I saw a beautiful upside-down cherry polenta cake on Insta from King and had to figure out how to make it. I read a bunch of recipes and came up with this. Low and behold, it worked!
I could have just doubled it, but I wanted to be safe. The recipe called for an 8″ cake, so I just made it twice. This could be made any time of the year using the fruit of the moment, even caramelized oranges or lemons.
I used a 12″ heavy (too heavy) cast iron pan.
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- lemon zest
- Two eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup cake flour (I did not have and used 1 cup flour minus 2 Tbsp and added 2 Tbsp corn starch)
- 3/4 cups cornmeal
- Two teaspoons baking powders
- One teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups blueberries, 2 cups of strawberries sliced (just enough to fully fill the bottom of the pan)
- extra sugar and butter
Preheat the oven to 350.
Mix the butter, sugar, and at least a tbsp. lemon zest. Beat for 5 minutes, until creamy. Use a standing mixture and a paddle attachment.
Add each egg slowly at medium speed, then crank up to high and beat for a few minutes.
Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a separate medium bowl. In another separate bowl, combine sour cream and vanilla.
Add half the flour mixture and half the sour cream mixture, and repeat until fully incorporated.
Melt a few tbsps of butter in the pan, sprinkle sugar over the melted butter, add the fruit, and shake the pan to soak the fruit with butter and sugar. With cherries, you want to add some balsamic vinegar.
Spread the cake evenly over the top. Put in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes until done.
Take the cake out and let it cool. I let this cool for a few hours. Before flipping it on a plate, I warmed the pan on the stove on low heat so the fruit wouldn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Put a plate over the top and flip. Make sure you can do it yourself. My cake slid off the plate, so it is a bit of a puzzle, although it appears to be one piece. Next time, four hands.
It is delicious, served with whipped cream or creme fraiche.