Maple Persimmon Upside-Down Cake with Maple Cream Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Cast Iron

by: vvvanessa

November19,2021

4.6

5 Ratings

Maple Persimmon Upside-Down Cake with Maple Cream Recipe on Food52 (1)

Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 1 hour 10 minutes
Serves 8-10

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Author Notes

When I decided to make a persimmon upside-down cake, I didn't think that using a standard pineapple upside-down cake recipe would fly, so I went for a sturdier, denser cake, reinforced with extra egg yolk and ground nuts. I also liked the idea of caramelization via maple syrup, which, it turns out, is great with the fruit. The flavors will mellow and meld overnight, but the cake will stay very moist, so it's a great bake-ahead dessert, though ideally it should be served warm. I love using the traditional cast iron pan, but if you don't have one, be sure to use a minimum 10-inch cake pan—there's a good amount of batter. Most important, though, is to use fuyu persimmons, which have the right texture for the recipe (as opposed to hachiyas, which are too soft). Cut them in slices parallel to the equator to get the sweet little star pattern. - vvvanessa —vvvanessa

Test Kitchen Notes

This cake is like your favorite spice cake meets the caramelized, fruity goodness of a tarte tatin—it's a go-to you'll be dreaming about long after the persimmons are gone. We'd stop there, but then, there's the faintly sweet Maple Cream. You have direct orders not to skip the latter; you can whip it up in a blender if you're short on time.

We've partnered with Wolf Gourmet, makers of helpful appliances like their countertop oven, to highlight crowd-pleasing winter recipes for entertaining and beyond. —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved
Your Best Persimmons Contest Finalist

What You'll Need

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Maple Persimmon Upside-Down Cake with MapleCream

Ingredients

Persimmon Upside-Down Cake
8 tablespoonsunsalted butter
1 cupplus 2 tablespoons real maple syrup (grade B if you can get it, but grade A is fine as long as it's the real thing)
1 ¹/₂ cupsall-purpose flour
1 teaspoonbaking powder
¹/₂ teaspoonbaking soda
¹/₂ teaspoonfine table salt
¹/₂ teaspoonground cinnamon
¹/₄ teaspoonground nutmeg
1 large egg at room temperature
1 large egg yolk at room temperature
²/₃ cupbuttermilk
¹/₂ cupfinely chopped roasted pecans
2 ripe fuyu persimmons, or 3 if it fits, cut into slices parallel to the equator, about 1/4-inch thick

Maple Cream
1 cupheavy whipping cream, well-chilled
2 tablespoonsreal maple syrup, well-chilled
¹/₈ teaspoonground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Over low heat on the stovetop, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup in a 10-inch skillet. It should not get hot or bubbly, just melted. Remove the pan from the heat. (If you're planning to bake the cake in a cast iron skillet, use that pan for this step.)
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of maple syrup over medium-low until they are thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add in the egg and egg yolk, and beat for another minute.
Add in half of the flour mixture and beat for 10 seconds. Add in the buttermilk and beat for 10 seconds more. Add in the rest of the flour mixture, beat for 10 seconds, scrape down the bowl, and beat for 20 seconds more.
Stir in the pecans, scraping down the bowl in the process.
Take the cast iron pan (if using), and swirl the butter-syrup mixture to make sure the sides and bottom of the pan are thoroughly coated, taking care if the pan is still hot. If you're not using a cast iron pan, pour the mixture into a 10-inch cake pan. Set one slice of persimmon in the middle of the pan, then layer the persimmons in outward-moving concentric circles, overlapping them as necessary to cover the bottom of the pan completely.
Pour the batter over the fruit, and smooth out the surface.
Bake on the center rack for 45-50 minutes, rotating the pan about 20 minutes into baking. The cake will brown slightly and is done when it tests clean in the middle.
Remove the pan from the oven. Allow it to cool until it can be handled safely without oven mitts (anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour or more). Using a thin butter knife or an icing spatula, gently loosen the sides of the cake. Place a large serving plate inverted on top of the pan. Bracing the plate against the pan with one hand, flip the cake over and out of the pan and onto the plate. If there is another set of hands to help with the heavy pan, all the better.
Allow the cake to finish cooling on the plate. While the cake is cooling, make the maple cream. Whip the cream, maple syrup, and cinnamon together to form soft peaks. Keep refrigerated until the cake is ready to serve.
Serve slices of cake warm with a big dollop of the maple cream.

Tags:

Cake
American
Persimmon
Pecan
Buttermilk
Maple Syrup
Milk/Cream
Fruit
Nutmeg
Serves a Crowd
Cast Iron
Christmas

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54 Reviews

Vaishnavi S. November 24, 2022

Its a wonderful recipe but if you use a cast iron it discolors the persimmons, which was disappointing.

Joelle B. February 3, 2020

Tip: to store cake, do not cover it. My caramelization dissolved and it turned an unappetizing pale colour :(
Tip: I followed the directions, but my batter was too liquidy and the persimmons floated and I did not get a good caramelized look when I flipped the cake. Watch the video. Your batter should be thicker like in the video
Tip: if your cake is pale (like I suffered from twice for two separate reasons, see above) you can save it's good looks by sprinkling with brown sugar and broiling it in the oven or use a blow torch. Broiling is better. Blow torch left a slight funny taste.

Svetlana M. December 22, 2019

My tips, since people are saying it's too sweet. 1 cup sugar is about the same as .75 cups maple syrup plus water. So reduce the maple syrup by at least 10% and add more buttermilk based on those conversions. If you want persimmon to dominate in flavor, omit the cinnamon and follow the lead of the James Beard chef at Chez Panez and her famous persimmon loaf, and stick to nutmeg only. .5 tsp for this cake. I'd look up a nutmeg whipped cream recipe and add a splash of cognac

Jules January 13, 2018

Hi! Do you think this can be made with almond flour? I need a GF/yeast-free option. Thanks!

Ranjana December 9, 2017

Hi, can this be frozen? Thanks in advance.

Kelsey S. November 23, 2017

@vvvanessa Just made this cake, and when I turned it out of the pan, the persimmons have a definite blue tinge!!??! Has this ever happened for you? Can't decide if it's a safe but odd reaction with cast iron, or if I should toss for safety's sake. Followed recipe exactly. Used Fuyu persimmons (I think they were ripe?!), grade A syrup, unsalted butter.

Vaishnavi S. November 20, 2018

This happened to me when I used the cast iron, I would definitely AVOID the cast iron for any fresh fruit cakes.. It turns out beautifully in a spring form pan, its a shame the instructions tell you to use a cast iron

Barbara W. November 11, 2017

For me, the maple syrup and butter never fully combined, no matter how long I best it anfd even after changing to the whisk. I finally just gave up and added the eggs. It still turned okay, with a mild (pumpkin pie spice) taste. I would like to taste it without any cinnamon to see if the maple and persimmon flavors would be more detectable.

Heather |. February 10, 2017

i loved how moist this was! it was a bit on the sweet side for me (but i'd be weary of cutting back on the amount of syrup bc i wouldn't want the cake to be dry), so i found that a scoop of yogurt worked better with it than maple-sweetened cream. and the persimmons looked so pretty with that star pattern!

vvvanessa February 11, 2017

Thanks, Heather! This is making me think that some whipped crème fraîche might be in order next time!

LeBec F. February 22, 2016

VVV, Given the description above from 52, I think you should be sure to wear a T shirt when you next see them- that says "Wicked Serious Recreational Baker" ;-}

vvvanessa February 11, 2017

Ha! I'll get right on that! : )