I experimented today with an Upside Down Lemon Cake, which was astonishing. Oh, and orange muffins. 

I woke up feeling anxious yesterday. And while I am unsure of the reason, I tried everything to calm myself down. But the anxiety I felt was overwhelming—something I had never experienced before. As I sat on my bed, trying to calm myself down, I heard, why not bake a cake? 

Now I have never baked a thing in my life, and I could not comprehend baking an entire cake. But, the idea of me baking a cake brought a smile to my face, and the thought of it gave me a sense of calm.

So how was I going to do this?

I do not own a mixer, and I was unsure if I owned a cake pan. But I started googling simple cake recipes which was overwhelming, but I eventually found one I liked.

I then paid visit to my miscellaneous bin and found a cake pan, plastic measuring spoons, and meauring cups I had purchaed in my early twenties when I first started learning to cook. I smiled at the thought that back then, I told myself I would learn how to bake, but that never happened.

Upside Down Lemon Cake

This Upside Down Lemon Cake seemed like an exciting choice especially since I had several lemons. Realizing I had most of the ingredients on hand except one, I drove to the supermarket for the buttermilk. On the way to the supermarket, I grew excited to try something new, and I figured I would make orange muffins. Why not? I had oranges at home. I had found two cupcake pans as well and needed cupcake liners. The recipe called for a nine-inch pan, and since I did not know the size of mine I used my contractor’s tape to measure the cake pan.

The result was an easy-on-the-eye, Simi-tarty sweet, delicious cake and moist, tasty muffins. 

Here is the recipe is the Nine-inch round Upside Down Lemon cake

INGREDIENTS

1. 1/4 cup of unsalted sweet cream butter 
2. 3/4 cup of dark brown sugar. 
3. Three Meyer lemons sliced 1/4-inch thick
4. 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) of all-purpose flour
5. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
6. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
7. 1/2 teaspoon plus a dash
8. 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
9. 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
10.  ½ teaspoon of grated fresh ginger 
11. 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
12. ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
13. One cup [200 grams] of granulated sugar
14. Two teaspoons of lemon zest
15. Two teaspoons of orange zest + the juice of ½ of an orange. 
16. 1/2 unsalted sweet cream butter
17. Three teaspoons of vanilla extract
18. Two large eggs at room temperature
19. 3/4 cup buttermilk

Notes:

This recipe called for a stand mixer and pastry brush. So, I improvised with a wooden spoon, a whisk, a fork, and a sheet of paper towel to make this cake.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. As the oven is heating, cut the butter into four pieces, place them in a nine-inch round cake pan and place the pan in the oven. Melt the butter until it has just about melted. With a pastry brush [I used a paper towel instead], brush the butter up the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter. Layer the lemon slices over the brown sugar, overlapping the lemons.
2. Place the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, ground ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom in a medium bowl and whisk until the ingredients are well combined for about thirty seconds.
3. Place the sugar in a glass bowl. Then Zest the lemon and orange on top of the sugar until you have what looks like two teaspoons. Add grated fresh ginger. Use your fingers to rub the zest and ginger into the sugar. Next, add the butter and vanilla. And then mix the butter and sugar mixture with a wooden spoon and whisk until it is light and fluffy for about five to eight minutes.
4. Add one egg at a time, beating after each addition. Add half of the flour mixture and mix well. If there some flour on the sides of the bowl, that is okay.
5. Mix in the buttermilk well until combined and add the remaining flour and mix well.
6. Then scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds to ensure all the ingredients are well combined
7. Gently pour the batter over the sliced lemons and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
8. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, which is about forty-five minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes. Then, it is time to run a knife around the edges to release the cake and invert it onto a platter.

Final thoughts

I used this exact recipe and measurement of ingredients for the orange muffin but omitted the lemons and lemon zest. But I also added the juice of one orange. 

There you have it, Dahlings. Please give this recipe a try, and experiment with your favorite spices [suggested by the recipe creator]. I happily did that, and I loved the results. I apologize that I could not find the recipe, unfortunately the link was giving me a 404 error. If I do find it I will be sure to link it here.