Mini Nectarine Upside-Down Cakes

Around this time last year, Adam said, “I need you to make me something to impress my date with.” Wait, what?? “But it’s gotta be something she’ll believe I made.” Insert skeptical face here… After brainstorming for a bit, I decided some mini peach upside-down cakes would be cute, not too fancy but still impressive, and most importantly, mighty tasty. I can’t remember if Adam helped or not. Maybe he stirred the batter for a while… Anyway, here they are with nectarines this time. You can use either peaches or nectarines, as long as they aren’t too ripe. The fruit will soften in the oven, so you want to start with crisp, firm slices.

Those little cakes were so yummy we ate 4 hot out of the oven. The edges were still crispy and the peaches still syrupy. Then Adam packed three for his date and I packed two for mine. By the next morning, I was down to one, and it took a LOT of willpower to save that final one. To this day, Chompy still gripes about it: “There were two cakes for me. Then there was ONE.”

I made these in muffin pans. You’ll get about 8 out of a muffin pan and 10 out of a cupcake pan. I highly recommend lining each muffin cup with a wide strip of parchment paper so you can lift the cakes out without losing any of the fruit, which often sticks to the bottom of the pan. They are best served warm (even hot!) but they’ll also keep in the fridge for a couple days. Hope you make some with the last batch of summer fruit!