web analytics

Little Blueberry Upside-Down Cakes

Little Blueberry Upside-Down Cakes

For some reason, I don’t think about making upside down cakes too often. It seems to occur to me more just to mix-in whatever fruit I’m thinking about pairing with the cake. But upside down cakes are easy to make and have a lot going for them. They tend to be moist and they really put the fruit flavors front and center in the cake. On top of that – literally! – the cakes never need any frosting because they come out of the oven with their topping all ready to go!

These are mini blueberry upside down cakes, baked in a muffin pan for single-serving portions of cake. I like them because they look cute and they take very little time to bake. They actually look like muffins as they are cooking, with tops rising up above the pan into a nice dome, but they flatten out a bit into more of a cake-like look once they cool down. They also don’t taste quite like muffins, as they are much more cake-like. The cakes are soft and fluffy, more tender and light than a muffin might be. They are not too sweet at all and with a mild flavor of butter and brown sugar. It was nice to have that brown sugar to give the cake a little more depth than a plain white cake would have.

These unmolded easily, and the berries did not stick to the pan. This is another advantage of doing mini cakes because, even though the berries turn out to be sweet and jammy, they didn’t turn into a stick-to-the-pan caramel. These can be served served slightly warm or at room temperature, and are delicious with a dusting of powdered sugar if you want to dress them up a bit.

Little Blueberry Upside-Down Cakes
6 tbsp sugar
3/4-1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease, with butter or oil, 6 muffin cups (6 from a 12-cup pan).
Place 1 tbsp sugar in each greased cup. Add about 2 tbsp blueberries to each cup, making sure that the bottom of each cup is well covered with berries.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, egg and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and whisk until everything is well-combined and no streaks of flour remain. Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each to the top.
Tap pan firmly on the counter several times to knock out some of the air bubbles and ensure that the batter gets down between the blueberries.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached.
Cool cakes in pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and turn them out onto a wire rack to cool before serving.

Makes 6 cakes.

Share this article

17 Comments
  • Steph
    June 15, 2009

    These look delish!! I’ve never made upside down cakes before… I think these are worth trying!

  • CaSaundra
    June 15, 2009

    These are a total summery looking treat! Upside down or right side up, they look worth trying out to me!

  • Baking Monster
    June 15, 2009

    These are stunning!

  • Grace
    June 15, 2009

    I love everything come with blueberries. This upside down cake really inspiring me. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will try it once I get some blueberries. Cheers!

  • wedding
    June 16, 2009

    Looks delicious! I am compiling baking recipes in my computer and adding every now and then recipes like this so that I can serve variety to my family. My daughter love the toppings that I prepared for her during snack time. I’m following this site for new updates.

  • Kelly
    June 16, 2009

    These are such a great idea! Can’t wait to make them for a cookout this weekend. Do you think frozen blueberries would work or would things get too watery? Thanks!!

  • Nicole
    June 16, 2009

    Kelly – I’d try defrosting and draining them so you don’t get too much liquid down at the bottom of the cake.

  • Kim Walker
    June 17, 2009

    This looks so cute. Do you think raspberries would work?

  • Nicole
    June 17, 2009

    Kim – Yes, I think they would work well in this recipe.

  • Sue H
    June 18, 2009

    I made these last night – de-lish!! Of course I didn’t have all the ingredients so had to improvise. Used sour milk (milk & vinegar) for the buttermilk. Perhaps that was why mine really rose over the tops of the muffin cups. But they were wonderful. Thanks for the recipe.

  • Josh, Great Chefs
    June 20, 2009

    Those are pretty nifty little cakes. There’d be no trouble in substituting the blueberries for other berries, would there? I have a mind for strawberries at the moment.

  • Nicole
    June 20, 2009

    Josh – It will work with other berries, but I’m not sure that strawberries will be the best choice. They can give off a lot of moisture and even really good ones can lose their color during baking (ending up looking pinkish). I’m not saying that it won’t work or it won’t be tasty, but I think there is a possibility that they might not look quite as cute as a blueberry or rasperry version.

  • Ashley
    June 21, 2009

    These are adorable! The blueberries look like they’re the perfect consistency – yum!

  • kuchynske studio
    July 31, 2009

    I love blueberries. And I love this cake 🙂

  • Adirec Torytski
    August 27, 2009

    I always loved upside down cakes, these little upside down versions look great and I think they would be a great hit with kids.
    Cheers
    Adirec

  • mavi koltuk
    May 2, 2010

    This is a great WordPress Blog. What theme are you using?

  • […] Little Blueberry Upside Down Cakes have blue covered, with a layer of juicy berries on top. These are like cupcakes, with berries instead of the frosting. They’re great for serving a crowd since each is a single-serving and can eaten by hand. […]

What do you think?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *