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Raspberry Upside Down Cake

Fun, flavorful and delicious, this Raspberry Upside Down Cake is sweet with a tiny bit of tart all mixed into one. Topped with powdered sugar, each bite is more scrumptious than the last!

AN EASY AND UNIQUE HOMEMADE CAKE

I love raspberries and I love cake – combine the two and I am in heaven! Raspberry desserts are one of my favorites of all time, especially when they are simple like this Raspberry Upside Down Cake. With pantry staple ingredients, this cake is a fun and delicious option to add to your baking menu. With a sweetness from the cake and a little bit of tartness from the raspberries, this Raspberry Upside Down Cake recipe is a yummy and beautiful dessert.

Slice of Raspberry Upside Down Cake on white plate with raspberries

TIPS FOR MAKING RASPBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE:

  • You can use any fruit that you like for this cake, we have used blueberries, pineapple, peaches, etc.
  • The crumb mixture is normal. Do not think you did anything wrong.
  • Make sure you use enough berries to cover the bottom of the pan.
  • You can place a round piece of parchment paper into the bottom of pan for easier removal.
  • Make sure you let this cool at least 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving dish. Otherwise, the brown sugar mixture won’t have time to set up properly.
  • Garnish this with powdered sugar or ice cream or both!
Two slices of Raspberry Upside down cake topped with powdered sugar Pinterest Image.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

  • butter
  • brown sugar
  • raspberries
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • granulated sugar
  • egg
  • vanilla extract
  • milk
  • powdered sugar

HOW TO MAKE RASPBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9″ high sided pan or springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Note: If using a springform pan, you will need to place a piece of foil or bake on a sheet tray to catch any of the butter/sugar mixture that may leak out the bottom. In a small bowl add the melted butter.

Melted butter in a clear bowl.

Add in the brown sugar.

Brown sugar added to melted butter in bowl.

Whisk mixture together until combined.

Melted butter and brown sugar stirred together.

Spread the brown sugar mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Brown sugar mixture added to bottom of pan.

Top the brown sugar mixture with an even layer of raspberries and set aside.

Raspberries on top of brown sugar mixture in pan.

In a large bowl add the flour, baking powder and salt.

Flour, baking powder and salt in bowl.

Whisk flour mixture until everything is combined, set aside.

Flour mixture whisked together in bowl.

In another bowl add the butter, sugar, egg and vanilla.

Butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in bowl.

Beat this mixture together until creamy and combined.

Beaten up butter sugar mixture in bowl.

Add in the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.

Dry ingredients added to butter mixture.

Beat until combined, it will look crumby at this point, it’s supposed to.

Crumb mixture after flour and butter mixture are combined.

Lastly add in the milk.

Milk added to crumb mixture.

Beat the milk in until combined and creamy.

Blended up cake batter in bowl.

Spoon batter over raspberries and gently spread using an offset spatula as batter is thick. Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes until golden or until a toothpick comes out clean. Please note, oven times vary so please check with a toothpick first to ensure doneness.

Cake batter spread over raspberries in pan.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes. Run a knife along the pan’s edge to ensure it is released before inverting it over a serving platter.

Upside Down Raspberry Cake on white platter topped with powdered sugar.

Let cool and top with powdered sugar and ice cream, if desired.

Two slices of Raspberry Upside Down Cake on white plates topped with ice cream.

HOW TO STORE:

If you have any of this Raspberry Upside Down Cake recipe remaining, you can store it at room temperature (covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container) for 2-3 days. Or you can refrigerate it properly stored for 5-6 days. Freezing is not recommended.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Close up of slice of Raspberry Upside Down Cake on white plate with raspberries thumbnail image

Raspberry Upside Down Cake

Fun, flavorful and delicious, this Raspberry Upside Down Cake is sweet with a tiny bit of tart all mixed into one. Topped with powdered sugar, each bite is more scrumptious than the last!
5 from 12 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Topping:

  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 heaping cups raspberries (or enough to cover bottom of pan)

Cake:

