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Home » Recipes » Seasonal » Summer » Nectarine Upside-Down Cake

Nectarine Upside-Down Cake

August 8, 2014 By Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan 32 Comments

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Making a nectarine upside-down cake is certainly a test in optimism. Everything goes in the oven with the nectarines tucked underneath the batter. Until you remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool, you don’t know for sure what the bottom is going to look like.

Sweet and Tart Summer Vegan Nectarine Upside-Down Cake With Whole Grain Spelt Flour - Yup, it's Vegan sweet

Needless to say, when I flipped over my cake and discovered this beauty, I was pretty damn pleased. My plan is for this cake to be the piece de resistance at my next vegan dinner party. It’s beautiful and delicious. The caramelized nectarine layer enhances the sweetness of this slightly tart summer stone fruit. The moist, slightly dense texture of the cake and the gentle use of spices makes for a perfect summer treat.

Fresh stone fruit upside down cake with slice missing cut out garnished with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger

This nectarine upside-down cake is sweetened only with coconut sugar. It’s also made with 100% spelt flour. That means that you can have a couple of slices and not need to take a nap afterward =P. Coconut sugar looks similar to brown sugar when dry but when liquid and fat collide with it, it turns dark brown, which is how the caramelized nectarines get such a vibrant color.

In terms of ease of making this recipe: If you grease the pan thoroughly then there’s nothing to be afraid of. At least not any more than with making a regular cake. We still have to be careful not to over-mix the batter, so that the gluten doesn’t form. Luckily, since spelt is much lower in protein, this is less of a risky maneuver than it is with all-purpose flour. Honestly, I’m not a natural at baking things other than bread. And I found this nectarine upside-down cake to be super, super easy to make!

tl;dr upside-down cakes are the coolest thing ever, and this version is particularly awesome. Hope you enjoy!

Vegan closeup of crumbly slightly dense moist and light spelt flour and coconut sugar cake with slice taken

Here’s a little more of a close-up of the inside texture of the cake =]

 

Vegan Nectarine Upside-Down Cake - Yup, it's Vegan
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5 from 1 vote

Vegan Nectarine Upside-Down Cake

This vegan nectarine upside-down cake is sure to please everyone with its subtly sweet, summery flavor. Made with whole grain spelt flour and low-glycemic coconut sugar.
Course Dessert
Cuisine refined sugar-free, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword Nectarine Upside-Down Cake
Prep Time 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes minutes
Total Time 55 minutes minutes
Servings 1 cake
Calories 262kcal
Author Yup, it's Vegan

Ingredients

For the caramelized nectarine layer:

  • 4 tsp melted coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 3 nectarines sliced

For the spelt cake:

  • 1 cup almond milk (or nondairy milk of choice), room temperature or warm
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 and 1/2 cups spelt flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander seed
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground ginger (a pinch)
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (a pinch)

Instructions

To prepare the caramelized nectarine layer:

  • Add the melted coconut oil to the bottom of a cake pan. Use a brush or your hands to lightly grease the sides, then spread the rest of the oil evenly in one layer.
  • Sprinkle the coconut sugar in an even layer on top of the coconut oil. Arrange the nectarine slices on top of the coconut sugar so that they have as much surface contact with it as possible.

To prepare the spelt cake:

  • In a small bowl, stir together the almond milk and lemon juice, and set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add the coconut oil, coconut sugar, and vanilla extract to the bowl with the almond milk. Use a fork or whisk to whisk together the liquid mixture until the sugar is dissolved and the oil is incorporated with the almond milk.
  • In a separate bowl, sift together the spelt flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
  • Make a well in the center and add half of the wet mixture. Stir, then add the rest of the wet mixture. Gently mix the batter together (I used a wooden mixing fork) until the lumps are gone, but try to mix as little as possible. We don't want to encourage the gluten to develop, because that will result in a gummy cake.
  • Pour the mixed batter on top of the nectarines, gently, so as not to agitate them.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes on a rack positioned in the center of the oven (important!), or until golden on the top and starting to pull away from the sides. The top of the cake will feel a bit springy, but still moist.
  • Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes before gently inverting it. You can then transfer it to a cooling rack, and cut yourself a slice!
  • Leftovers can be kept at room temperature if tightly wrapped (unless your home is very warm), or covered in the refrigerator. Best enjoyed within a day or two.

