Upside-down sour cherry cake

A quick and easy sour cherry cake – just the way we like it! Although fresh sour cherries are hard to find in England, I usually buy them frozen. Trust me, they’re just as good. The best part of an upside-down cake is that you don’t have to worry about the cherries sinking to the bottom. Why? Because they’re intentionally placed at the bottom of the cake tin, and once baked, the cake is turned upside down. 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, pitted
• 50 g sugar
• 1 Tbsp potato starch
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Mix all the ingredients for the cherry layer in a bowl and set aside. If using frozen cherries, thaw them first and drain off any excess liquid.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may look slightly curdled; however, this won’t affect the final cake. Add the lemon extract and mix to combine. Add the sifted flour and baking powder, followed by the kefir (or buttermilk). Fold gently with a spatula until just combined.

Line the bottom of a 23 cm cake tin with baking paper and lightly grease it with butter. Spread the cherry mixture evenly over the base. Pour the cake batter on top and level the surface.

Bake at 170°C for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cooled, turn the cake upside down onto a serving plate so the cherries are on top. Slice and serve.

Enjoy!