Plum & Pear Upside Down Cake With Rum-Soaked Raisins

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

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

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

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!).

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.

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Arrange the pears and plums on top of the rum-soaked 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.

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.

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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 plums and pears.

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

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

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.

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.

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

If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.