DRIED APRICOT & CRANBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKES

Dried Apricot & Cranberry Upside Down Cakes image

From my Mamaw's recipe collection.

Provided by Chrystal Cackler @journeyrock92

Categories Cakes

Number Of Ingredients 19

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Ingredients

FOR THE CARAMEL
1 cup(s) sugar
3 tablespoon(s) water
FOR THE FRUIT
12 - dried apricots
1 cup(s) fresh orange juice
pinch(es) ground cinnamon
1/3 cup(s) dried cranberries
FOR THE POLENTA CAKES
3/4 cup(s) yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cup(s) plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/3 cup(s) sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
3/4 cup(s) buttermilk
- reserved fruit poaching liquid (from above
6 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 - egg

Steps:

Make the caramel: Lightly butter six 8 ounce ramekins. In a heavy saucepan, stir the sugar and water together. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Turn the heat to high and boil until the sugar is light amber. Keep a close watch; the sugar will go from medium to deep amber quite quickly. Immediately pour the caramel into the ramekins and swirl each one right away to coat the bottom evenly. Set aside to cool.
Prepare the fruit: In a small saucepan, combine the apricots, orange juice, and cinnamon. Cover and simmer until the apricots are plump and tender, about 12 minutes. Add the cranberries and simmer for 2 minutes. Strain, reserving the poaching liquid. Set aside 1/4 cup of the liquid to flavor the cake batter and save the rest to moisten the caramel. Put the fruit on a plate to cool completely. Cut each apricot into thirds. Arrange the fruit decoratively in each of the caramel lined ramekins.
Make the cake: Set a baking sheet on the center rack of the oven and heat the oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until blended. In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, the reserved 1/4 cup poaching liquid, the melted butter, and the egg. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and fold until the batter is just blended. Add 1 teaspoon of the remaining poaching liquid to each ramekin; swirl to distribute. Spoon the batter into the ramekins. Tap the ramekins on the counter to settle the batter.
Set the ramekins on the heated baking sheet and bake until the edges are browned and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Immediately run a paring knife around the inside edge of each ramekin and invert onto serving plates. Let the inverted ramekins rest for 5 minutes to let the topping settle. Gently remove the ramekins and serve.