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    Home / Desserts / Cakes & Cupcakes
    5 from 1 review

    (Gluten-Free) Nectarine Plum Almond Upside-Down Cake

    By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on Sep 7, 2012 (updated Feb 3, 2020) / 17 Comments Jump to Recipe

    delicious nectarine plum upside down cake

    When I "graduated" from elementary school, our principal made a speech stating that by the time we young'uns made it into the work force, 50% of jobs would require the use of a computer. I assumed I would never fall into this category. The only thing computers were good for was playing Crystal Quest. I would never be caught dead working on a computer.

    halved nectarines

    Imagine my chagrin to find myself, 20 years later, the proud mama of an almost-three-year-old blog as my full time "job." (And I mean "job" not in the getting paid sense of the word, but rather that which takes up much of my energy.) Do I wish I'd taken a programming course or two instead of wasting my expensive college education on a less-than-useless art history degree? Why, yes I do.

    plums in a dish

    Luckily, I have bojon friends like Jocelyn, an early-retired techie who finds picking through Blogger's CSS code "fun" and is willing to do so in exchange for gluten- and cow's milk-free baked goods. She is my hero.

    butter in a pan

    You may have noticed some of Jocelyn's cosmetic changes to this site in the past week (and there will be more to come!) My first payment installment was a batch of chocolaty, rummy Congo Bars; the second is this cake. Both are gluten-free and, except for the butter, dairy-free.

    cake mix over fruit

    The recipe hails from Everyday Greens, one of the first cookbooks I bought for myself from the UCSC bookstore. When I should have been memorizing dates that I would instantly forget after I got my diploma, I was baking brown butter plum cakes, maple spice muffins, and this superb upside-down cake.

    cake mix being spread

    Fresh nectarines (and I added plums) nestle into a brandy and brown sugar caramel. A silky batter comprised of lots of butter and almond paste tops the fruit. The abundance of eggs and almond paste make this cake easy to de-glutenize; the result is absolutely indistinguishable from the original. People will think you are lying when you tell them that this cake contains neither gluten nor any starches or gums, but it is the case.

    You might expect a cake like this to be dense and heavy; not so. I used a combination of sticky rice and oat flours, and it baked up into the fluffiest, moistest upside-down cake I've ever eaten. The slightly floral almond flavor, which is distinct yet soft, complements the stone fruit, which are in the almond family, as evidenced by their almond-esque pits.

    side shot of nectarine plum upside down cake

    I like this cake even better the second day, when the cake has absorbed even more of the caramel and juices, though it is prettiest on the first. Feel free to trade the plums and nectarines for peaches, apricots or cherries, or even ripe pears. Serve it with a spot of crème fraîche or softly whipped cream if you like.

    slice of cake

    *Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this upside down cake recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

    top down shot of nectarine plum upside down cake
    5 from 1 review

    (Gluten-Free) Nectarine Plum Almond Upside-Down Cake

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    People will think you are lying when you tell them that this upside down cake contains neither gluten nor any starches or gums, but it is the case.
    Alanna Taylor-Tobin
    Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour
    Total: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 to 10 servings (makes one 9" cake).

    Ingredients

    The Topping:

    • 2 ounces unsalted butter (4 tablespoons, half a stick)
    • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
    • 1/4 cup brandy
    • big pinch salt
    • 2 medium nectarines, sliced into eighths
    • 2 large plums, sliced into eighths

    The cake:

    • 3/4 cup almond paste (6 3/4 ounces)
    • 6 ounces unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks, 12 tablespoons)
    • 3/4 cup sugar (preferably organic turbinado)
    • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
    • 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon oat flour (2 1/2 ounces)
    • 1/2 cup sticky rice flour (2 1/2 ounces)
    • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Get the party started:

    • Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºButter a 9" round cake pan and set aside.

