Apricot Upside-down Cake

The Art.
    I am happy to bring you another post from the Birthday Tea Party! This apricot upside-down cake combines sweet apricots with my tried-and-true yellow cake to make a delicious tarte tatin. The apricots caramelize with the butter and brown sugar on the bottom of the pan, making a delectable syrup that had me licking my fingers in a most un-ladylike manner.

The Science.
    It is worth noting that adding fruit to a cake recipe can have a significant effect on texture. Now, since I was in a hurry, I used canned apricots, which have quite a bit of moisture. This made the cake incredibly moist, and also had the effect of making it very dense. This is a desirable quality in an upside-down cake, because it makes it easier to get out of the pan and slice. However, this is something that should be considered whenever you are adding fruit, especially canned fruits, to a cake. Another thing to consider when making a fruity cake is the structure of the fruit you are adding. My sister made a variation of this recipe with fresh mango, which sounded delicious in theory, but unfortunately the delicate texture of the mango didn't do well as a tarte tatin.

The Recipe.
3 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 15oz. cans apricot halves

1 1/3 cups cake flour
1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons salted butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk

    Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 10-inch round pan. (An 8- or 9-inch round pan can be used, but you might have some extra batter.) Combine melted butter and brown sugar and press into bottom of pan. Lay apricots cut side down in a single layer in the pan. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in large bowl on medium-high until fluffy, then gradually beat in sugar. Beat eggs in, one at a time. Stir vanilla into buttermilk. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter/sugar/egg mixture while beating on low speed. Beat an additional 30 seconds. Pour batter over apricots. Lift and drop on the counter a couple times to eliminate bubbles in the batter. Bake on center rack for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
    Allow to cool completely, then carefully run a knife along the edge of the pan to loosen the cake.  Gently invert onto a cake plate or stand and serve. Cake can be baked ahead one day and left in the pan overnight.