Plum Upside Down Cake
Some months back, the Food Network did the Kid’s Baking Championship, which was adorable and hilarious. Watching ten year olds in long aprons whipping meringue and crème bruleeing is my idea of entertainment, and inspiration to get Conner in the kitchen sooner rather than later. I’d love a little pint sized sous chef. Adorable. Around Christmastime they did the Holiday Baking Championship, which was also fantastic, gingerbread and festive cookies galore. Then a few weeks ago, they launched the Spring Baking Championship. I’ve been watching regularly, even forgoing my religious Sunday night Bravo watch parties for it, which is a big deal.
One of these past weeks, there was an “upside down cake” challenge, where the eight or so competitors had to do their best spins on the fruit on the bottom classic. Before this episode, I had literally never even heard of anything other than a pineapple upside down cake. Black grandmas all over the country make it with canned pineapple and maraschino cherries, with a typically light and kind of spongy cake, with just the right amount of density to hold up to the fruit without becoming soggy. But on this episode, I witnessed not only the classic pineapple version, but also peach, blueberry, strawberry, and a whole variety of other upside down cakes. I was immediately inspired to make my own. I hit the supermarket in search of perfectly ripe peaches, but spotted plums instead. Boom.