Blackberry Upside Down Cake

                                

Blackberry Upside Down Cake

Plump, deep-colored blackberries are a delightful treat. Saw some at Crawford market & thought I should make the most of them whilst they're in season. So here is the simple Upside Down cake. Saw this recipe on net (sorry for not noting down the link) but it was with egg, so turned it into eggless by using curds instead. Cake turned out to be super moist & very very yummy :)

Ingredients (8 servings)
1 1/2 cup fresh blackberries
2 tsp + 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup curds or yogurt 
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 cup buttermilk (see tips)

Method
Preheat oven to 200 C. 

Grease the baking pan with butter & Dust with flour.

Sprinkle 1 tsp of sugar in pan & shake to distribute evenly. 

Arrange blackberries in a single layer in cake pan. 

Sprinkle another 1 tsp sugar on berries.

Place pan with blackberries in oven for 5 minutes to thoroughly warm the berries.
Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt in a bowl. 

Beat together butter & remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light & fluffy. 

Add vanilla, lemon peel & curds. Mix until just incorporated. 

Add buttermilk & flour alternately, ending with flour & fold.

Spoon batter evenly over berries & all the way to the edge of the pan, smoothing the surface.

Bake in middle of oven for about 30 minutes, until top is golden or till a tester comes out clean. 

Run a thin knife around edge of pan, then invert a large plate over pan & using pot holders to hold plate & pan together tightly, flip cake onto plate. 

Serve cake warm or cool, either with whipped cream or with Vanilla ice-cream or enjoy just like that.

Tips 

* You can easily use more blackberries in same recipe.

* You can use fresh or frozen blackberries (subsitute equal amounts of either).

* Omit salt in recipe if your butter is salted.

* You can avoid lemon peel or can use orange peel instead.

* If you feel batter needs more liquid then add a tbsp of milk. (Make sure milk is added before ending with flour).

* 1/2 cup sugar is enough for batter if you like your cake less sweet otherwise just add 1 tbsp more. (You can sprinkle powdered sugar on the ready cake too later on).

* Buttermilk - 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar

                       Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

                       Stir before using.