Adapted from Gourmet
20 minutes preparation time
40-45 minutes baking time
Gourmet calls for a 10-inch cast iron skillet or nonstick pan to make this dessert, but I used stainless steel. You just need a pan that can go safely from stove top to oven, and it needs to have sides that are at least 2 inches deep to hold the cake. There is enough butter in this recipe that the cake slipped out of my stainless steel pan just fine. The cake keeps well for a couple of days in the refrigerator, but I recommend bringing it to room temperature before serving.
For the fruit:
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
10-12 small apricots, halved lengthwise and pitted
1 cup blueberries
For the cake:
1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 almond extract
2 large eggs at room temperature
3/4 cups buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 1/4 cup plain yogurt)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat. After the butter has melted, sprinkle the brown sugar as evenly as possible over the butter, and let it cook without stirring for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the apricots cut sides down in a pattern that you like because they will become the top of the cake. Sprinkle the blueberries in the spaces between the apricots. Set the pan aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With a mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and extracts until fluffy and lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and then mix until the batter has nearly doubled in volume, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, and add the flour mixture and buttermilk in three alternating batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. With each addition, mix until just combined.
Scoop the batter onto the top of the apricots and blueberries being careful not to ruin that beautiful pattern that you made out of the fruit. The batter will be thick, so distribute it as evenly as possible and then smooth it out with a rubber spatula. Don't worry about any butter that oozes through. It will bake up just fine.
Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for about 15 minutes. If the cake seems stuck to the sides, run a knife around the edge of it, but I found that this wasn't necessary because the cake pulled away from the side of the pan as it cooled. When the pan is cool enough to tough, put the serving plate on top of the pan. Keeping the plate firmly on top of the pan, flip it in one motion so that the plate is on the bottom. This is really a lot easier than it sounds. Just take a deep breath and go for it. Carefully lift the pan and if there is any fruit stuck to the bottom, return it to its rightful place on top of the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.