Loquat Upside-Down Cake – Recipe

It's loquat season and suddenly I'm seeing these things everywhere. So of course I decided to make a cake out of them.

Loquats are also known as Japanese plums, although they're actually native to China. They don't have the same kind of stone as Western plums, as you can see:

But the texture and taste is quite similar to a plum, although maybe a little more acidic. They're tasty eaten raw on their own, and can also be stewed, baked, roasted etc. like Western plums.

There's no going wrong with upside-down cake. Want to make a regular pineapple one? Just substitute the loquats for pineapple slices in this recipe. Try any fruit, actually.

Ready? Let's go.


Ingredients for Loquat Layer:

50g unsalted butter, softened
50g light brown soft sugar
3 loquats, sliced into crescents

Ingredients for Sponge Layer:

115g unsalted butter, softened
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
115g self raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 7″ round cake pan with a little vegetable oil.

2. To make the loquat layer, stir the butter and sugar together until smooth and spread on the bottom of the pan. Arrange the loquat slices on top.

3. To make the sponge, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, and beat the eggs in. Stir in the flour until just combined, and pour over the loquats. Tap the tin on the counter to get rid of any large air bubbles, and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the cake is springy to touch.

4. Leave to cool until still a little warm but you can touch the tin, and turn the cake upside-down onto a serving plate. Serve warm or cold.

Enjoy, and have fun.