    Make the topping:

    • In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the brown sugar and salt, cook until bubbling, then slowly add the brandy (it will flame up if you add it too quickly). Cook, whisking, until the caramel is bubbling thickly, 2-3 minutes. Pour the hot caramel into the greased pan. When the caramel has cooled (it will still be fairly liquid), arrange the plum and nectarine wedges in concentric circles, nestling them close together. Set aside while you...

    Make the cake batter:

    • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almond paste and butter until combined, scraping down the bowl and beater as needed. Add the sugar, and beat on medium until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition.
    • Sift the flours, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl, and add to the cake batter, beating until combined. (Since there is no gluten, you needn't worry about over-mixing the batter.) Scrape down the bowl and beater, give the batter a final fold with a spatula to make sure it is homogenous, then dollop the batter over the fruit and spread smooth.

    Bake the cake:

    • Bake until a tester inserted into just the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Immediately run a thin knife or small, off set spatula around the edge of the cake to loosen it. Place a large plate upside-down on top of the cake pan, put on your oven mitts, grasp both cake pan and plate firmly, and flip the whole thing over so that the cake is right-side-up. Remove the pan. Spackle any fruit or cake that got left behind back onto the cake. Let the cake cool for at least half an hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.
    • The cake is best within the first 2 days of being baked.

    Notes

    Adapted from Everyday Greens.
    If gluten isn't an issue, feel free to use all-purpose flour in place of the rice and oat flours. If gluten is an issue, be sure to use certified gluten-free flours. Sticky rice flour, sometimes called "sweet" or "glutinous," is available at most well-stocked grocers. I usually use Mochiko brand.
    This cake would be equally good with peaches, apricots, cherries, or even ripe pears. I used yellow nectarines and elephant heart plums here - you want 1 pound total of fruit that is ripe yet firm.
    Make sure your almond paste is fresh and soft so that it will incorporate into the butter.
    You can make this in a 10" oven-proof skillet if you like; the sides will be more rounded and the cake a bit more flat (a 9" skillet will likely be too small and result in escaped caramel, as a friend who made this in a 9" skillet discovered).
    All ounce measurements are by weight.
    Nutritional values are based on one of eight servings.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 565kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 7gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 143mgSodium: 118mgPotassium: 291mgFiber: 3gSugar: 44gVitamin A: 1000IUVitamin C: 3.5mgCalcium: 90mgIron: 1.3mg
    Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!
    overhead shot of nectarine plum upside down cake

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    the cover of the award-winning cookbook, Alternative Baker

    Hungry for more?

    Alternative Baker celebrates the unique tastes and textures of 14 gluten-free flours, from buckwheat flour to almond flour to sorghum and coconut! This cookbook will fill your kitchen with sweet treats that burst with flavor every month of the year.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

      Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe Cancel reply

      I love reading your comments, reviews, and questions! If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider giving it a star rating when you post a comment. These help people discover my recipes online. Thank you for your support and for being part of The Bojon Gourmet community!

      xo, Alanna

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      Rate this recipe after you've made it:




    1. Mini says

      September 08, 2012 at 11:16 pm

      I have a question. If I am trying to lower the overall sugar content--and by that I mean the additional sugar, not in the fruit itself--where would you start? It seems like the topping needs caramelized sugar, so maybe replace the sugar in the cake with unsweetened apple sauce or maybe use another sweetener like Grade B molasses?

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        September 09, 2012 at 6:58 am

        Hi Mini,

        Replacing sugar in cakes is particularly tricky as sugar adds moisture and tenderness as well as sweetness. You could certainly experiment with using applesauce; I'd be concerned that molasses' strong flavor might overpower the delicate almond and fruit flavors.

        If you're cool with unrefined sugar, you could try either maple sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, or unrefined cane sugar.

        Another option would be to omit the topping altogether and bake the cake right-side-up, with the fruit on top. (You could decrease the sugar in the cake a bit and replace it with the brandy from the topping.)

