Pluot-blueberry upside-down cake

Butter, unsalted	3 tablespoons + ½ cup
Sugar, light brown	¾ cup
Blueberries	6 ounces
Pluots, halved, pitted, cut into ½-inch slices	1 pound
Flour, all-purpose	1 ½ cups
Baking powder	1 ½ teaspoons
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Sugar, granulated	¾ cup
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
Eggs, room temperature	2 large
Mile, whole, room temperature	½ cup

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. To make the topping, in a 9-inch round cake pan or a cast-iron skillet, melt 3-tablespoons butter over low heat. 
3. Add the brown sugar, and stir until thoroughly moistened; remove from heat, and let cool briefly. 
4. Distribute half of the blueberries evenly over the brown sugar mixture. 
5. Arrange the pluot slices over the blueberries in overlapping concentric circles. 
6. Strew the remaining blueberries on top of the pluots; set aside. 
7. To make the cake, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
8. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together ½-cup butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. 
9. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating until completely incorporated. 
10. Gradually mix in half of the flour mixture. 
11. Stir in the milk, followed by the rest of the flour mixture, and mix until combined. 
12. Scrape the batter on top of the fruit, and smooth it into an even layer. 
13. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. 
14. Let cool for 15 minutes. 
15. Run a knife around the sides of the cake to help loosen it from the pan. 
16. Invert a serving plate over the pan. 
17. Wearing oven mitts, grasp both the pan and the plate, and turn them over together. 
18. Carefully lift the pan. 
19. Serve the cake warm with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Recipe mildly adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz.

Pluot upside-down cake

Pluots
Sugar	¾ cup
Water	1/3 cup
Butter, softened	2 tablespoons
Pluots, pitted, cut into ½-inch-thick wedges	1 ½ pounds
Cake
Crème fraîche	½ cup
Milk, whole	2 tablespoons
Vanilla extract	2 teaspoons
Flour, all purpose	1 ½ cups
Sugar	2/3 cup
Baking powder	1 teaspoon
Baking soda	½ teaspoon
Salt	½ teaspoon
Butter, unsalted, softened	¾ cup
Eggs, beaten	2 large
Cream, whipped

1. Preheat to 350°F. 
2. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water, and bring to a boil without stirring. 
3. Cook over high heat, washing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush, until an amber-colored caramel forms, about 5 to 7 minutes. 
4. Remove from heat, and whisk in the butter. 
5. Immediately pour the caramel into a 9-by-2-inch metal cake pan. 
6. Carefully arrange the plout wedges in the caramel in concentric circles. 
7. In a small bowl, whisk the crème fraîche with the milk and vanilla. 
8. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
9. At low speed, beat in the butter until the mixture resembles moist crumbs, about 30 seconds. 
10. Beat in the eggs at low speed until incorporated, then beat the batter at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute; scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
11. At medium speed, beat in the crème fraîche mixture until smooth, about 30 seconds. 
12. Scrape the batter over the pluots and gently spread in an even layer. 
13. Bake the cake in the center of the oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until golden and springy. 
14. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then invert the cake onto a serving plate. 
15. Cut into wedges, and serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream. 

Recipe adapted from Food&Wine Magazine, August 2015