Vegan upside-down cake with plums
Today we have a true culinary history classic for you, because our plum upside-down cake is a further development of the famous French Tarte Tatin! So then: get out your notebooks, the history lesson begins!
- For the caramel layer:
- 500g ripe plums
- 160 g sugar
- 200 ml water
- 25 g vegane Butter
- 1 pinch of salt
- For the dough:
- 150 ml plant-based milk
- 2 bags of chai tea
- 150 g vegane Butter
- 150 g sugar
- 300 g wheat flour (type 405)
- 8 g (1.5 tsp) vanilla sugar
- 10 g (2 tsp) baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 orange (juice and zest)
- 0.5 tsp ground cloves
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 0.5 tsp ground cardamom
- Aside from that:
- 200g vegan whipping cream
- 16 g (1.5 tbsp) vanilla sugar
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 24 cm (9.5 inch) springform pan with parchment paper to prevent any liquid from leaking out. Pit and quarter the plums and set aside.
- For the caramel, combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, without stirring. Simmer the mixture for 5–10 minutes until all the water has evaporated and the resulting sugar syrup has caramelized to a light golden yellow. Stir in vegan butter and salt, then pour the caramel into the prepared springform pan. Arrange the plum wedges in the pan in a fan shape.
- Bring the plant-based milk for the dough to a boil with the chai tea and let it steep for a few minutes.
- Cream vegan butter and sugar together in a bowl. Separately mix wheat flour, vanilla sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and salt, then add to the butter-sugar mixture. Next, add the chai milk, orange juice, and zest, and quickly stir everything together to form a smooth batter.
- Pour the batter over the plums and bake for 60 minutes at 180°C (350°F) (conventional oven setting). Then let it cool in the pan for 1 hour, until the resulting syrup has thickened to a viscous consistency. Only then should you turn the cake out onto a serving plate. If the syrup isn't firm enough to turn out, chill the cake in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight before turning it out.
- Whip vegan whipped cream and vanilla sugar with a hand mixer or food processor and serve the whipped cream with the cake.
This special tart originally consists of apples, sliced and placed in caramel on the bottom of the tart pan. A layer of puff pastry is then added, and after baking, the tart is inverted so that the caramelized apples are visible again. This little work of art was invented at the end of the 19th century by the two Tatin sisters, who ran a hotel together. However, it wasn't planned, but rather an accident: One of the sisters was preoccupied while baking, probably already dreaming of the finished apple tart, and completely forgot to put the pastry in the pan first! Instead, the fruit ended up at the bottom. Since time was short before the hotel guests' afternoon tea, she quickly placed the prepared pastry on top, baked the whole thing, and then inverted it onto a cake plate. Her guests were all delighted by the glossy caramel surface, and the tart soon became world-famous!
Unlike back then, we've deliberately placed the fruit on the bottom of the base and replaced the apples with plums, because the taste of ripe plums baked in caramel is simply divine! And instead of puff pastry, we've used a wonderfully flavorful sponge cake on top, giving you a delicious taste of the coming autumn. So, it's all a bit different than before, but we're absolutely certain you'll be just as delighted as the Tatin sisters' hotel guests.
And don't let the caramel put you off. The whole cake is super easy to make; you probably already have almost all the ingredients in your cupboard. We promise you: It's worth it!
