Blood Orange and Cardamom Upside Down Cake - David Lebovitz recipe

Blood Orange and Cardamom Upside Down Cake

I want to live near David Lebovitz.
And that doesn't mean he would live down the street in Los Angeles.
That means I would live in Paris.

Well, until then, I can make his ice cream and desserts. Here is an upside-down cake. Yes, I love the upside down cake (but not as much as the Bundt :)

David's recipe uses navel oranges, but I used all blood oranges. Oh, it is lovely California citrus time. Rock on! Melt butter, brown sugar and cardamom in a 10" skillet.

Layer your pretty citrus on the semi-cooled brown sugar layer.

The batter comes together quickly and is spread on the oranges. Bake for 40 minutes until golden.

On a side note, my Meyer Lemon Olive Oil cake was mentioned in the Los Angeles Times Food Section's blog, Daily Dish! How exciting is that?! And it's Thursday today Whoo hoo. Los Angeles Times Food section day.

Here are some other upside-down cakes:
Gingerbread Apple Upside-Down cake
Apple Upside-Down cake
Cherry Upside-Down cake
Los Angeles Times Meyer Lemon Upside-Down cake

P.S. It's my nephew's birthday today! 8 years old is a good year, Christian!

Recipe:
Adapted from David Lebovitz's Orange and Cardamom Upside Down Cake

Printable recipe here

David Lebovitz's recipe uses navel oranges, but he says in the notes that he has used a combo of navel and blood oranges. I only had blood oranges and used them.

Topping:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 medium-sized navel oranges, peeled and sliced in to 1/4-inch slices (I used blood oranges. I left one unpeeled and peeled the rest of them)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (I used Penzy's ground cardamom spice)

Batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom (David's recipe calls for 1 1/2 t ground cardamom but I went for a smaller amount - personal preference)
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 orange

Whipped cream (I didn't serve mine with any whipped cream)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Center rack in oven.
2. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter and the brown sugar along with 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to set.
3. Overlap the orange slices in concentric circles over the topping. Each slice should overlap the other by half. I stuck the little end pieces on the edges of the skillet.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and ground cardamom. In a measuring cup, combine the milk, vanilla and orange zest.
5. Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and thoroughly incorporate into batter. Scrap down sides of bowl as needed.
6. Stir in half of the dry ingredients, then the milk mixture. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients until just combined.
7. Pour batter over the oranges, even out with a spatula or knife and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes. Very carefully flip onto serving platter.