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Chocolate and almond upside-down cake

Picture: Iain Gillespie

Serves 6-9

85g unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 1/4 cups slivered almonds, lightly toasted

120g butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla essence

Pour six tablespoons of melted butter into the cake tin and swirl to coat the bottom; sprinkle in brown sugar. Drizzle honey over sugar and sprinkle evenly with almonds. Preheat oven to 180C. Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat until pale and thick. Add sugar and continue mixing. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Continue beating until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt with the buttermilk and vanilla essence and mix until smooth. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and immediately invert the pan on to a serving platter. Let it sit with the pan still on top for 5 minutes so the caramel can soak into the cake a bit, before removing the tin. If the topping is sticking to the pan, warm the tin surface over a low burner to loosen the caramel and then pour it over the cake. Let cool completely.