Browned butter peach upside-down cake
Instructions:
- Topping:
- 6 tablespoons butter;
- 3⁄4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar;
- 1 pound peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/3-inchthick wedges.
- Cake:
- 11⁄2 cups all-purpose flour;
- 2 teaspoons baking powder;
- 1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt;
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon;
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cardamom;
- 4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) butter, at room temperature;
- 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar;
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature;
- 1⁄2 cup milk;
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract;
- 2 tablespoons bourbon or additional milk.
- For the topping:
- Melt the butter in a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Cook the butter until it is lightly browned and smells nutty and toasted, about 5 minutes. Immediately add the brown sugar and stir until smooth.
- Carefully arrange the peaches in concentric circles in the butter mixture. It’s okay if the peaches touch, but don’t pack them in - you might have a few wedges left over. Set the skillet aside.
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a medium bowl.
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy in a large bowl with an electric mixer set to high speed. With the mixer running, slowly add the granulated sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in half of the flour mixture. Beat in the milk, vanilla, and bourbon. Add the rest of the flour mixture and beat for 2 minutes, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter over the topping mixture in the skillet, spreading the batter evenly to the edges of the skillet.
- Bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched lightly in the center, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the skillet on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- With oven mitts, carefully turn out the warm cake onto a serving plate. (Place the plate over the skillet and then flip them over together. Be brave and confident but careful.) Gently pry loose any peaches that stuck to the skillet and put them back on the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- What else works? You can use pears or apples in place of the peaches.