By My birthday. Fifty-one. Luis burned the chilaquiles — year thirty-nine. Camila's "Mama at Fifty-One" featured a string arrangement she programmed on her laptop (she has moved from guitar to production, learning GarageBand the way Diego learned AutoCAD — independently, relentlessly, YouTube as university). The lyrics: "Fifty-one and still the sun, that lights the ovens every one, from Dyer Street to Anapra's door, she makes the bread and always more." Always more. The family motto in a lyric. Sofia gave me the combined bakery P&L: one hundred sixty-one thousand in revenue. Diego gave me a structural analysis of the bakery building (11 years old — needs the roof reinforced, he noted, with a cost estimate of twelve hundred dollars, which is the most Diego birthday gift: a diagnosis plus a prescription). I made tres leches. Fifty-one candles. Wished for: the cookbook.
The tres leches was for the family — fifty-one candles, Sofia’s P&L report propped against the cake stand, Diego’s roof estimate folded next to the forks. But the next morning, with Camila’s song still looping in my head and that cookbook wish still warm in my chest, I wanted something different — something bright and a little tart to match the feeling of a new year starting. This rhubarb berry upside down cake, with its sticky-sweet fruit crown and tender crumb, felt like the right way to carry that birthday momentum forward, one more thing baked with my own hands in the ovens that keep this family running.
Rhubarb Berry Upside Down Cake
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups sliced fresh rhubarb (1/2-inch pieces)
- 1 cup fresh mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries)
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Prepare the topping. Pour the 1/3 cup melted butter into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a 9-inch round baking pan, tilting to coat the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter. Arrange the rhubarb slices and berries in an even layer over the brown sugar. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix the batter. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until combined after each addition — do not overmix.
- Assemble and bake. Spoon the batter carefully over the fruit layer and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake for 42 to 48 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
- Cool and invert. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, then place a serving plate over the pan and carefully invert. Leave the pan over the cake for 2 minutes to let the topping release, then lift the pan away. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 295 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 41g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 210mg