Chocolate Raspberry Upside-Down Cake

Recipe by: Martha Mathewson

“Reprinted from ML Plouff’s blog. It’s delicious.”

Ingredients:

Frosting:

  • 1/2 c heavy cream
  • 1/2 c seedless raspberry jam (note: apricot jam works well, too!)
  • 3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped or broken into pieces

Batter:

  • 1/2 c boiling water
  • 1/3 c plus 2 tsp cocoa powder (NOT Dutch process)
  • 1/4 c whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 c seedless raspberry jam
  • 1/4 lb, 1 stick, unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 c packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 c granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 c flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350˚F and generously butter a 9′ contour (rounded at the bottom edge) cake pan.

Prep the frosting: place the cream, jam, and chocolate in a 3-cup bowl or measuring cup. Microwave at 70% power for 2 min 30 seconds, until cream is hot. Whisk until smooth. (NOTE: of course you could do all this in a saucepan over low heat if you prefer.) Pour frosting into the buttered cake pan.

Prep for the batter: measure 1/2 c boiling water into a measuring cup, and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and jam; whisk again. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, and set the dry ingredients aside.

Make the batter: using an electric mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mix. Beat well after each addition.

Pour the batter evenly over the frosting, and bake in the center of the oven 45-50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean. The frosting on the bottom will still be liquid. Cool the cake in its pan on a rack at least 30 min.

NOTE: the cake may be made one day ahead of time, cooled completely and left in its pan, covered, at room temperature. To unmold: reheat the cake, uncovered, at 350˚ about 10 minutes.

Cake in the panWhen the cake has cooled, but the pan is still a bit warm, unmold the cake. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan, and twist pan gently back and forth on a flat surface to loosen the cake. Invert a plate with a slight lip over the pan, and flip the cake onto the plate. The frosting will cover the cake and run onto the plate. If a bit clings to the pan, just use a spatula and patch the top: no one will care, I promise. It will still taste fabulous.