Upside-down Cake with Cherries, Blueberries and Lavender

If you follow this blog for a while, you probably noticed by now that I’m very fond of upside-down cakes. The combination of buttery, caramelized fruit layer, with a light tasty cake on top,  is one I can have again and again, and I enjoy creating new combinations for the basic cake.
This time, I chose fresh cherries and blueberries for the fruit layer, with a sprinkle of lavender buds, which added their special aroma to the fruit. To make things even more interesting, I also added some more lavender buds, along with lemon zest, to the cake batter. The cake turned out very tasty and aromatic. Try it and enjoy.

Notes:
* Culinary grade lavender can be found at the spice section, or online.
* For more recipes of upside-down cakes, click HERE.

Makes: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
For the fruit layer:
1/3 stick (40 grams) soft butter
½ cup sugar
1 tsp edible dried lavender buds (see notes)
About 20 cherries, pitted and cut in half
¾ cup blueberries
For the batter:
1 Tbs lemon zest
1 cup milk, at room temperature
2/3 stick (75 grams) soft butter
1 tsp edible dried lavender buds
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup white sugar
2 L eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
Dash salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C).
2. The fruit layer: spread the butter over the bottom of a 9½” (24cm) deep cake pan. Sprinkle the sugar over the butter, avoiding about ¼” (½ cm) from the sides (this will help in releasing the cake from the pan later on). Sprinkle the lavender on top. Arrange the fruits in circles on top on the sugar. Keep the pan in the fridge until the batter is ready.

2. The batter: Mix the lemon zest with the milk and set aside. In a blander bowl, fitted with the plastic blade, place the butter, lavender and sugar and vanilla, and mix until combined. Add the eggs and mix again. Add the milk with the lemon zest and mix again (the mixture will seem “broken”- don’t be alarmed, it’s fine). Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix to a smooth batter, scraping the sides of the bowl once.
3. Pour the batter over the topping layer, from the center out. To make it easier to release the cake from the pan, don’t spread the batter all the way to the sides of the pan.

4. Bake for 35 minutes, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake stand for 1 minute in the pan.
5. Place a plate (the size of the pan or bigger) on top of the pan. Using oven mitts (remember, the pan is still hot!) hold both the plate and pan together, and turn the pan upside down onto the plate. Place on a work surface and carefully remove the pan.
6. If there is still caramelized sugar or fruit at the bottom of the pan, scrape it gently and add it to the top of the cake. Let cool to room temperature before cutting.