We spent New Year’s weekend in Woodstock, enjoying the hush of the snow in a cabin with a crackling fire and food and drink aplenty.
I ended up adapting this recipe to taste – I like less sugar in everything, especially fruit desserts – and to cabin equipment – old-school hand-crank mixer, anyone? – and it was a delightful, light treat after the holiday dinner and for next day’s luxurious New Year’s Day brunch.
Upside down berry almond cake
(adapted from Donna Hay magazine)
You’ll need:
For the upside down topping:
- 24 oz frozen berries, unsweetened (I used blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
- 1/3 cup fine (caster) sugar
For the batter:
- 1 cup fine (caster) sugar
- 1 1/6 stick (about 190 g) of butter, melted
- 2 t finely grated lemon zest
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups AP flour,
- 1 1/2 t baking powder
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
1. Defrost the berries – I placed them in a colander in a sunny spot close to the stove (which was barely off all weekend!) for about half an hour.
2. Line a 9 inch pie pan with parchment paper (I also lined the outside with foil in case of the berry juices bubbling over) and preheat oven to 355F. Pour berries into the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with 1/3 cup sugar. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat (or whisk vigorously, if you have a good forearm) together sugar, butter, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until pale and creamy, about 6-8 minutes.
4. Add eggs in one at a time, incorporating well.
5. Gradually add in – with mixer on low speed – the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, mixing well. Lastly add the almond meal and the buttermilk and mix to combine. You want a pale, creamy, and fluffy mixture.
6. Pour the batter over the berries and smooth the top. Bake for an hour until just set in the middle. Tent loosely with foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Let cool before flipping over onto a large platter.
ps. Thanks to Valerie for photo-documenting while I was baking even though she was busy baking herself!
this looks divine and your cabin with the fire sounds fantastic!
Thank you, C! It was a lovely getaway – Happy New Year to you and all on the farmy! x
and for you too Ksenia! hope the New Year is good for you.. c
Thank you! I hope so too π
A cabin surrounded by snow…crackling fire…and this delicious berry almond cake…sounds like perfection!
Thank you, thank you π It was a lovely getaway.
Beautiful! And a slice would go so nicely with my cup of coffee this afternoon. π I love your food Ksenia!
Thank you so much, Karista! And I love yours π
It’s a wonderful wholesome treat. I have to say it was, literally, devoured quite quickly haha.
This looks fantastic, I have had so many sweets lately due to the holidays! I could have a little more room for this…. π
Oh you and me both π Save room!!
I’ve made a version of this berry cake, but yours looks way better. Yum!
Thank you!
Your berry cake sounds delicious and certainly looks terrific. You were just one state away…Woodstock is wonderful this time of the year. Wishing you all the best in this new year.
And to you, Karen! Woodstock was a wonderful getaway.
This sounds heavenly! We inly have strawberries this time of year. Any chance strawberries alone would work?
Hmmm I wouldn’t recommend strawberries in this (don’t look or taste as nice when they cook for an hour and half) – but you can/should use frozen berries in this, are those easier to find?
Can I eat this for breakfast? Hey why not! Looks delicious.
I did haha so I say yes!:)
On my to do list π
Wonderful! Let me know how you like it!
That looks like a lovely cake. I really enjoy pineapple upside down cake, so I can imagine how much I’d love this! π
Thank you! I really adore this cake – it’s fairly simple to make but the texture is so luscious and addictive.