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9" high sided pan or springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Note: If using a springform pan, you will need to place a piece of foil or bake on a sheet tray to catch any of the butter/sugar mixture that may leak out the bottom. 
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and 1/2 cup brown sugar, spread into the bottom of the prepared pan.
  • Top the brown sugar mixture with 2 heaping cups raspberries in an even layer (you'll need enough to cover the bottom of your pan), Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt, set aside.
  • In another bowl, beat together 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract until combined.
  • Add in the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined. It will look crumby at this point which is normal.
  • Lastly, add in 1/2 cup milk and beat until incorporated.
  • Spoon the batter over the raspberries and gently spread using an offset spatula as the batter is thick.
  • Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes until golden or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Please note, oven times vary so please check with a toothpick first to ensure doneness as it may take longer in your oven.
  • Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan 10 minutes (don't skip this essential cooling down time). Run a knife along the pan's edge to ensure it is released before inverting it over a serving platter. 
  • Let finish cooling and dust the top with powdered sugar (optional).

Notes

  • As with all baked goods, oven times will vary. It can depend on so many factors like if you used a metal or ceramic baking dish or a gas or electric oven or what rack you baked it on. It may take longer in your oven so always make sure you test the center of the cake with a toothpick. If any batter on the toothpick, it’s not ready. 
  • You can use any fruit that you like for this cake, we have used blueberries, pineapple, peaches, etc.
  • Make sure you use enough berries to cover the bottom of the pan.
  • Make sure you let this cool at least 5-10 minutes before turning out onto a serving dish. Otherwise, the brown sugar mixture won’t have time to set up properly.
  • If you have any of this Raspberry Upside Down Cake recipe remaining, you can store it at room temperature (covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container) for 2-3 days. Or you can refrigerate it properly stored for 5-6 days. Freezing is not recommended.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Sodium: 144mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 34g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Recipe Rating




9 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I used frozen raspberries, and this was absolutely delicious 😀 Soooooo yummy! I made it for Christmas breakfast and it was just divine <3 thank you! And I think this is truly a perfect base for any other fruits for the upside-down part. I will return to this recipe again and again!

  2. Hmmm…I can’t really say as I’ve always made this with good results. What type of pan did you use (metal, ceramic, Pyrex?) Did you do a toothpick test before removing it from the oven? What rack did you cook it on? So many factors can come into play. But if you did the toothpick test and it came out clean, there should be no reason that it wasn’t fully baked. That’s all I can really think of…

    1. Thanks for responding. I used a 9″ metal pan which is around 3″ deep. I use it regularly for baking cake layers. I placed it in the middle of the oven on the standard wire rack that came with the oven. The toothpick came out clean. I have not cut the cake yet but it could be that the outer edges are more wet than the middle. I’ll give it a day in the fridge and see how it looks acter cutting.
      For now, I can only think that the raspberries may have contained a lot of moisture.

    2. Hi again. This is the third time I’ve made a raspberry upside down cake, each of them from different recipes. Of the three, the only one that turned out right was the first one. That time I only had a springform pan. During baking, liquid seeped out of the pan but the cake turned out okay. The next two times I used a sealed pan and the bottoms came out soggy, though less so this time.
      For whatever reason, all the raspberry upside down cakes I’ve tried to make have too much liquid collecting at the bottom of the pan. For this to happen each time cannot be a fluke. I’m still of the opinion that the raspberries create too much liquid which keeps the bottom of the pan soggy. It shouldn’t matter but each time the raspberries were from Mexico.
      I just thought I’d put that out there. For now, I might just revert to using the springform pan to let the excess liquid seep out. Whatever works, I guess.
      Thanks for your time,
      Robert

      1. Thanks Robert – I really appreciate the input. Interesting to note about where the raspberries came from & that it happened with several different recipes. I’m definitely going to look into it & thank you for your detailed info!

    1. Hi Ruth! Technically you could but keep in mind that frozen fruit holds much more moisture than fresh so it can change the texture of the finished cake. I really prefer fresh fruit for this since I haven’t tested with frozen. If you try it, I would say thaw and drain them as best as you possibly can. Let me know if you give it a try! I would love to hear how it goes!