Peach and Plum Upside Down Cake

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Place the loaf pan or skillet on the burner over low heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, add brown sugar and stir it gently. When the brown sugar has melted, turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the stove.

In a large bowl, combine together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a separate small bowl, mix curd or buttermilk, oil, vinegar, vanilla extract and apple sauce.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl until just mixed. I added another teaspoon of curd to adjust the consistency.

Arrange the sliced fruit in the pan, being sure to crowd the pan as much as possible. The fruit will shrink when cooked. If you are using mint or any other herb, then sprinkle them on top of the fruit layer.

Gently top the fruit layer with cake batter, so as not to disturb the layer. Evenly distribute the batter and smoothen out with a spatula. Bake for 30-40 minutes or till the tooth pick inserted near the centre comes out clean.

Place the cake on a cooling rack. Let the cake settle for a minute or two until any fruit that has leaked up the sides stop bubbling. Do not let the cake cool completely or you will not be able to get it out of the pan.

Run a knife around the edges of the pan, place a plate on top of the pan and, using hot pads, carefully flip the cake over. Gently remove the pan. Be careful the fruit and glaze will be still quite hot and will burn. The cake needs to be removed from the pan shortly after it has been taken from the oven or the fruit will stick. This can be a little tricky as the fruit and brown sugar topping is still quite hot and can burn. Use hot pads or kitchen muffs and carefully remove it.

If any pieces of fruit is stuck on the pan, gently scrape them and replace on the cake. Let the cake cool. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm. You can serve with whipped cream or ice-cream.

To store, wrap carefully in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container. Will keep for several days.