Notes

For best results, use nectarines that are just barely ripe, so that they retain more texture during baking.
Sponge cakes have a habit of cracking on the top (luckily, we are flipping it over!). The taste and inside texture are not likely to be affected. Sometimes you just can't control the cake cracking, but the following steps will make it less likely: 1) measure flour by spooning it into a measuring cup, instead of scooping it out of the container. 2) mix as little as possible to discourage gluten formation. 3) test the temperature of your oven to ensure that 350 is really 350 (hotter, and the cake is more likely to crack).
Nutrition facts are calculated based on cutting the cake into 8 slices.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 133mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 3.3mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 1.4mg

Closeup of gooey caramelized summer fruit nectarine cake with low glycemic index coconut sugar

Adapted from Peach Upside Down Cake by the Earthen Table. Happy Friday!

Filed Under: Desserts, Summer Tagged With: baking, grains, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

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Comments

  1. Monica says

    August 17, 2020 at 18:03

    Wow this was amazing. I did have to use brown and white sugar but still a vegan dessert score! I also used nectarines that were not ripe and glad I did. It cut down on the sweetness and didn’t add much moisture. Also living in Montana had to change a few things but I did not get rid of all clumps bc I thought I would rather have clumps than it be chewy.

    Reply
  2. Caitlyn Miller says

    September 9, 2019 at 15:27

    HI Shannon!

    I am bake for another of your amazing recipes – my first of yours was the Tres Leches cake i made for my vegan boyfriend 🙂 omg that was such a huge hit with my family even tho they are non-vegan. That was truly one of the better cakes I have made since baking vegan now – it was fool proof and soo yummy!! it is now an all time fave!!

    For this recipe can apples be used instead of nectarines? do you think i could use regular sugar instead of coconut and then use brown sugar for the carameling part?

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      September 10, 2019 at 06:57

      Hi Caitlyn,
      I’m not totally sure what would happen if you used apples – they do have higher water content than nectarines. You can definitely substitute peaches for the nectarines, but I am unsure if adjustments need to be made for the apple. I think it would work fine to use the sugar substitutions you mentioned, though, just note it will be a little sweeter.

      Reply
  3. Anna says

    June 14, 2018 at 18:11

    This looks lovely! Hoping to try it this weekend for some vegan friends. What size cake pan did you use?

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      June 15, 2018 at 14:17

      An 8-inch cake pan!

      Reply
  4. Nallely Krutina says

    May 13, 2018 at 15:33

    Can you use regular flour? Excited to try this!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      May 14, 2018 at 14:37

      All-purpose flour should work, or whole wheat pastry.

      Reply
  5. Emily says

    January 24, 2018 at 20:00

    Hi Shannon, your cake looks really nice! I was thinking of making this cake for my dad, as it is his birthday (plus we have a whole bucket of nectarines). Since this is my first time attempting an upside down cake I’m a bit worried the bottom would stick. Could I put baking paper down first? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      January 25, 2018 at 17:34

      Yes – if you are nervous about the bottom sticking, it should work if you line the bottom with parchment paper. I will note that I’ve always gotten away with just lightly greasing the pan and the cake still slides out just fine. But that may depend on the material of the baking dish, so it couldn’t hurt to be safe.

      Reply
  6. Blake says

    July 27, 2016 at 12:42

    Can Whole Wheat Flour be substituted equally?

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      July 27, 2016 at 14:11

      Hi Blake, whole wheat flour should work, the cake might be just a little more dense. I would recommend ideally using WW pastry flour if you can get it, or WW flour cut with a little bit of all-purpose.

      Reply
  7. Marcia says

    August 27, 2015 at 17:54

    5 stars
    Hello! I’ve got your luscious upside-down cake cooling as I type and it smells yummy! I used white peaches because that’s what I could find. I’m sure it will be great, thank you! My question is regarding the use of coriander seed, isn’t that cilantro? Did you mean to say that or were you thinking cardamom seed instead? I know there’s only 1/4 t. in it so my husband probably won’t even notice! I’m just curious.

