Berries are difficult to transport, especially organics. By the time I got ours home, they had already started oozing dark purple juice, so I knew I'd have to use them immediately. Don't spoil your supper thinking about dessert just yet! We'll get to that.
I stood in line at the Dekalb Farmer's Market waiting for fish. Out of my hour long visit, I spent half of it at the fish counter. If you purchase a whole fish from them, they will clean it for you, cut off the head and cut it into steaks, if you like. This is great unless the five people in front of you are are each buying many pounds of fish. I was certain the speckled trout I was waiting for would be worth it.
The trout was wild from North Carolina and promised to have a buttery, nutty taste. To let the natural flavors come through I baked the fillets with a few dabs of butter each and a sprinkle of pepper and fennel fronds. I sliced a fennel bulb and tossed it into the pan. Our salads were chock full of farms items - cucumbers, carrots, delicate yellow tomato and a tangy green leaf lettuce.
I don't typically make monochromatic meals and I hate that the trout and fennel fade into the white plate so much. When I see a meal like that, I always think I really need to get some more brightly colored plates. The white dinner ware was a wedding gift to my parents from my great-grandparents on my father's side; we used them for my entire childhood, so I am attached to them. The blackberry upside down cake shows up a little better!I found the recipe on a vegan blog that has tons of great recipes, even if you're not vegan. The recipe is for peaches, but I made substitutions for the blackberries. The cake is not very sweet, but the berries infuse it with their natural sweetness (you can increase the amount of sugar if you want it sweeter).
Blackberry Upside Down Cake
Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Liquid ingredients:
1 cup milk mixed with 1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lime zest
4 cups blackberries (I threw in some sliced strawberries I had in the fridge)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Combine the liquid ingredients in a separate bowl. Set aside without mixing them together.
Combine the berries with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Wipe or spray a 10-inch, well-seasoned cast iron skillet with oil. (This step is very important if you want to be able to get the cake out of the pan.) Begin heating it and add the 1/4 cup (or more) of sugar and the water. Heat and stir until the sugar is completely melted. Continue to cook and stir until the mixture is bubbly and slightly reduced (but be careful not to burn it). Place the berries on top of the sugar and remove from heat.
Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture, stirring briefly just to moisten. Pour and smooth the batter over the berries, covering them entirely(my skillet was a little too small to cover them completely, but still came out great). Put the skillet into the oven (you may want to place a cookie sheet or foil on the shelf below it to catch drips) and bake until the sides of the cake pull away from the edges of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean (about 30-40 minutes).
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 15-30 minutes. Then, run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Place a large plate or serving platter over the top and invert the skillet. Remove the skillet carefully from the cake.
Be sure to scrape any caramelized juices from the pan and smooth them over the berries.
Serve warm or at room temperature, alone or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Makes about 8 servings.
It was a great day for food!
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