I call this a “backyard cake” because in Southern California, and Los Angeles in particular, so many of us have a lemon, orange, or tangerine tree in our backyards. Sometimes they’re in the front yard, or planted on the strip of land between the sidewalk and the curb, but you are never more than a block away from a citrus tree. The natural pectin in the citrus, combined with the sugar, creates a pudding-like upside-down layer that’s similar to a buttery marmalade.
Ingredients
Upside-down layer:
Cake:
Preparation
Step 1
Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line it with parchment paper.
Start by making the upside-down layer:
Step 2
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Remove the pan from the heat and add ½ cup of the sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk the mixture until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is glossy and thickened a little. Pour the melted butter and sugar into the prepared cake pan and smooth into an even layer to cover the bottom. Place the cake pan in the freezer until the butter and sugar layer freezes; leave the pan in the freezer until you are ready to transfer the batter to the pan.
Step 3
In a small bowl, gently toss the lemon slices with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Leave the lemon slices in the sugar to macerate for 10 minutes.
While the upside-down layer freezes, make the cake batter:
Step 4
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Set aside. Combine the eggs with the olive oil in another large bowl and beat vigorously with a whisk until well combined. Add the yogurt and sugar. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the wet mixture in three additions, folding in each addition until no dry bits of flour remain. Set aside.
Step 5
Fan the lemon slices out to cover the melted butter and sugar in the cake pan, overlapping the slices by as much as 1⁄8 inch. Pour the cake batter directly on top of the lemon slices.
Step 6
Bake for about 1 hour, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and carefully remove the parchment-paper lining. Allow the cake to cool for 1 hour more before serving.
Step 7
Note: This cake can be made with nearly any citrus, my favorite being lemon because I like it to be bitter and tart. The only citrus I would not use is raw grapefruit, oro blanco, or lime. The rinds of grapefruit and oro blanco are much thicker than lemons and oranges and they will take longer to bake. Lime and grapefruit also retain too much of the bitter quinine flavor and will make for an odd-tasting cake
How would you rate Backyard Citrus Upside-Down Cake?
Leave a Review
Reviews (35)
Back to TopI wish I'd read the reviews before making this. I made it exactly as directed. What a mess! Once the topping started dripping I put a baking sheet underneath the pan.Too late. Smoke billowed for the next 15 minutes. So, yes. This recipe is for a deep 9 inch pan. If you don't have one, then agree you should make 1/3 of the recipe for the cake base. Way too much butter in the topping and no need for the water. It was tasty but I won't make it again.
Sandy
Bend, OR
4/9/2023
I followed the directions...9" pan, ingredients and directions, including the frozen butter layer. First of all, there was SO much batter! But I put it in the 9" pan and started to bake it at 350...until smoke started to billow out of the oven as the melting butter spilled over! My range has a small & a large oven. With gas prices being what they are I started baking this in the smaller oven. But...I heated up the large oven, placing an aluminum foil-lined baking pan in it, and when that oven was at 350 I transferred the cake over. So now I'm sitting here looking at this beautiful cake cooling on my counter and I know what I SHOULD be doing is getting up and cleaning the small oven.
Linda S-K
Newport Coast, CA
2/3/2023
This was a great base recipe. My modifications are as follows: 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 white sugar for the citrus topping. I also whisked the butter sugar combination on very low heat until combined. I added a pinch of salt to the caramel. I did not add the water. Use Myer lemons. Add the zest of one lemon to the cake batter from regular lemons, not the Myer lemons. Use 1/2 lemon olive oil and 1/2 Greek olive oil for the batter. Use Chobani nonfat Greek yogurt for the yogurt.
Super Summer Cake
Oklahoma
8/13/2022
Not sure why this did not work for some. I made the recipe as written, and it was delicious! The cake batter was not too much. The only thing I will do next time is add some lemon zest and/or juice to the batter to make it a bit more lemony, and I would use Meyer Lemons. Glad to get this recipe in the summer. Plan on making it for desserts during the season. Thank you!
Anonymous
7/20/2022
Sliced the lemons with a mandolin. Worked great. Delicious topping and great cake with the olive oil and yoghurt.