    Thanks so much,
    Marcia

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      August 28, 2015 at 06:01

      Hi Marcia,
      Thanks for your comment. I hope you enjoyed the cake! It is supposed to be coriander seed, which has a nutty and lemony flavor that is quite different from coriander leaves (cilantro), and unlike cilantro, can pair rather nicely with sweets. A little trick I picked up from a baking cookbook a while back to enhance flavors in plain cakes. Of course, if you’re not a fan, you can leave it out next time. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Angela @ Canned Time says

    August 19, 2014 at 14:23

    I’ve been craving an upside-down-cake this month and presto – I found your recipe on the linky this week.
    I’ll be featuring this one as my favorite and thanks so much for sharing it with us all Shannon!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      August 19, 2014 at 19:36

      Thanks so much, Angela! It is, of course, my pleasure to share and I am grateful for you co-hosting the link party!

      Reply
    • Vr says

      July 23, 2021 at 16:40

      Can I substitute coconut oil with olive oil? If not, does coconut oil need to be warmed up to be in liquid form?

      Reply
  9. gigiveganville says

    August 13, 2014 at 17:51

    I am glad I showed up for this party.
    I haven’t used one stinkin nectarine all summer long, I better pick some up at my gorgeous market before summer’s end. This looks too good to pass up. Bottom’s up 😉

    Reply
  10. Annie says

    August 13, 2014 at 11:49

    This has got to be so much tastier than pineapple upside down cake!

    Reply
  11. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

    August 11, 2014 at 17:00

    i am so craving a slice of this upside down cake right now… looks seriously delicious!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      August 13, 2014 at 11:37

      Thank you, Thalia! I could go for another slice myself =]

      Reply
  12. Amy @ Parsly In My Teeth says

    August 10, 2014 at 19:48

    What a beauty! You will definitely impress your guests with this delicious dessert!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      August 13, 2014 at 11:37

      Thank you, Amy!

      Reply
  13. Katie @ Produce on Parade says

    August 8, 2014 at 20:04

    Girl it’s a beauty! I love, love, love nectarines too!

    Reply
  14. Kelley says

    August 8, 2014 at 15:17

    I love what you did with the recipe and your pictures are beautiful! Also, I’m from Maryland – Charm City is my jam!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      August 10, 2014 at 13:30

      Thanks, Kelley, and thanks so much for sharing the original recipe. It is such a winner and I am very grateful. =] that’s awesome! I’m a transplant from Seattle, but I’ve been here in Maryland for the better part of 10 years now and I have really grown to love it 🙂

      Reply
  15. Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says

    August 8, 2014 at 10:38

    This looks beautiful 🙂 Upside down cakes are really attractive when done well, but you’re right in that there’s a moment of concern before you tip the cake out! You did a gorgeous job here.

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      August 10, 2014 at 13:29

      Thank you! I was nervous as all get out! So happy it came out right =]

      Reply
  16. Cheryl says

    August 8, 2014 at 10:33

    This is just BEAUTIFUL. Also love that you use spelt flour and coconut sugar.. making this basically health food. So I think I’ll start making it for dinner.

    Not for after dinner. For dinner.

    Yummmm.

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      August 10, 2014 at 13:28

      Yeah, health food, totally! Hehe. And thanks! I give my thanks to the amazing powers of coconut oil =P

      Reply
  17. rika@vm says

    August 8, 2014 at 08:33

    What a beautiful summer tart, Shannon! I want to make an upside down cake one day, but this seems like a very simple process. I use coconut sugar very often, they bring a lovely caramel color and flavor. Glad the tart turned out perfect the way you wanted! Have a brilliant weekend! ❤

    Reply
  18. Cadry says

    August 8, 2014 at 08:16

    Beautiful! Your dinner party guests are going to be very impressed. What a great use of the ripe summer fruit!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      August 10, 2014 at 13:27

      Thanks, Cadry!

      Reply

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I'm Shannon, founder of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. I create healthy plant-based recipes that everyone will love, using seasonal produce and global inspiration.
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