Today´s recipe for the Tuesdays with Dorie group is a lovely and very pretty Nectarine Upside Down Chiffon Cake.
It is early September, and while the weather is not quite as summery anymore, it is still quite warm for this time of the year and yesterday felt like a good time to bake a cake with nectarines. Spanish nectarines are still widely available in stores and are still juicy, rosy-cheeked and sweet.
While I have baked my share of peach, apricot and nectarine upside-down cakes, I had never baked a Chiffon Upside-Down Cake before. The recipe by contributing baker Mary Bergin, although a bit lengthy, is straightforward and not difficult to handle. The first step is making some “streusel” and baking it on a tray in the oven. It smelled very nice while baking for about 15 minutes on a baking sheet:. The almonds, cinnamon, ginger and butter make for a wonderful combination and the streusel tasted delicious on its own, not overly sweet, a nice component of the Nectarine Cake.
Then onto the topping which consists of butter, brown sugar and, of course, ripe, sliced nectarines to be arranged in a nice pattern at the bottom of the baking pan. Once the topping is nicely arranged in the baking pan, there is only the cake batter left to be prepared. No butter there but oil, I chose to use a good quality sunflower oil which I usually use when a cake recipe calls for oil. Then there is fresh lemon juice, egg yolks, beaten egg whites, flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Half of the batter gets poured over the nectarine layer, then some streusel, then the rest of the batter – which makes for a nice layered look when you slice the baked cake.
After baking for a good hour, the cake needs to rest for a while before you can safely turn it upside down. The nectarines make for a very pretty presentation. Overall, I had no difficulty with this recipe. I served it on its own and only for some of the taste testers with a dollop of whipped cream. We all liked this light, pretty and spongy textured cake and I certainly appreciated that it was a breeze to put together.
The hostesses for today´s recipe are Marlise of The Double Trouble Kitchen and Susan of The Little French Bakery. A great big “Thank You” to both of them!
To see how the other Doristas fared today, please click here.
Your cake looks lovely and all the different layers look so interesting. Yum :-)
ReplyDeleteCher, thank you, the different layers of this cake - the streusel, the batter and the fruit/butter toppings came together nicely but still a bit separate when baking. We liked the final "look" of this cake - the neighbours loved it too (with some whipped cream).
DeleteLooks wonderful! Oh, how I wish it was not summer here anymore, I am so done with temps in the 80's-100!
ReplyDeletehttp://imathomebaking.com/
Thank you for your comment - today is really warm here too but I believe nothing close to the high temperatures that you have been suffering.
DeleteAndrea, Your cake is simply beautiful!! Wonderfully delicious looking!! This cake was a bit involved, but definitely a keeper!! It is still quite warm here however, you can feel fall in the air!
ReplyDeleteKathy, thanks, it was indeed a somewhat lenghty recipe to follow but it was easy and the end result was well worth it!
DeleteVery pretty! We liked the cake, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, it was a nice cake to enjoy with a lovely cup of tea!
DeleteYou cake looks lovely and I enjoyed your post. Isn't it amazing how we can all start with the same recipe, have different experiences and yet end up with lovely cake? Blessings, Catherine http://praycookblog.com/2012/09/twd-bwj-nectarine-upside-down-chiffon-cake/
ReplyDeleteThanks, Catherine, I could not agree with you more, one recipe, so many different versions!
DeleteWill you just look at gorgeous caramel topping.. absolutely luscious!!! Beautiful cake andrea!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sarvani - I adored your apple version!
DeleteWe loved this cake, too - the different flavours work perfectly together. Your cake turned out beautifully.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, thanks so much - this was indeed one wonderfully light and spongy cake!
DeleteYour beautiful cake shows the power of positive thinking! Breeze indeed!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marilyn, this cake was indeed a breeze to make, I had never baked a Chiffon Cake before, but don't we all love a little baking challenge?!
DeleteThis turned out beautiful Andrea! Such lovely pics as usual!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Paula, this was my first Chiffon Cake and we loved it. There are still so many nectarines in the stores, so this was another good way to make use of them.
DeleteAndrea - Gorgeous pictures, as always. I did not know you were such an expert at the upside-down cakes. It really shows in your cake. Your cake looks delicious. Thank you for your nice comments on my blog.
ReplyDeleteMarlise, well, I do not know whether I am such an expert but I meant to say that I have baked so many of these upside-down cakes. My husband's favorite cake is "Tarte Tatin", I consider that an upside down kind of cake and I happily baked a lot of them while we were in Normandy ans still do,I love these kinds of cakes. They always make for a pretty presentation.
DeleteI've only made upside down cake with pineapple before because it's my husband's favorite. But I prefer peaches and nectarines and I must give it a try. Your photos are so beautiful and now I want to eat the piece of cake with my coffee. Too bad it's not here!!
ReplyDeleteNami, thank you so much for your wonderful comment - it made me smile because my husband loves the French upside -down Tarte Tatin so much and I prefer apricots in my upside-down cakes.
DeleteHi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI'm so late in commenting and answering. Sorry!
I am organising Michelle's birthday party at home for this Saturday: 14 children (OMG!)and I'm a bit under pressure...
Your cake is beautiful and I am so pleased to read that you loved it.
Great post, lovely picture.
Liebe Grüsse.
Carola, ahhh, those children´s birthday parties - look at it this way, the more guests you have, the more taste testers you get! Enjoy the party!
DeleteUnd liebe Grüsse zurück!
I have never made a chiffon upside down cake either and I like my regular upside down cake recipes separate from the chiffon ones... go figure :) I think the rather late summer, or shift in seasons allows for the summer fruits to still be "in season" and delicious this time of year, at least this year so far! Great job!
ReplyDeleteAlice, I am totally amazed by the late summer produce that is still available right now and I am trying to take advantage of the fact that theay are still so readily available as best as I can.
DeleteAnother beauty! Hope to try this when our weather cools down a bit.
ReplyDeleteChristy, thank you - there are still so many nectarines and other stone fruit available, I think I should bake this cake again, it is a nice recipe and I enjoyed making it.
Delete