Lemon Upside-Down Cake
Calling all lemon lovers! This is ONE cake you must try - it will tantalize your lemon loving palate like no other. The cake tastes super lemony with intermingling sweet and tart notes. The lemon slices arranged on the bottom of the pan become an impressive top once the cake has been baked and inverted. Every time I bake this cake, I hardly keep myself from peeling off the caramelized lemons on the top and slyly popping them into my mouth before the cake has a chance to be served. They are so good! Enjoy!
Lemon Upside-Down Cake
Adapted, barely, from Luscious Lemon Desserts, by Lori Longbotham
3 medium lemons
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
2 large eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F.
Trim the ends from the lemons and cut the fruit into slices 1/8 inch thick with a very sharp knife or a mandoline. Discard any seeds.
Melt 1/4 cup of the butter with the brown sugar in an ovenproof, non-stick 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the lemon slices, increase the heat to high, and boil, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and arrange the sliced in an orderly pattern in the bottom of the skillet.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.
Beat the remaining 1/2 cup of butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the granulated sugar and zest and beat, scraping down the side of the bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and beat just until blended. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternatively with the milk, scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition and beating just until blended.
Beat the egg whites with clean beaters on medium speed in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Add one quarter of the whites to the batter and fold in using a whisk or a rubber spatula. Continue to gently fold in the whites, one quarter at a time, being careful no to overmix.
Pour the batter over the lemon slices and gently smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Loosen the edges of the cake with a rubber spatula all around, invert it onto a heat-proof serving platter, and leave the pan over the cake for 5 minutes. Remove the pan and serve the cake warm, cut into wedges.
35 Comments Add your own
1. scary azeri | February 14th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I wish I had the time to try them all!!!!
2. Rosa | February 14th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
So tempting and delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
3. snookydoodle | February 14th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
looks stunning and so good!
4. Anna | February 14th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
It looks awesome, must be delicious.
5. Tuty | February 14th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Beautiful cake, Farida. I am going to try this some day (soon I hope).
6. EU MULHER | February 14th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Wowwww!!! Delicious!!!
Kisses
7. Frances Copeland | February 14th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Nice looking,Lemon Upside Down Cake is a delicious cake
8. Parita | February 14th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
What a flavorful cake!
9. tasteofbeirut | February 15th, 2010 at 7:13 am
Farida
Love your cake and the looks of it! I used to eat lemons with some salt when I was a kid and this cake reminds me of this habit! It also reminds me of a cake by Gaston Lenotre but his had oranges instead. Anything citrusy is great, I think!
10. Global Voices Online &raq&hellip | February 15th, 2010 at 7:26 am
[...] Forum interviews culinary blogger Feride Sadikhova Buyuran while her AZ Cookbook posts a recipe for lemon upside down cake. Cancel this [...]
11. jamila | February 15th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Beautiful cake, Farida
12. kimberleyblue | February 15th, 2010 at 9:05 am
What a gorgeous cake! I looooove lemon desserts, so this is just perfect for me.
13. Sayantani | February 15th, 2010 at 10:50 am
thats a very new and interesting one. lovely presentation and click!
14. Leyla | February 15th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Wow, what an impressive presentation! I love everything to do with lemon, so I must try this cake soon! Thank you so much for sharing! =)
15. Baking is my Zen | February 15th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
I’ve never seen Lemon Upside down Cake. I love lemon!
16. sheba | February 15th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
sounds delicious…we are lemony fans too..must try this.thanks a ton for sharing.
17. Charlene | February 16th, 2010 at 6:58 am
So beautiful. I must try this! Please clarify the amount of butter though. The list of ingredients says: 1/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks). Thanks!
18. farida | February 16th, 2010 at 9:08 am
CHARLENE: Ahh, my mistake. Thanks for catching. It should be 3/4 cups butter, not 1/4. Just corrected it.
19. cookeaze | February 16th, 2010 at 9:44 am
These look absolutely delicious. I may have to try this out as my guilty pleasure on this birthday..
20. Marysol | February 16th, 2010 at 10:04 am
You called?
Lemon fanatic at your service.
Fari, I think you kicked this one out of the ballpark!
That golden cake is making me pucker just looking at it. Yum.
I once made a similar topping for cheesecake, but the thought of caramelized lemons on a cake takes this dessert to a whole new level.
Are you still munching on the chewy lemon slices? I doubt I could stay away from them.
I hope your Valentine’s Day was as delicious as that cake!
21. Juliana | February 16th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
This up side down lemon cake sure looks gorgeous…love everything lemony
22. Alla | February 17th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
YUm! Cant wait to try this
23. Cynthia | February 17th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Oh look how beautiful that is!
24. deeba | February 18th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Gorgeous Fraida, citrus is right up my alley, and this cake is calling my name! Beautiful!!
25. Aysegul - nysdelight | February 19th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Lovely Lovely just Lovely!
26. amy | February 19th, 2010 at 9:25 am
this cake is totally calling out for me to make it! your lemon upside-down-cake looks soooooo soooo so good!
27. Sarah | February 19th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
I needed to find some way of using all the lemons on our tree and tried this today and it is absolutely delicious!
28. farida | February 20th, 2010 at 12:02 am
Thank you all for your comments.
Sarah, so glad you tried the recipe!
29. sima | February 22nd, 2010 at 6:13 pm
how high the temperature in the oven should be? 180?
30. FARIDA | February 22nd, 2010 at 6:44 pm
SIMA: Yes, 350F equals 180C.
31. Carolyn T at tastingspoons.com | March 8th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
This lemon cake was fabulous, Farida. I have Meyer lemons on a tree in my yard, and they were ever so good in this. The taste is sweet and sour at the same time. We had 7 adults at our table last night, and everyone LOVED it. I served it with sweetened whipped cream. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’m posting it on my blog tomorrow (March 9th) referring to your blog and recipe.
32. Tasting Spoons&hellip | March 9th, 2010 at 6:13 am
[...] By: Adapted from Luscious Lemon Desserts, by Lori Longbotham (read on AZ Cookbook blog) Serving Size: [...]
33. Healthy Desserts | April 24th, 2010 at 3:07 am
Genius !!! This is my fav category and I loved the new thing i learnt about lemon
thanks a lot for the post.
34. Chrysoulla | September 13th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
This cake looked so delicious that I tried it. It is excellent. The only part I would change just a bit is to boil the lemon slices longer than one minute. They were too bitter and we ended up throwing them out, even though a slight bitterness is usually welcome. I loved the cake! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
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