Upside Down Fruit Cake
Based on a recipe my stepmom gave me from our favorite Key West Cookbook by Margaret Romero
1 ½ cup plus 2 T. cake flour
1 c sugar
2 tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp of salt (unless you’re using salted butter)
⅓ c. shortening (I use butter instead)
⅔ c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
¼ cup butter
½ c packed brown sugar
1 ½ cups fresh or well-drained canned fruit, I like to use pineapple and cherries, but you can use whatever your heart desires
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add the butter, milk and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes in an electric mixer on medium. Constantly scrape the bowl. Add the egg and beat for 2 more minutes. Melt the butter and pour into an 8 or 9-inch pan. Mix in the brown sugar and arrange the fruit on top of this. Pour cake batter over the fruit. Bake for 40-45 minutes. After taking the cake out of the oven, invert it at once. Cake is best served warm, but I like it when it’s not.
I highly recommend investing (although they are very cheap) in an oven thermometer. I find that almost every oven I’ve ever used is a little off.