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Man… me and all my cakes these last few days.

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

First there was Friday’s big, over the top, and perfectly delicious cake, then on Sunday there was Asher’s simple chocolate on chocolate cake birthday cake (listed in my links), and today we have yet another cake!   But today’s cake is totally different from any cake I have ever made…though I am in love with it all the same.

Plus, I can’t get over the prettiness of these plums. Oh my gosh, lovin all the plums at the moment. It used to be that I was only a nectarine and peach girl, like who the heck wanted to bother with cherries, plums and apricots when you could have peaches or nectarines? Not me I guess, but in the last year that has all changed dramatically. I love any and all stone fruits and I am so excited with all the new (to me) desserts, snacks and even savory dishes I’ve been working on!!

YES, YES, YES! Venturing out of my comfort zones! Didn’t know I had it in me, but I do!

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvestBrown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Side Note: I totally had this really fun topic I was thinking of chatting with you guys about earlier…but now I totally, for the life of me, cannot remember what it was that I wanted to talk about. Thinking it was something about my brother or the barn… something. I don’t know, but it is REALLY bugging me that I cannot remember. UGH!!! …Tomorrow!

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Oh, but in other fun news Kai is home! He and my dad made me this really cool thing for the barn…you guys will see it soon (hint, hint)!! Oh, and Caitlyn, Kai’s girlfriend, is coming for a quick trip not this weekend, but the next…so I gotta try to get my stuff together so I can actually hang. Easier said than done though.

Life as an adult… it can be kind of rough.

Anyway, back to this pretty cake that’s perfect for late summer, but even better for fall! I hear plums are more a fall fruit than a summer one anyway, is this true? If so, I am so excited, then I can keep on posting plum recipes! Remember on Thursday when I was telling you guys all about these peach baked beans? And how I also made dessert to go with that dinner?? Well, this is that dessert!!

My grandpa was in town visiting and I knew that if I was ever going to make a non-chocolate cake, this was the time.

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvestBrown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

My grandpa will eat pretty much anything, and while he loves a chocolate dessert just like my mom, I do think he loves a fruity one even more. So I knew this cake would be PERFECT.

And it was…all though, I kind of over cooked the one I served him, so I was a little bummed, but I am pretty sure he still enjoyed it. Plus, that whipped yogurt on top covered my little mistake pretty well. Got to love when you can hide your screw ups, right?!?!

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

This brown butter plum up-side down yogurt cake is actually pretty wholesome. It’s filled with whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, eggs and sweet plums! Oh, and kind of a good amount of browned butter… balance though peeps, balance.

Yep, life is all about the balance.

Here’s the thing. While this cake is easy, it took me a few tries to actually get it looking pretty. Whoever said it’s now sweat to make an upside down cake look perfect was lying their butt off. Either that or I am just not very good at upside down cakes, which could very well be the case. I made three cakes, each tasted awesome, but the problem was my plums kept shifting while cooking. Finally, with the last cake I just used my hands once the cake was finished cooking, and sort of “fixed” the plums into place. Then I just added a big dollop of cream and called it a day.

Worked like a charm. Instead of stressing about getting the perfect looking upside down cake, I just made it pretty with edible flowers and cream. I tell ya, that combo never fails!

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Trust me, I know from experience.

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 611 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Whipped Yogurt

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch spring form pan and place on a baking sheet.
  • Arrange the plums in single layer in the bottom of the spring form pan. Sprinkle the plums with brown sugar.
  • Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until just browned. Butter will melt, foam and froth, then begin to brown along the bottom. Whisk the browned bits of butter off the bottom of the pan. Pour the butter over the plums and place the plums in the oven for 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, add the whole wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, vanilla and sea salt to a bowl, set aside.
  • To the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, beat the butter until fluffy. Slowly add the maple syrup, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is fully mixed into the butter. Beat in the lemon zest, 3 egg yolks (reserving the whites for later) and the yogurt and milk until creamy and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.
  • Whisk the remaining 3 egg whites in a separate bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Slowly fold the egg whites into the batter until just combined.
  • Pour the batter over the plums, being careful to spread the batter in an even layer over the plums. Try to not move the position of the plums.
  • Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until golden on the top and baked all the way through. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes before removing the sides. Place a serving plate on top of the cake and invert the cake. Carefully remove the bottom of the spring form pan. if any of the plums stick to the spring form pan, just place them back on the cake. Scrape any syrup left on the bottom of the pan off and onto the cake. If desired, the cake can be drizzled with a little maple syrup for extra sweetness.
  • To serve, sprinkle the cake with pistachios and dollop with cream (recipe below). Enjoy warm or at room temp.

Whipped Yogurt

  • Place the cream and yogurt in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until soft peaks form. Stir in the hazelnut liquor, vanilla and salt. Keep cold until ready to serve.

Notes

*if you do not have vanilla bean paste or fresh vanilla beans, sub with 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and add it in with the wet ingredients. *If you do not have a spring form pan, the cake can be made in a 9-10 inch cast iron skillet. I did find the spring form pan much easier to use however.
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Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

And we eat our cake.

PS. I totally broke that gorgeous plate last week and I am still so distraught over it. It was one of a kind and my FAVORITE!! 🙁

Brown Butter Plum Up-Side Down Yogurt Cake with Pistachios | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

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Comments

  1. This recipe is written so poorly – can’t get over using volume instead of weight for a baking recipe. In addition, the batter was so thick it wasn’t pourable. Waiting for it to come out of the oven, but I’m anticipating being disappointed that I wasted local CSA plums on this dreck.

    1. Hey Sandi,
      So sorry you did not enjoy the recipe, was there something that went wrong? Anything I can help with? Let me know! xTieghan

  2. I followed the recipe to a “T”, even with the revised/corrected reference to the yogurt, and was very confused as the batter ended up more like a cookie dough consistency than a regular cake batter (hence my complete confusion when the recipe says to “pour” the batter into the pan). I added more milk and melted butter, but the batter remained very dense and was hard to spread over the plums. It’s in the oven baking now, but I’m skeptical given some of the comments below. I also would suggest using all All-Purpose flour, or much less whole wheat flour, to make a lighter batter. I also agree with the comment below to use a cake pan or skillet, as the beautiful plum juices leaked out of the pan during the 10 minutes you’re supposed to bake them on their own.

    It looks like a beautiful cake, and I hope adjustments can be made to the recipe to ensure the cake is as delicious as it looks!

    1. Hey Jordan, I am so sorry you had some trouble. Did the cake end up turning out nicely? I am going to take another look at the recipe and see what might be happening. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

    1. Hi Olivia! I am sure apples will be delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan

  3. This recipe has way too much flour. Got a heavy inedible blob out of the oven. Next time I want to waste my maple syrup I’ll dump it directly in the sink.

    1. Hey Alberto! So sorry this recipe didn’t work for you. I hope this doesn’t stop you from trying & enjoying some others!