Cherry Bourbon Upside Down Cake Recipe

Easy Cherry Bourbon Upside Down Cake recipe with juicy cherries, rich bourbon flavor, and a moist, buttery cake. Perfect for any occasion.

Fresh cherries are one of my favorite things during late spring and early summertime.  I look forward to enjoying a bright beautiful bowl to snack on every year, and when my dad comes to town, I like to make him a cherry dessert because they are his favorite too.  Cherry Bourbon Upside Down Cake is made in a skillet and it’s loaded with fruity taste, and topped with a creamy yellow cake batter that ends up as the base, when inverted onto a plate.

Pitting cherries is the most time consuming part of this recipe, but with a good cherry pitter — it’s done pretty quickly.  You can use frozen defrosted cherries, but I prefer the fresh while in season, and the frozen variety during the off-season, around the holidays.

In this recipe, cherries are cooked in a bit of butter and then splashed with bourbon and cooked until the liquid is reduced — it takes just a few minutes.  The batter is made easily in a stand mixer with classic cake ingredients.  Dollop the batter over the cherries in the skillet and it’s off to the oven for baking.  After a few minutes of cooling, invert onto a plate and voila’ — it’s time for a delightful cherry cake.

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Ingredients

Cherry Topping

• 2 1/2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup bourbon

Cake

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk or milk + 1 teaspoon white vinegar

(Serves 8)

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large iron skillet, add butter and place over medium heat.  When melted, add brown sugar and stir until combined.  Cook for 1 minute.
2. Add pitted cherries and stir.  Top with bourbon and cook for 3 minutes until liquid has reduced slightly.  Turn off heat and set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar for 3 minutes.  Scrape down sides of bowl and add egg.  Mix for 1 minute.  Add dry ingredients and mix on low, while adding buttermilk until combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Spoon batter over top of cherries in skillet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until edges are golden brown and center is slightly puffed.  Remove and let cool 10 minutes before loosening edges with a knife and inverting onto a cake plate or platter.  Serve, slice and enjoy!

The Upside Down Cherry Bourbon Cake is a real hit at parties, barbecues and it makes a great substitute for birthday cake for any cherry lover in your life.