        Let us know what you end up trying! Happy baking. : )

        Reply
    2. Robyn Fuoco says

      September 09, 2012 at 5:55 pm

      Mmmmm, thanks Alanna, this looks amazing! I love anything with almond paste. Must try this while stone fruits are still in season.

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        September 10, 2012 at 7:45 pm

        Yeah, do it!

        Reply
    3. rcakewalk says

      September 10, 2012 at 2:38 pm

      Gorgeous, as always... and lucky you to have a techie friend to swap with. I need to find one of those! One of my favorite cakes this time of year is Dorie's dimply plum cake, which isn't upside down per se, but appears to be. I may make this for the weekend, to keep in my GF groove.

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        September 10, 2012 at 7:51 pm

        Yes, I'm totally lucky!

        Your dimply plum cake looks fantastic - love the big chunks of plums, and it does look like an upside-down cake. Can't wait to give it a try!

        Reply
    4. Kelly Harms says

      October 22, 2012 at 3:17 am

      Just made this (for the second time) for my daughter's 23rd birthday. I used apples this time (with just a hint of cinnamon) -- It was wonderful with some sweetened whipped cream. Like a grown-up caramel apple!

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        October 22, 2012 at 5:49 am

        Brilliant variation! Definitely have to try it. I bet pears would be good, too. Thank you so much for the inspiring comment!

        Reply
    5. Ksenia says

      August 11, 2016 at 3:09 pm

      If one doesn't have any oat flour on hand, what can you substitute that with? I read online that you could substitute with white rice flour. Is this true?

      Also what a beautiful post! Can't wait to try making this.

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        August 11, 2016 at 5:05 pm

        Hi Ksenia, You could definitely try white rice flour! The texture may change a bit, but I think it should work here. Otherwise any GF AP blend would probably do the trick since this particular cake is quite forgiving. LMK how it goes if you give it a try!

        Reply
      • Margaret says

        August 13, 2016 at 11:38 am

        Hi Ksenia,

        If you have gluten-free oats at home (the slow-cooking kind), you can always grind it in your food processor until it has the consistency of flour. If not, try quinoa flour or even amaranth. I've had lots of success using quinoa flour in cake recipes. The texture is very moist and there's no weird taste or grainy texture. I prefer it to using rice flour of any kind. Just as a side note, all rice flours are highly glycemic (they raise your blood sugar) which is why I prefer to use as many alternatives to that as possible. Good luck :-)

        Reply
    6. Jillian says

      September 06, 2017 at 9:07 pm

      Can I substitute anything for the sticky rice flour? The grocery stores near me don't carry that kind of flour, nor the rice!

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        September 06, 2017 at 11:17 pm

        Hi Jillian, No worries – I think any GF all-purpose blend should work, especially Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 which is based on sweet rice flour. This cake is quite forgiving. Please let me know if you give it a go!

        Reply
    7. Ashlyn says

      September 21, 2020 at 5:11 pm

      Hi! I don’t happen to have any Brandy on hand. Anything I could substitute? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        September 27, 2020 at 2:53 pm

        Definitely! You could use another spirit such as whiskey, bourbon, or a dark or gold rum. Or you could use some black tea. Let me know if you try the recipe, it's one of my all-time favorites. :)

        Reply
    8. alicia says

      August 13, 2022 at 3:08 am

      hello ! thanks for the lovely recipe, as always. i was wondering about two things: what do you think about baking the nectarines into the cake instead of making it an upside down cake ? second, i’m making this for a small gathering and how one of my friend’s is allergic to nuts. any substitute for the almond paste ? or just omit it ? thanks so much in advance !

      Reply
      • Alanna Taylor-Tobin says

        August 18, 2022 at 5:17 pm

        Hi Alicia!

        Oh yeah, you could totally bake a right-side-up cake by putting the fruit on top.

        The almond paste is sort of essential for this formula, however this cake base is nut-free and would work really well for what you're after. Please let me know if you try it!

        Reply

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