Anonymous
San Diego
6/10/2022
This was my first time making upside down cake and it was SOOOOO good! I followed the directions without modifications. This recipe was so tasty and such a nice experience for a beginner. I used a 9'' pan like they said and made two separate parchment papers for the pan - one circular strip for the bottom and thin strips for the side. It was cool watching the parchment paper strips rise up out of the pan with the cake! It looked toasty on the top (now bottom!). It made the house smell nice. The olive oil is a nice touch. I'm not sure why there are so many negative comments. I'm keeping this recipe for later!
Allie
AZ
4/27/2022
I'm glad I read the reviews before making this dessert. They were right on so my cake was successful. No parchment needed. Halved the cake recipe. Baked for 45-50 minutes and it as perfect. So yummy! We will definitely be making it again with these changes. I didn't try the lemon yogurt this time but I think that and a little vanilla would be a great addition.
Sheryl Zimmerer
Talent, Oregon
4/18/2022
This cake was delicious! I read all the reviews and made the following modifications: I used an 8" round cake pan with deep sides (not springform) and no parchment; used the full recipe for the topping; arranged the lemon slices on the topping before freezing; made a half recipe of the cake batter; used lemon flavored yogurt instead of plain. It cooked faster than 1 hour, maybe 45 minutes tops. I rested it 15 minutes on a rack, like the recipe said, then inverted it onto a plate and left it for 1+ hour before lifting off the pan. It was picture perfect, had a lovely moist crumb, nice tang from the yogurt, and the topping added a nice sweet-tart taste. I can't wait to make it again!
Ann H.
Santa Rosa, CA
4/2/2022
I have never heard of an upside down cake not being cooked in a cast iron frying pan. This recipe sounds like a disaster.
Anonymous
Ashland Oregon
12/29/2021
So much wrong with this recipe. No need for parchment paper. Cooked much faster than an hour. Not sure the point of freezing butter and sugar - cooling them down should be enough - after all you are going to put it back into a hot oven. And yes there was way too much batter. Should have been either a 10" cake pan or a springform pan. A regular 9" cake pan doesn't work. I use Epicurious because I thought they vetted recipes, but apparently they didn't this one.
indycindy
Connecticut
9/23/2021
I used a 9 inch deep sided springform pan. I read the reviews and forgot to put a sheet pan underneath though I'm not sure that would have mattered. I had flames in the oven, smoke everywhere and a mess on the oven bottom. I haven't tried the cake yet but it better be spectacular for the mess and smoke smell I now have to deal with.
llk73
Grand Rapids Mi
4/27/2021
Thank you to previous reviewers who suggested using half the batter for standard 9" pan! And the suggestion to lay out the lemon slices before freezing is brilliant. I would add: Don't bother with parchment paper unless using springform pan. I used half the amount of olive oil and it was fine. Do some clean up before starting on the batter because the butter mixture will take a while to solidify in the freezer. I found the lemon rinds too bitter so if I were to make again, I would candy the lemon slices first instead of just letting them macerate in the sugar.
jeanwu1
Ottawa, Canada
3/6/2021
To avoid the butter mess in oven I used an 8 inch metal pie pan for 1/3 batter , and 9 inch cake pan for 2/3 batter - doubled amount of lemons and sugar to have enough for both pans. Both cakes were a lovely presentation. Be sure to let butter sugar bubble and thicken. There was enough for both pans;place lemons on top before freezing. After baked and cooled cake is turned out of pan use a rubber scraper to collect the lemony syrup to spread on cake. I did add lemon extract and lemon zest to batter - do not know how cake tastes without it.
cesaera
Upstate NY
1/9/2021
Hey Everyone... This is in the oven right now but I wanted to comment on the suggestions below before I forget. - The amount of batter listed above IS correct IF you are using a high-sided pan, like a springform pan. I halved the batter per the suggestions below and it is well below the half-filled point of a conventional 9-inch spring form pan. I could have made the whole batter amount and been fine. - When making the butter-sugar layer, do this at least 30 minutes prior to mixing the batter to let the batter set. Once your batter is made you are on the clock. - Fan the lemons over the butter-sugar mixture before freezing. This way they won't move when you are spreading your batter out. - For vegans like me, sub 1/4 c plant milk mixed with 1 tbs lemon juice per egg, and add 1 tsp cornstarch per egg to the flour mixture.
ameliacooper
Las Vegas
9/6/2020
This is a super cake for those who appreciate lemon. You have to divide the amounts by 2. The lemon must be sliced by a mandoline.
tanisus6320
Russia
9/6/2020
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