Melt butter in cast iron skillet. Add brown sugar and cook while stirring until the sugar is melted and begins to bubble. You are creating a sugar glaze that will become the foundation for your fruit. Remove from heat and let cool in the pan. (NOTE: If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can caramelize your butter and sugar in any skillet. Then, once melted, simply pour the sugar mixture into a baking pan before moving to next step.)
Once sugar mixture is cool, place the fruit in the bottom of the pan. If it’s in slices, you can create a pinwheel design around a circular pan; if you’re using a square or rectangle pan, you can place the fruit in a line, or get creative! As long as it’s an even layer, it will taste amazing. Set aside
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F
Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time. Beat until smooth and fully incorporated.
Whisk or sift together the flour, baking power and salt.
Stir in half the flour mixture, then the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients. Do not over-mix; stir just until the flour is barely incorporated into the batter.
Gently dollop the batter over the fruit then gently smooth with a pastry spatula so there is an even layer of batter over all the fruit. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until: a) the top of the cake is golden brown, b) it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, and 3) a toothpick comes out clean. (NOTE: Sometimes the fruit bubbles up and over. You can place a sheet pan on the shelf under the cake to catch any drips.)
Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Let the cake settle for a minute, until any fruit that has leaked up the sides has stopped bubbling. Do not let the cake cool or you will not get it out of the pan! Run a knife around the edges of the cake. Place your cake plate over the cake and, using hot pads, carefully flip the cake over. Gently remove the cake pan. Be careful, as the fruit and glaze is still quite hot and will burn!
Serve the cake warm and, as an option, top with a little Whip Cream or Cool Whip!
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