Strawberry Upside-down Cake with Cardamom

I thought upside down was one word.  I was wrong.

You knew it wasn’t one word.  You’re smarter than me.

Let’s learn a lesson… because I just learned it, and I want to share it with you.

Upside down is two words when you write something like “Oh crap… that pie just landed on the floor upside down!”  Adverb nation.  Wait… right?

Upside-down is hyphenated when it’s used as an adjective like, “Oh crap…  Joy is totally obsessed with strawberries right now, and that Strawberry Upside-down Cake looks major.”  Upside-down describes the cake… working overtime in adjective land.

… And this… this is why I’m not an English teacher.

Class dismissed.

I shoved this cake in my mouth on Sunday morning as I was rushing off to church.

I wasn’t late.

Ok… I wasn’t that late.

My point is that this cake is super easy to throw together on a Sunday morning.

And!  It’s best eaten warm (when you’re in a hurry).

The cake batter is a simple brown sugar and sour cream cake.   It’s sweet and moist, with a delicate but sturdy crumb.  How’s that for food words?

Easy, uncomplicated, summer weekend dessert.

If you wanted to experiment with other berries for this recipe, I’d totally support you!

Strawberry Upside-down Cake with Cardamom

makes: one 8-inch cake

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For the Topping:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup sliced strawberries

For the Cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

2/3 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

I used an 8-inch round with 3-inch tall sides.  You can also use a 9-inch round with 2-inch sides.

Place butter in the cake pan and place in the oven.  When butter is melted, remove pan from the oven.  Using two pot holders, tilt the pan around and around, coating the sides of the pan with butter.  Once sides are coated, set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed.  Cream until slightly pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Stop mixer, scrape down the bowl with a spatula, and add egg and vanilla extract.  Beat for 1 minute.

Turn the mixer off, scrape the bowl, and add the dry ingredients.  Beat on low speed while adding the sour cream.  Beat until the batter just comes together.  Batter will be pretty thick.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and finish incorporating ingredients with a spatula.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup brown sugar into the melted butter in the cake pan.  Sprinkle strawberry slices over the butter and sugar in a single layer.  Spoon batter over the strawberries and spread evenly with a spatula.  Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cake rest for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the cake and inverting the cake onto a cake plate.  Serve warm with sweetened sour or whipped cream.