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Baked » Recipes » Cakes and Cupcakes

Plum & Pear Upside Down Cake With Rum-Soaked Raisins

Published: Oct 24, 2020 · Modified: Sep 14, 2022 by Baked · This post may contain affiliate links · 19 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

With its caramelized topping, this plum & pear upside down cake has a moist tender crumb. Rum-soaked raisins add an extra layer of flavour!

Overhead image of a cake cut into slices on a stoneware platter.

This dreamy plum & pear upside down cake is a revised version of your grandmother’s go-to treat! Less sweet than pineapple upside down cake, this is a beautiful seasonal dessert adorned with rum-soaked raisins and dried cranberries, plus fresh sliced plums and peaches.

Bosc pears work well in this recipe and so do Anjou because they hold their shape after baking! Keep in mind we let the dried fruit sit in the rum for one hour to soak beforehand, so be sure to leave yourself time, or do it the day before.

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • Method
  • Tips & Notes
  • Substitutions
  • Recipe

A slice of plum & pear upside down cake on a plate with a fork and a scoop of ice cream.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

Ingredients

  • dark rum
  • dried fruit (we used raisins and dried cranberries)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • brown sugar
  • pears
  • plums
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • sugar
  • butter
  • eggs
  • milk
  • vanilla
Ingredients to make a cake with pears and plums.

Method

Place the rum, dried fruit, and cinnamon stick in a small pot on the stovetop. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat and gently cook until the fruit softens. Remove the pot from the heat and let the fruit sit in the rum for one hour to soak. Drain the fruit and set the rum aside for another use (it’s fantastic in eggnog!).

A hand pouring rum into a small white pot with dried cranberries, raisins, and a cinnamon stick inside.

Preheat the oven and lightly grease a round cake pan with butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan. Scatter the rum-soaked fruit in a single layer over the sugar.

  • A hand sprinkling brown sugar into a springform cake tin.
  • A springform cake tin with a layer of brown sugar, and rum-soaked raisins and cranberries inside.

Arrange the pears and plums on top of the rum-soaked fruit in any pattern you like. Set aside.

A cake tin with fresh slices of pear and plums arranged in a fan shape inside.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.

A bowl of dry unmixed cake ingredients.

Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light, fluffy, and pale.

Crack in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each.

Spoon in half of the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined.

  • A glass bowl of butter and sugar, unmixed, with a hand mixer, eggs, vanilla, and a small bowl of milk nearby.
  • A glass bowl of beaten butter with flour on top with a hand mixer and other cake batter ingredients nearby.

Add the milk and vanilla, mix well, then add the remaining flour and mix until just combined.

The beaters of a hand mixer in cake batter inside a large glass bowl.

Carefully spoon the cake batter evenly over the plums and pears.

Bake the plum & pear upside down cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

  • Unbaked cake batter in a metal cake tin.
  • A baked cake in a tin on a speckled surface with plates and forks nearby.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool slightly on a wire rack before carefully flipping it over onto a serving platter.

A cake on a platter with plates, forks, a knife, napkin, and plate of apples surrounding.

Tips & Notes

Dark rum or spiced rum are great in this recipe.

Use any mixture of dried fruit you like.

Reduce the amount of white sugar by up to half for a less sweet cake if you like.

Use the leftover rum in eggnog, or an autumn-spiced rum & cola! You could also pour it over the top of the cake as a cake soak after flipping it upside down onto the platter.

Close up of the top of a cake baked with dried fruit.

Substitutions

You can swap in any other spices you like for the cinnamon stick. Dried cardamom pods, star anise pods, or whole cloves are all lovely.

Most fresh fruit will work in this recipe in place of the plums and peaches. You could try apples, peaches, or even fresh berries.

You can substitute light spelt flour for the all-purpose flour.

Try substituting brown sugar for half of the white sugar in the cake batter.

45º image of a slice of cake on a plate with a fork and a scoop of ice cream.

More Terrific Fall Fruit Baking Recipes

Healthy Baked Apples

Plum Dimple Cake With Cinnamon Whip (vegan)

Chocolate Pear Hazelnut Scones

Dutch Oven Apple Crisp

Chocolate Loaf Cake With Earl Grey-Poached Pears

Recipe

Overhead image of a whole plum & pear upside down cake cut into slices on a stoneware platter.

Plum & Pear Upside Down Cake

5 from 2 votes
Author: Gabriel Carrera
Yield: 8
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Soaking Time 1 hour hr
Total Time 2 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Comments

Description

 

With its caramelized topping, this plum & pear upside down cake has a moist tender crumb. Rum-soaked raisins add an extra layer of flavour!

Equipment

  • Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
  • Small saucepan
  • 9-inch (23-cm) cake pan
  • pastry brush
  • Hand or stand mixer
  • Wire rack

Ingredients
 

  • ½ cup dark rum
  • ½ cup dried fruit
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 3 pears, cored, sliced into thin wedges
  • 2 plums, pitted, sliced into thin wedges
  • 1-½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1-½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Makes: 9inch9 x 9inch round

Instructions
 

  • Place the rum, dried fruit, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan on the stove top.
  • Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat and gently cook until the fruit softens, about 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Remove the pot from the heat and let the fruit sit in the rum for one hour to soak.
  • Drain the fruit and set the rum aside for another use (it’s fantastic in eggnog!).
  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and lightly grease a 9-inch (23-cm) cake pan with butter.
  • Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan. Scatter the rum-soaked dried fruit in a single layer over the sugar.
  • Arrange the sliced pears and plums on top of the dried fruit in any pattern you like. Set aside.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
  • Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light, fluffy, and pale, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each.
  • Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low until just combined.
  • Add the milk and vanilla, mix well, then add the remaining flour and mix until just combined.
  • Carefully spoon the cake batter evenly over the layers of fruit.
  • Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before carefully flipping it over onto a serving platter.

Notes

Dark rum or spiced rum are great in this recipe.
Use any mixture of dried fruit you like.
Reduce the amount of white sugar by up to half for a less sweet cake if you like.
Use the leftover rum in eggnog, or an autumn-spiced rum & cola! You could also pour it over the top of the cake as a cake soak after flipping it upside down onto the platter.


Substitutions

You can swap in any other spices you like for the cinnamon stick. Dried cardamom pods, star anise pods, or whole cloves are all lovely.
Most fresh fruit will work in this recipe in place of the plums and peaches. You could try apples, peaches, or even fresh berries.
You can substitute light spelt flour for the all-purpose flour.
Try substituting brown sugar for half of the white sugar in the cake batter.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 122mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g
Did you make this recipe?Let us know on Instagram @baked_theblog or tag #bakedtheblog!
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sara says

    February 05, 2015 at 5:18 am

    love this recipe – wanna try to make it, but wondering if there’s an alternative to the rum? Can i just leave it out or do I need to replace it with something else?

    Reply
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