Upside-down sour cherry cake

A quick and easy sour cherry cake – exactly how we like it! Although it’s hard to find fresh sour cherries in England, I usually buy them frozen. Trust me, they’re equally as good. The best part of an upside-down cake is that you don’t have to worry if the cherries will fall to the bottom. Why? Because they are purposefully placed on the bottom of the cake tin, you turn the cake upside-down after it has been baked. So easy!

Ingredients for the cake:

• 115 g butter
• 190 g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 200 g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 125 g kefir or buttermilk

Ingredients for the cherry layer:

• 350 g sour cherries, de-pitted
• 50 g sugar
• 1 Tbsp potato starch
• 1 tsp cinnamon

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Mix all the ingredients for the cherry layer in a bowl and set aside. Thaw and drain the excess water beforehand if you’re using frozen cherries.

In a mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one after the other, beating continuously after each addition. The batter may look ‘broken’; however, this doesn’t affect the cake in any way. Add in the lemon extract and mix. Add sifted flour and baking powder, then kefir (or buttermilk). Mix with a spatula only until combined.

Line the bottom of a cake tin (23 cm in diameter) with baking paper. Lightly grease the bottom with butter. Pour the cherry layer onto the bottom and level. Then, pour the cake batter on top, level.

Bake at 170°C for about 40 minutes or longer, until a stick inserted into the cake comes out dry. Take it out of the oven and leave it to cool.

After cooling, turn the cake upside-down onto a cake stand so the cherries are on top. Cut into slices and serve.

Enjoy!