Make Oven-less Upside-down Cake

From The Small Kitchen Cook by Ashleigh Butler

When I discovered I could make cake in our tiny ovenless kitchen, my world changed. Cake was now on the menu, and my family was thrilled, to say the least. It solidified that there was nothing that our humble two-burner gas stove couldn’t do. This cake is fruity, spongy, delicious and worth the effort.

Makes: 8 slices

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 40 min

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup of flaked almond plus 2 tablespoons to garnish
• 1/3 of a cup of flaked or shredded coconut, plus 2 tablespoons for garnish
• Butter or coconut oil, for greasing
• 2 nectarines, sliced neatly
• 1/2 a cup of almond meal (100g)
• 1 and a 1/2 cups of flour (120g)
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 150g of unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 of a cup of maple syrup (or 1/2 a cup of raw sugar)
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, whisked

Method

Toast the almonds and coconut on low heat in a dry, oil-free frypan until they’ve browned lightly. Set them aside.

Place an egg ring or coil of aluminium foil on the base of a large saucepan as a stand to hold the cake tin so it won’t touch the bottom of the pot. Fill the saucepan with enough water to steam the cake without spilling into the cake tin. Set the stove at low to medium heat to simmer the water gently.

Grease the cake tin and sprinkle the two extra tablespoons of almonds on the base of the cake tin. Arrange one of the nectarines over the almonds into a pattern, as this will become the top of the cake once it is cooked.

Combine the almond meal, flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar or maple syrup in a separate bowl and whisk vigorously with a fork or egg whisk. Add the vanilla extract, and then gently fold the butter mixture into the dry mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula. Gently fold in the eggs and the remaining nectarine, half of the coconut and almonds. Be careful not to overmix the cake batter as you need to preserve the aeration so that the cake rises nicely.

Pour the batter into the cake tin and place it on top of the stand in the pot and cook with the lid on for approximately 40 minutes. It’s ready when it springs back to a light touch and is no longer sticky on the top. Check regularly to make sure there is enough water in the pot. If not, add more.

Remove it from the pot and let it cool before attempting to flip it. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it, then place a plate face down over the top and, holding them together, flip it over. Gently slide the cake tin from the cake, and it will now be face up with the pattern of nectarine and almonds on the top.

Serve with ice cream or fresh cream.

This recipe is an extract from The Small Kitchen Cook by Ashleigh Butler, published by Exploring Eden Books (also on Facebook and Instagram). For each book sold, Exploring Eden Books has committed to removing at least 25kg of CO₂ from the atmosphere. Read more here.