blueberries. But the zest does change the profile and feel of the cake, and in peak summer I like it better without.

• Confession: I have never made this in a cast iron. It would for sure get a better crust there, but it tastes great out of a stainless-steel skillet or a cake pan too.

• Scaling: Do the math beforehand if you’re using a different pan! For a 12-inch skillet, you nees ~50% more batter and fruit. A 8-inch cake pan will have 1/3 the batter left over. Small change in diameter -> big difference in surface area and volume.