Upside Down Grapefruit Cake Recipes

GRAPEFRUIT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put 4 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round baking pan. Place the pan in the oven just long enough to melt the butter. Remove pan from oven; scatter 1/2 cup brown sugar evenly over the melted butter. With a sharp knife, peel the grapefruit, removing all pith, and slice. Arrange the slices to cover the bottom of the pan. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and allspice. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat remaining 6 tablespoons butter until creamy. Add granulated sugar and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar; beat until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to butter mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Pour batter over grapefruit in pan. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; turn cake out onto serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream if desired. cook's notes Upside-down cake doesn't have to be made with pineapple. Grapefruit, which pairs well with brown sugar and warm spices, such as cinnamon, ginger, and allspice, gives a bittersweet flavor to this rendition of a down-home classic.

GRAPEFRUIT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 4 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round baking pan. Place the pan in the oven just long enough to melt the butter. Remove pan from oven; scatter 1/2 cup brown sugar evenly over the melted butter.
• With a sharp knife, peel the grapefruit, removing all pith, and slice. Arrange the slices to cover the bottom of the pan.
• In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and allspice. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat remaining 6 tablespoons butter until creamy. Add granulated sugar and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar; beat until well combined. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to butter mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
• Pour batter over grapefruit in pan. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; turn cake out onto serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature, with whipped cream if desired.

GRAPEFRUIT UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. To segment the grapefruit, slice off the top and bottom to expose the flesh. Stand the fruit on a flat end. Using a sharp knife to follow the curves of the sides, cut off the peel down to the flesh. Holding the fruit over a bowl, cut the segments free of the membrane on each side. Drain segments well; pat dry with paper towel.

UPSIDE-DOWN CITRUS CAKE

Steps:

• For the topping: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Use a fine grater to zest 1 teaspoon zest from each of the citruses (for a total of 1 tablespoon zest). Reserve the zest for the cake.
• Cut the top and bottom off of each citrus and place them with a flat side on the cutting board. Then, following the curve of the fruit, use a sharp knife to cut off the peels and as much of the white pith as possible. Slice the fruit crosswise into 1/4-inch thick rounds; carefully remove any seeds.
• Combine the butter and sugars in a small saucepan and warm over medium-low heat until melted. Pour into the prepared cake pan and spread evenly. Top with the citrus rounds so that they fit very snugly and are slightly overlapping (you may not use every slice). Drizzle with the orange liqueur, if using.
• For the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Put the butter, sugar and reserved zest in another bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour; mix until just combined.
• Pour the cake batter over the citrus and bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center just comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake and let it cool for 15 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a platter, replacing any citrus that may have stuck to the pan. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

BACKYARD CITRUS UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line it with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Remove the pan from the heat and add ½ cup of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk the mixture until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is glossy and thickened a little. Pour the melted butter and sugar into the prepared cake pan and smooth into an even layer to cover the bottom. Place the cake pan in the freezer until the butter and sugar layer freezes; leave the pan in the freezer until you are ready to transfer the batter to the pan.
• In a small bowl, gently toss the lemon slices with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Leave the lemon slices in the sugar to macerate for 10 minutes.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Set aside. Combine the eggs with the olive oil in another large bowl and beat vigorously with a whisk until well combined. Add the yogurt and sugar. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the wet mixture in three additions, folding in each addition until no dry bits of flour remain. Set aside.
• Fan the lemon slices out to cover the melted butter and sugar in the cake pan, overlapping the slices by as much as 1⁄8 inch. Pour the cake batter directly on top of the lemon slices.
• Bake for about 1 hour, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and carefully remove the parchment-paper lining. Allow the cake to cool for 1 hour more before serving.
• Note: This cake can be made with nearly any citrus, my favorite being lemon because I like it to be bitter and tart. The only citrus I would not use is raw grapefruit, oro blanco, or lime. The rinds of grapefruit and oro blanco are much thicker than lemons and oranges and they will take longer to bake. Lime and grapefruit also retain too much of the bitter quinine flavor and will make for an odd-tasting cake

BLUEBERRY-GRAPEFRUIT UPSIDE-DOWN CAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place 1 small piece of butter in each of 24 ungreased muffin cups; place pan in oven until butter is melted. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Arrange blueberries on brown sugar.
• Add enough water to grapefruit juice to measure 1 cup. Make cake mix as directed on box, using oil and eggs, substituting grapefruit juice mixture for the water and adding grapefruit peel. Pour batter over blueberries, filling each cup three-fourths full.
• Bake 17 to 22 minutes (20 to 25 minutes for dark or nonstick pan) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately run small knife or metal spatula around side of each cake to loosen.
• Cool on cooling rack 15 minutes; run knife around sides of cakes again. Place heatproof serving plate upside down over pan; turn plate and pan over. Let stand 5 minutes so topping drizzles over cakes; remove pan. Cool 30 minutes.
• Serve cakes warm or cool with a dollop of whipped topping and sprinkle of cinnamon. Store covered in refrigerator.