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+ servings
A cake made with a surprising vegetable -sweet bell peppers.

Sweet Pepper Upside-Down Cake

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Yield 8 servings

Units

Ingredients 

  • 2 large red bell peppers
  • ½ teaspoon saffron
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 4 tablespoons cultured unsalted butter
  • ¾ cups light brown sugar (packed)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup masa harina
  • 1 tablespoon polenta
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 113 grams cultured unsalted butter (½ US cup)
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • ¼ cups evaporated cane sugar
  • 2 large eggs (room temp)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cups milk

Instructions

  • Chop the top and bottom off the 2 large red bell peppers and quater the pepper lengthwise, trimming any seeds or white membrane from the inside. Lay the strips of bell pepper on a baking sheet skin side up. Move your oven rack to the top position and turn the broiler on high. Put the sheet of bell peppers directly under the heating element and broil until the skins are charred almost solid black. This gives the peppers a nice smoky flavor. Once charred, put them in a ziplock bag, and seal the top and allow to cool. The steam escaping from the hot pepper dislodges the charred skin so it is easy to peel.
  • Crumble the ½ teaspoon saffron into a bowl and cover with the 1 tablespoon water.
  • Peel the roasted peppers and cut them into thin triangular strips. Butter the bottom of a 9" round cake pan and lay the strips down in a circular pattern. It's okay if there are small gaps between the peppers. Make the caramel by adding the 4 tablespoons cultured unsalted butter, ¾ cups light brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a pot over medium high heat. Cook until the sugar is melted (there shouldn't be any granules of sugar left), but be careful not to burn it. Pour the mixture over the prepared bell peppers. The hot mixture may spatter, so please be careful.
  • Turn the oven on to 350 degrees F and move the oven rack to the middle position.
  • Whisk the 1 cup masa harina, 1 tablespoon polenta, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon baking powder together in a bowl. Put the 113 grams cultured unsalted butter, ½ cup light brown sugar and ¼ cups evaporated cane sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the 2 large eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, saffron and soaking water and continue beating then slowly add the ¼ cups milk until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in all at once, then beat until smooth.
  • Pour the batter in to the pan with the peppers and caramel and flatten off the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool enough to touch. Put a plate on top of the pan and flip it over to invert the cake onto the plate. If any of the peppers stay stuck to the pan, just remove them and put them back into place on the cake. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature then slice and serve. 

Nutrition

Calories 399kcalCarbohydrates 55gProtein 4gFat 19gSaturated Fat 11gPolyunsaturated Fat 1gMonounsaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 1gCholesterol 93mgSodium 295mgPotassium 209mgFiber 2gSugar 42gVitamin A 1925IUVitamin C 52mgCalcium 105mgIron 2mg
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Experimental