Mango Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I don't normally bake cakes with tropical fruit, but I decided to try this recipe out for a Mother's Day surprise (with a few tweaks). Unfortunately, I whipped it together in the afternoon and forgot to take pictures, but it was super easy to make! The cake was moist and delicious, and the flavor of the fruit really shined through. I was afraid the brown sugar on the bottom would overpower the fruit and become syrupy, but to my surprise the flavors complemented each other perfectly. You can use either frozen or fresh fruit for the cake, but if the fruit is particularly sour, you may want to adjust the amount of brown sugar you use. This cake is delicious served warm by itself, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Here's the recipe:

• 1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 2 medium mangoes (about 1 cup), diced 
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup baking powder
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tbsp. whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Beat 2 tbsp. of softened butter with the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper, grease it with softened butted, and then spread the brown sugar mixture evenly along the bottom of the pan. 

3. Mix the diced fruit together. This should yield about 2 cups of fruit. Spread over the brown sugar mixture in the baking pan.

4. In a large bowl, whisk in flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder so that it is sifted and well combined. 

5. In another bowl, beat the remaining 6 tbsp. of butter with 3/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy - for about 3 minutes.

6. Add in eggs, one by one, and beat until combined.

7. Add in half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, beating until fully combined. Next, add sour cream, the second half of the flour mixture, and the whole milk, beating to combine between each addition. 

8. Pour batter over fruit and brown sugar mixture. Bake for 50 minutes, rotating pan at 25 minutes to ensure that the cake bakes evenly. 

9. Allow the cake to cool for about 10-15 minutes, and then invert onto a serving platter. Peel parchment paper away and serve warm. Enjoy!