This cherry upside-down cake nestles fresh sweet cherries into a sticky brown sugar caramel with a lightly textured almond cake batter baked into it. This delicious summer cake packs in flavor, texture, and has a beautiful fruit layer on top after being flipped.
It's perfect to eat as is or with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
Upside-down cakes are a wonderful way to use seasonal fruit, as they really become the star of the show (like in this fig upside down cake)!
This cherry cake uses one of my favorite vanilla almond cake bases - the same one used in this coconut almond cake and honey almond cake!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Impressive cherry dessert - Perfect for cherry season, the array of cherries combined with the caramel create a stunning color and pattern after the cake it flipped that will have your guests in awe!
Elevated flavors - The cherry juices bake into the buttery caramel and soak into the almond-flavored cake batter. It's sweet, tart, nutty, caramelized, and buttery all at the same time and goes perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Simple - this easy cherry cake uses a quick caramel sauce, fresh cherries, and a quick almond cake batter. A majority of the ingredients are pantry staples that you probably already have on hand!
Ingredients
- Cherries. Use any variety of sweet cherries you'd like. Fresh cherries keep their structure best during baking and will look nicest in the final bake, but frozen cherries can be used in a pinch.
- Almond flour. Finely ground almond flour (not almond meal) gives this cake a light texture and keeps the cake moist.
- Brown sugar. Both dark brown sugar and light brown sugar are used in this recipe. The dark brown sugar helps give the cherries a darker, more vibrant color once turned out.
- Almond extract. This helps bring out the almond flavor in the cake, and pairs perfectly with the cherries.
- Sliced almonds. I love to garnish this cake with toasted sliced almonds for extra almond flavor and crunchy texture.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use Bob's Red Mill 1-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour to make this upside down cake totally gluten-free.
- Add 1oz amaretto to the cake batter in place of almond extract for a slightly boozy version.
- Use fresh or frozen cherries (pitted). I find that fresh cherries make for best looking cake because they keep their structure better.
- Use sour cherries for a less sweet version of the cake.
- Add 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to caramel sauce for a chocolate cherry version.
How to Pit Cherries without a Pitter
Before caving in and buying a cherry pitter, I found what I considered the best method to pit cherries without a pitter (video).
Using a bottle or small vase that's slightly smaller than a cherry, add the cherry into the opening, then use a metal straw to forcefully push down into the center of the cherry to push the pit out.
This is a rather messy method, but it definitely does the trick. But...just do yourself and buy a cherry pitter. It's worth it, I promise.
How to Make This Recipe
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One: Heat the butter and dark brown sugar until melted.
Two: Add the caramel to the pan, then place halved cherries into the pan cut side down.
Hot tip! Stuff in as many cherries as you possibly can! This creates the best effect after baking.
Three: Cream together the butter and sugars.
Four: Beat in the whisked eggs and extracts.
Five: Add the flour and leaveners and mix until mostly combined.
Six: Fold in the almond flour until completely combined. Set aside.
Seven: Add the cake batter in a few dollops on top of the cherries and spread evenly to meet the edges.
Eight: Bake, cool for 5-10 minutes, run a knife around the edges, then flip the cake out onto a platter (use oven mitts!).
Expert Tips
- Shove in as many cherry halves as you can into the bottom of the pan. Having too much space in between allows the cake to bake through and you lose the beautiful fruit pattern.
- Don't over mix the batter or else it can lead to a gummy final texture.
- Run an offset spatula around edges of the pan directly after baking (before flipping the pan) to remove any stuck pieces on the sides. This will ensure a clean removal of the cake during the flipping process.
- Flip the cake quickly (just go for it!) then tap the top of the pan a few times before pulling the pan straight up.
- Be sure the cake is fully baked or else the middle will sink. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to check for doneness. It should come out clean with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter.
Recipe FAQs
Wait 5-10 minutes, then flip so the topping is still warm and doesn't stick to the pan. Use protective mitts because pan will still be quite hot.
As fruit bakes into the cake, that portion may be a bit soggy, but will dry up slightly after flipped and will help keep the cake moist.
Do not use cherry pie filling in this recipe. The canned filling includes a lot of extra liquid, which can affect the baking process and final outcome.
Storage
Store the cake very lightly covered, still allowing some air to get in, at room temperature for 3 days.
To freeze the cake, allow it to cool fully, then wrap the cake or slices tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and freeze for up to three months.
Unwrap the cake completely and thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
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What to Know When Cooking with The Cozy Plum
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
- If you'd like to make the recipe in a different pan, use the pan size converter.
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📖Recipe
Sweet Cherry Upside Down Cake
Equipment
- 9" cake pan
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer
Ingredients
- 12 oz sweet cherries fresh, pitted and halved
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature, whisked
- 1 cup almond flour finely ground
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds toasted, for garnish
Instructions
- Pit the cherries and cut them all in half.12 oz sweet cherries
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃.
- Melt the butter and dark brown sugar in a saucepan over medium low heat and stir until melted.½ cup dark brown sugar, ¼ cup unsalted butter
- Pour the caramel into the cake pan, then add the cherries cut side down evenly onto the bottom of the pan, squeezing in as many as possible. Add any leftover on top of the cut cherries.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed for 4 minutes until light and fluffy.1 cup unsalted butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar
- Scrape down the sides, then with the mixer on low, add the vanilla, almond extract, and slowly pour in the whisked eggs. Increase to medium speed for 30 seconds, then scrape down the sides again.2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, 3 large eggs
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until almost combined, then fold in the almond flour by hand with a rubber spatula until a smooth batter forms.1 cup almond flour
- Add the cake batter in dollops on top of the cherries and gently spread it to meet the edges.
- Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes until the center is no longer jiggly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out* onto a serving platter. Serve the cake slices with fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and toasted sliced almonds.⅓ cup sliced almonds
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