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STOP! Before you hit ‘Jump to Recipe’ check ‘Skip to the Good Bit‘ below. I may answer a query you have about this recipe.
Introducing my Gluten Free Plum Upside Down Cake Recipe. But hold the press! This is not only gluten free but also dairy and egg free too. Of course you may not need a ‘vegan’ version so fear not because I have tips on how to make this egg-filled too if you wish, so read on if that’s you.
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- What plums should I use for this upside down cake?
- How to prepare the plums
- When are plums in season?
- Can I make this plum cake with egg and dairy?
- How to make a no-fail upside down cake?
- Soggy bottom upside down cakes!
- Ingredients you will need
- Equipment you will need
- Some other fruity gluten free recipe ideas
- Gluten Free Plum Upside Down Cake Recipe
What plums should I use for this upside down cake?
Quick answer – any plum will do for this recipe. I have my own Victoria plum tree at home, it’s still only a baby tree but its branches bow heavily at this time of the year with delicious fruit. If you have a huge harvest of your own or have been gifted a bag and find yourself thinking ‘what can I do with a lot of plums?’ then this is an easy, quick and safe-for-most recipe.
How to prepare the plums
Very little needs to be done to prep the plums for this upside down cake. I simply wash the plums, carefully score them lengthways with a peeling knife and twist the two halves apart. If the plums are perfectly ripe you should be able to pick the stone out with ease. That’s it. Just make sure you have enough plum halves to line the base of the 20cm cake tin.
When are plums in season?
Typically, here in the UK, plums are in season in August with maybe a few stragglers ripening into early September. This is not true of the Mirabelle Plum however. This tiny little round plum family ripen earlier throughout July.
Can I make this plum cake with egg and dairy?
To make this plum upside down cake essentially vegan, as well as gluten free, I’ve had to make a few tweaks to a standard gluten free sponge. As a result, simply adding an egg or two wouldn’t necessarily work.
I have developed another upside down cake that does have egg in it that you may like to try. Simply make that sponge batter and pour over your arranged plums. Gluten Free Rhubarb and Apple Upside Down Cake
How to make a no-fail upside down cake?
The key to the perfect upside down cake is preparation. I line the bottom of the cake tin (ideally a loose bottom tin) with baking paper and brush the side of the tin with a bit of the melted ‘butter’.
The other thing to consider is the type of fruit you use for the bottom/top of the cake. Some fruits hold more natural water than others so bear this in mind or else you may end up with an overly soggy bottom (more about that further down).
Plums are naturally high in water content, I should know, my tree is very thirsty and constantly needs watering!
The final thing to remember is that the bottom of your cake will become the top. So bear this in mind when you decorate the bottom of your lined cake tin. For example, I arranged my plums with the stone side down. You may wish to do the opposite and arrange yours so that the colourful skin side will be visible when you turn the cake out – there is not right or wrong answer to this. That said, my way works better for area coverage.
The top tip I can give you is the closer the fruit is, i.e. less gaps, the more dramatic your cake will look when you turn it out.
Soggy bottom upside down cakes!
Some like it soggy, others not so much! If you find that your upside down cake has turned out too soggy it could be that the fruit was super ripe and the flesh had started to break down making the fruit juicier.
As this recipe uses juicy plums you will be more prone to a soggier resulting cake. As mentioned above I’m constantly having to water my tree so they have a natural high water content.
Another contributing fact to a soggy upside down cake could be down to the cake simply sweating a bit while it cooled in the tin.
If you’re not a fan of soggy bottoms (or in this case tops) then do what I do – grill it!
The images below show this particular upside down cake before and after I have grilled it. To be fair, it wasn’t overly soggy but I still did it for demonstration purposes.
This was carefully placed on a baking sheet and under a preheated grill for 2 minutes. As you can see the cake has gone a warmer golden colour and any little soggy patches have pretty much disappeared.
Good news! It won’t dry the cake itself out so don’t worry if you do want to try this little trick.
Ingredients you will need
- ripe plums
- gluten free self raising flour
- caster sugar
- dairy free butter
- dairy free milk
- lemon juice
- vanilla extract
Equipment you will need
Some other fruity gluten free recipe ideas
Gluten Free Plum Upside Down Cake Recipe
If you make it and like the recipe I would be eternally grateful if you popped back and commented leaving a star rating as this will tell search engines that this recipe is worth checking out and others will get to find it in searches.
Gluten Free Plum Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 10 ripe plums amount will vary depending on the size of your plums
- 130 g gluten free self raising flour
- 130 g caster sugar
- 75 g dairy free butter, melted allow to cool slightly
- 130 ml dairy free milk I use soya milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice you could use apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a loose bottom cake tin with a circle of baking paper and grease the sides.
- Carefully score each plum lengthways and twist to reveal the stone. This can be pinched out with your finger and thumb.TOP TIP: arranging the fruit with less gaps will achieve a better looking cake once turned out. Also remember the bottom of the cake will be the top so face the plums stone-side down first.
- In a large bowl beat the dairy free milk, flour and caster sugar until thick and creamy, next add the melted (cooled) butter and vanilla extract.
- Finally add the lemon juice and whisk into a thick silky cake batter. You will see the acid reacting with the baking agents to create little bubbles of air, try to keep as many of these as possible.
- Pour the cake batter over the arranged plums.
- Bake in the oven at 170°C | 150°C Fan | 325°F | Gas 3 for 40 mins.
- Loosen from the edges and allow to cool totally before turning out upside down onto a plate.
Soggy Bottom?
- If you're not a fan of soggy cakes, then pop the unturned cake under a hot grill for 1-2 minutes to toast it a little. This also adds a lovely warm colour to the cake.
Nutrition
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