strawberry rhubarb upside down cake

About a month ago I posed a question to some close friends on facebook as to what they would like to see here on the red spoon. I was given several makethisorIwilldie requests ranging from fancy pants grilled cheese to finger foods to poached pears to hot cross buns to meat pies to an ever loving  ode to macaroni and cheese then jumped to roasted asparagus and creme brulee and cupcakes or anything and everything containing dulce de leche. Really, this should have kept me busy for three months finding recipes and whipping them up and giving them (as promised) to the spoon’s fans, but I didn’t. I said to myself ehhh, I don’t want creme brulee (obviously I was sick in the head) or I can’t possibly make my favorite macaroni and cheese when it is about to be bathing suit season, it’s like asking to look frumpy in polka dots (again, when has this stopped me). But one suggestion intrigued me and almost immediately had me doing some research — a non-pie strawberry rhubarb dessert.

I mean, that is what you think of when you hear strawberry rhubarb — pie. Or you think of jam. Perhaps a crisp, but there must be other desserts out there that exploit the sweet/sour combination of strawberry rhubarb. So I did a bit of hunting, and wound up very disappointed with the results. Muffins, cobblers, bars, and scones, though not pie, still seemed like expected choices. I felt defeated, and took a break, for a week. Then I hopped on twitter to see if I could get a lesson on how not to be a tweetard who has no idea what to rant and ramble about. That is when Melissa Clark mentioned putting a rhubarb upside down cake in her oven and being loathe to part from the cakey batter.

But there was no link, so suggestion as to where she found/posted such a recipe and no word combination search would provide any such results on her blog or the New York Times, so I again was stuck. Which really means I gave up and forgot about it choosing to give into shortbread, bagels and sandwiches instead. But as with most things I just needed a little patience because within two weeks the recipe for the cake was up on her section A Good Appetite, and I knew immediately this was the dessert I need to make to not look like I totally ignored food requests for my friend. The fruit is dumped into a brown sugar butterscotch with a dense lemony sour cream cake dolloped on top, and people, my kitchen smelled like jam. I couldn’t resist opening my oven every few seconds to get a whiff of the sweet smell baking in my little oven. Then, I pulled it out and flipped it. The butterscotchy fruit and it’s juices dripped down the sides of the cake enveloping it in a sweet syrup that tasted like jam on thick pieces of pound cake. And, reluctantly, I gave a small sliver to my friend, only because I promised that I would. Though I will warn you now, not to make the mistake of promising to share. You won’t, and I won’t blame you.

One Year Ago: Balsamic Tomato Bruschetta

Strawberry Rhubarb Upside Down Cake
Adapted from Melissa Clark

Makes 1 9-inch cake

A few notes: Melissa uses a spring form pan, and though it worked I think this would almost work better with a regular 9-inch round cake pan. My spring form leaks like crazy and much of the butterscotch leaked out of the cake instead of soaking in. Next time I will butter and paper a regular pan to make sure I keep all those sweet flavors inside the cake rather than outside. Also I used about 1 1/2 pounds total of fruit, the original recipe called for 1 1/2 pounds of rhubarb, so I thought I would keep the amount the same, but think it may have been a bit much since strawberry slices are so much larger than rhubarb slices. I would dial back the strawberries (which also add a lot more juice and wetness to the cake than rhubarb alone) and do about 1/2 a pint of strawberries and 1/2 pound of rhubarb. I have rewritten the ingredients and directions to include these changes.

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, more to grease pans
1/2 pint strawberries, sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces
1/2 pound rhubarb, rinsed and sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 cups cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of 1 lemon, grated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Butter the paper and sides of the pan. Place it on a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, mix strawberries, rhubarb, cornstarch and 1/2 cup granulated sugar.

In a large bowl sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.

In a stand mixer beat 2 sticks of butter together for 2 minutes. With your fingers, blend the remaining 1 cup sugar with lemon zest until the mixture is uniform in color. Cream together with the butter at medium-high speed until it is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl halfway through. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the sour cream, then the lemon juice. (It’s O.K. if the mixture looks curdled.) With the mixer set to low speed, add the flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, until well combined. Scrape down the mixer bowl in between the additions.

Mix the brown sugar and 1/2 stick butter in a pan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes.

Pour the brown-sugar mixture into the prepared cake pan, then spoon in the strawberry and rhubarb slices discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl. Spoon in the batter so it covers all of the fruit. Smooth out the top.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the top of the cake is firm to touch and a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out without any large, moist crumbs.

Place the pan on a wire rack, and cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the cake, place a plate on top of the pan and turn it upside-down. Release the cake from the pan while still warm or else it will stick.