Peach Upside-Down Cake

Step 1

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2

Make the topping: In an oven-safe 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, lemon juice and salt, and whisk until the brown sugar melts, 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 3

Let cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to smell like caramel and darkens slightly, about 1 minute longer. (Don’t walk away or the mixture may burn.) The mixture will clump and separate, but that’s OK.

Step 4

Add fruit, gently tossing to coat with the caramel. Remove from the heat and arrange fruit into an even layer on the bottom of the skillet. Ignore any sugar clumps; they will dissolve during baking.

Step 5

Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until thoroughly combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Add sour cream and whisk until well mixed. Sprinkle in baking powder, salt and baking soda into the batter, one at a time, whisking vigorously after each addition.

Step 6

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in flour until just incorporated. The mixture will be lumpy, but that’s OK. Don’t overmix. Scrape batter into the skillet over the fruit and spread evenly.

Step 7

Bake until surface is deeply browned all over (with darker brown edges) and the fruit is lightly bubbling around the sides of the skillet, about 35 to 45 minutes, rotating halfway through. A toothpick inserted into cake will come out clean.

Step 8

Once the cake is out of the oven, immediately run a butter knife or offset spatula around the edge of the skillet. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to cool slightly. Carefully invert cake into serving platter. If some fruit sticks to bottom of skillet, gently remove using offset spatula or knife and place back onto cake. Let cake cool until the fruit topping sets, at least 30 minutes to 1 hour, before serving. Cake is best served on the day it is baked.