With a caramelized topping, moist and tender crumb, and rum-soaked dried fruit, this upside-down plum and pear cake is packed with flavour. There are a couple of extra steps needed here for this showstopper cake but it's well worth it! If you like the idea of fruitcake but hate the stodgy reality, this has many of the same cozy flavours but with a nice light texture (and plenty of fresh fruit).
For more late summer bakes, try our sweet cherry peach crisp, make a French plum cake, or stick with the upside-down theme with a purely plum upside-down cake.
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Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Rum: use either dark rum or spiced rum, both are great.
- Cinnamon stick: swap in other whole spices if you'd like – whole cardamom, star anise, or cloves are all nice.
- Plums and pears: most fresh fruit will work in this recipe in place of the plums and peaches. You could try apples, peaches, or even fresh berries.
- Sugar: try substituting brown sugar for half of the white sugar in the cake batter if you'd like a more caramel-like cake.
- Dried fruit: pictured are cranberries and currants, but you could use raisins or any other dried fruit you like. We don't recommend something like mango, but anything similar to raisins will be good.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Method
Step 1: add the dried fruit, rum, and cinnamon stick to a saucepan, and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 2: cover the bottom of the cake pan with the brown sugar and soaked fruit.
Step 3: top with an arrangement of the sliced plums and pears.
Step 4: mix the dry ingredients.
Step 5: cream the butter and sugar, mix in the eggs, then add the dry ingredients.
Step 6: spoon the cake batter into the pan and carefully smooth it out.
Step 7: bake until golden, about 45 minutes.
Step 8: cool for 15 minutes before flipping, then cool fully before slicing and serving.
Top Tips
- Keep the rum: use the leftover rum in eggnog, or an autumn-spiced rum and cola! You could also pour it over the top of the cake as a cake soak after flipping it upside down onto the platter.
- Reduce the sugar: you can reduce the amount of sugar by up to half if you'd like a less-sweet cake, but note that the texture will be a little dry (so you might want to use the cake soak).
- Use room temperature ingredients: cold eggs in particular can cause the batter to split. While this isn't a huge deal and the cake can still turn out fine, you will have the best texture if everything is at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Try serving with plain ice cream, Chantilly cream, or a thick unsweetened yogurt, depending on if you'd like more or less sweetness. It is a fairly sweet cake with the brown sugar in the topping.
Bosc and Anjou pears are both ideal for this recipe, as they hold their shape nicely after baking. Don't worry if you can't get those types, or if the variety isn't specified at all, any pear will do the trick. Standard round plums are good - make sure they're not too ripe and soft - but prune plums are good too (though slightly less pretty).
Keep in mind that the dried fruit needs to soak for an hour in the rum, so be sure to leave yourself time, or prep that the day before.
How to Store
Storage: keep the cake in a sealed container at room temperature for a day or two, but note that the fruit spoils quickly if your home is warm. Refrigerate for 3-4 days.
Freezing: transfer the fully cooled cake, or individual slices, to an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
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Upside Down Plum and Pear Cake
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Small saucepan
- 9-inch cake pan 23cm
- Electric hand or standing mixer
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- ½ cup dark rum
- ½ cup dried fruit, like cranberries and raisins
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 medium pears
- 2 medium plums
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the rum, dried fruit, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan on the stove top.½ cup dark rum, ½ cup dried fruit, 1 whole cinnamon stick
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat and gently cook until the fruit softens, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let the fruit sit in the rum for one hour to soak.
- Drain the fruit and set the rum aside for another use (it’s fantastic in eggnog!).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and lightly grease a 9-inch (23-cm) cake pan with butter.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan. Scatter the rum-soaked dried fruit in a single layer over the sugar.½ cup brown sugar
- Arrange the sliced pears and plums on top of the dried fruit in any pattern you like. Set aside.3 medium pears, 2 medium plums
- Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light, fluffy, and pale, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.1 cup sugar, ½ cup butter, 2 large eggs
- Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined.
- Add the milk and vanilla, mix well, then add the remaining flour and mix until just combined.½ cup whole milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Carefully spoon the cake batter evenly over the layers of fruit.
- Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before carefully flipping it over onto a serving platter. Cool fully before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Keep the rum: use the leftover rum in eggnog, or an autumn-spiced rum and cola! You could also pour it over the top of the cake as a cake soak after flipping it upside down onto the platter.
- Reduce the sugar: you can reduce the amount of sugar by up to half if you'd like a less-sweet cake, but note that the texture will be a little dry (so you might want to use the cake soak).
- Use room temperature ingredients: cold eggs in particular can cause the batter to split. While this isn't a huge deal and the cake can still turn out fine, you will have the best texture if everything is at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided as a courtesy. For precise nutritional data, please calculate it independently using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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