A blend of oat and sweet rice flours creates a sturdy crumb to hold up late summer's last nectarines in this gluten-free upside down nectarine cake. Sweetened just with honey and made dairy-free with coconut oil and coconut yogurt, this cake is a keeper.
Gluten-Free Upside Down Nectarine Cake
Did summer pass by in a flash? It felt like it to me. We started back in early June with a last day of school beach visit, continued with a trip to Armstrong Woods, a pancake breakfast at the local firehouse on a rainy Sunday, then packed in lots of swims in the river and swims in various pools, two camping trips, and many hours outside. I always feel a bit wistful at season's change -- though not so much at the transition of winter into spring! -- which I think means the preceding months have been good ones. Our summer certainly was. Today it's a certain someone's ninth birthday so we'll celebrate with chocolate cake and a final weekend swim session. But to commemorate the end of what was really a very nice summer, I made a cake with the last of the nectarines, and it was the perfect way to bit adieu to summer 2022.
Try Other Fruit
You can easily substitute another fruit here if you can't get nectarines -- apples would be perfect, or plums, or persimmons when they start coming in. I did a simple blend of wholesome oat flour with a bit of sweet white rice flour for binding and to give it that proper cakey crumb. It's sweetened just with a half cup of honey in the batter and a Tablespoon of maple syrup for the fruit -- the inherent sweetness of the fruit plus these natural sweeteners means the cake tastes plenty sweet but the amount is blessedly lower than in many cakes. This cake is also dairy-free with coconut oil and coconut yogurt (though - between you and me - I've also made it with sour cream and it is delightful). If you want to try it as a base for a vanilla layer cake I'd double the recipe, add a Tablespoon of pure vanilla extract, and up the honey to ¾ cup per batch.
Now my thoughts are turning solidly to fall -- pumpkin bread is coming up and I am wondering if I should experiment with gluten-free sourdough bread (this will be a slippery slope I fear!) and my recipe list grows longer every day, full of cozy loafs and all the holiday cookies. I love autumn, but I will look forward to next summer!
Til next time — N xx
What You'll Need
- Oat flour: My favorite gluten-free flour for baking, oat flour is a whole grain and wonderful in cakes
- Sweet white rice flour: Acts a binder in gluten-free bakes, so no need to use xanthan gum
- Coconut oil: Refined or unrefined coconut oil will work
- Baking powder
- Fine sea salt
- Coconut yogurt or non-dairy yogurt of choice
- Eggs
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Fresh nectarines
Tips for Success
- Bring ingredients to room temperature before using
- You may use butter in place of the coconut oil and dairy yogurt in place of the coconut yogurt, or use sour cream
- Let batter rest for at least 15 minutes to help the gluten-free flours hydrate
Substitution Suggestions
While you should keep in mind that the flavor will change if you make substitutions, it's fairly easy to make swaps in this recipe:
- Try almond flour for the oat flour
- Sub tapioca flour for the sweet white rice flour
- Use an equivalent amount of maple syrup for the honey
How to Store
Cake will keep, well-covered in the fridge, for 3 days. To serve, eat cold, or bring to room temperature.
Gluten-Free Upside Down Nectarine Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut oil at cool room temperature
- ½ cup honey light/neutral tasting
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups/130 g gluten-free oat flour
- ½ cup/80 g sweet white rice flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup coconut yogurt or sour cream
- 4 large nectarines, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Place a piece of parchment in an 8-inch cake pan. Grease the parchment and sides of cake pan with coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, cream the coconut oil and honey until whipped, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet rice and oat flours with the baking powder and salt.
- With the mixer on low, stir half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Stir in the coconut milk until just combined, then add the rest of the flour, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350º F.
- Now make the nectarines: In a cast iron skillet or large frying pan melt the coconut oil and maple syrup over medium heat. Add the nectarine slices and reduce heat to low, stirring them frequently until slices are soft and slightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes
- Arrange the nectarine slices in the pan in concentric circles, having them slightly overlap each other if you can. Drizzle any remaining liquid from the pan over the fruit.
- Spread the batter evenly over the fruit in the pan.
- Place the cake in the oven and bake until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, the top is set, and the edges are slightly coming away from the pan, 40-50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cake cool completely in the pan on a rack, then invert onto a serving platter and peel away the parchment. Serve the cake at room temperature.
- Cake can be stored, covered, in the fridge for 3 days.
Helen says
If this cake tastes as good as it looks….voila! Just perfect for autumn!