Isn’t it great when the summer fruits are back in the shops, and the weather warms up. While I love summer fruit just as it is, with Greek yoghurt and in overnight oats too, it is also wonderful in cake form, particularly in a slow cooker berry upside down cake!
Those sweet berry fruits add their sweet and tangy flavour to the soft sponge and the caramelised topping soaks into the cake adding such deliciousness that I just can’t get enough of it.
The berries become almost jam like in the sugary topping, just look at that amazing colour!
I used a mixture of raspberries and strawberries as I just love the tangy flavour of raspberries which cuts through the sweet strawberries.
Whenever I make this cake I am always amazed at how yellow the sponge turns out.
It is like you’ve used the freshest eggs laid in your own garden or something.
I think really this colour is from the butter and sugar that you coat the base of the slow cooker pot with, to create the caramelised topping.
This soaks up through the cake during cooking and back down once you invert it onto the plate and serve.
My slow cooker upside down cake is so easy to make so it makes a great simple pudding to serve up whenever you want it.
Who wouldn’t want to dig into that fruity topping to reach the rich sponge beneath?!
Ingredients
Here’s what you will need to make this recipe, get the quantities in the recipe card further down:
- raspberries, strawberries – or use a mix of other berries like blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, as you prefer
- light brown sugar
- butter
- caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- self-raising flour (self-rising flour)
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- baking powder
Method
- Cream the light brown sugar with the butter until creamy.
- Grease the slow cooker put then put the sugar and butter mixture in the bottom of the pot, spreading it around the base evenly.
- Chop the strawberries and place the strawberries and raspberries over the bottom of the slow cooker on top of the butter/sugar mixture.
- Put the cake ingredients in a bowl and mix together thoroughly.
- Spoon the cake mixture on top of the strawberries.
- Replace the lid, bake on high 1.5 to 2 hours or until a skewer comes out of the centre clean, with a tea towel under the lid to catch the condensation.
- Remove the pot from the slow cooker, allow to cool slightly, then run a knife around the cake, invert the pot and carefully catch the cake on your hand, and then transfer to a plate to serve.
Ideal with a weekend meal as dessert instead of a crumble or just to have with a cup of tea, however you prefer.
It also looks delicious even before you start baking! Just look at those colours. Definitely not a boring slow cooker dish.
If you are looking for some different slow cooker recipes to try, all in UK measurements, I have lots of family dishes in my slow cooker category, as well as lots of desserts.
There’s bound to be something there to grab your interest.
Slow cooker puddings
Making puddings in a slow cooker might sound unusual to some but it works so well that you really must try it if you haven’t tried it before.
The gentle heat is great for soft puddings and can also make a delicious crust on all kinds of cake, giant cookies and loaves of bread!
My post on baking and making desserts in a slow cooker is the best place to start for lots of new ideas.
If you are a devoted slow cooker user like me, if you are making a main meal in one slow cooker already, for the convenience and saved time, then why not make your dessert in another at the same time!
For me, if it means I can serve a delicious upside down cake like this with our family meal then I am all for it.
Save this recipe on Pinterest for later
Recipe
Slow Cooker Berry Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 50 g raspberries
- 100 g strawberries
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 50 g butter
For the sponge:
- 100 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 100 g self-raising flour
- 100 g butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Equipment
Instructions
- Cream the light brown sugar with the butter until creamy.50 g light brown sugar, 50 g butter
- Grease the slow cooker put then put the sugar and butter mixture in the bottom of the pot, spreading it around the base evenly.
- Chop the strawberries and place the strawberries and raspberries over the bottom of the slow cooker on top of the butter/sugar mixture.50 g raspberries, 100 g strawberries
- Put the cake ingredients in a bowl and mix together thoroughly.100 g caster sugar (superfine sugar), 100 g self-raising flour, 100 g butter, 2 eggs, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Spoon the cake mixture on top of the strawberries.
- Replace the lid, bake on high 1.5 to 2 hours or until a skewer comes out of the centre clean, with a tea towel under the lid to catch the condensation.
- Remove the pot from the slow cooker, allow to cool slightly, then run a knife around the cake, invert the pot and carefully catch the cake on your hand, and then transfer to a plate to serve.
Notes
Sending this recipe over to Baking Crumbs with Angela from Only Crumbs Remain
Also joining in with Bake of the Week with Helen at Casa Costello and Jenny at Mummy Mishaps
Michelle says
It would be nice to see comments/feedback from folks who have actually made and tried this cake, lol (er… I haven’t either… yet- give me a few hours!)
bakingqueen74 says
Haha this one had more comments on Facebook I think! Let me know how you get on.
Michelle says
Ok! Made the slow cooker cake! It’s delicious. And weird. Confession: I added an extra egg b/c we’re swimming in them (chickens laying steady). Also, it’s rhubarb season, so I used chopped rhubarb tossed with a little sugar instead of berries. Maybe those changes are what caused the weirdness. First, while tasty, the cake was gummy- thoroughly cooked, but so dense it was a little rubbery almost. I remember wondering at the instructions to just mix everything. No particular order, no whipping the egg, etc. Not super surprised at the texture! But definitely surprised that the rhubarb pieces floated up through the cake batter-i must not have “glued” them well enough to the sugar-butter mixture in bottom! So… I ended up with rhubarb-right-side-up cake, haha! (Went ahead and flipped it on the plate). The slow cooker I used had only 4 and 8 hr options, so I timed it, rather than just walking away, and it ended up taking nearly three hours before the tester came out clean. Obv a different cooker from the one the author used- maybe the even-longer, even-lower (I imagine- didn’t temp it, but set it on “high”) cooking made the denser texture. Anyway, while we enjoyed it, i’m prob not going to do it in THIS slow cooker again. What is the make/ model of the one you (author) used?? Also, less related, what is the fascination with self- rising flour? I had to google how to create that, and it’s just common ingredients (flour, baking powder, fine salt). Why not just use those ingredients in recipes in the first place? Thx!
bakingqueen74 says
Hi Michelle – thanks for reporting back!
I am in the UK so self-raising flour (does not contain salt here) is what is normally used for cakes, we buy it like that.
I am surprised to hear of the texture but this could be caused by adding extra egg. The cake mixture in this recipe is just a simple sponge cake which should not be dense and is normally mixed together all together like that – it is known as the all in one method. The sugar mixture under the fruit makes it a bit stickier than usual normally but not dense.
I have various slow cookers – the one used here is a digital one from John Lewis and is no longer sold.
The chopped rhubarb sounds delicious, I am glad you enjoyed the cake although the texture was a bit off.
jenny walters says
Gosh Lucy this looks incredible.Just the sort of cake I love.Warm with cream I would be literally in heaven!Love the colours.Pinned x
bakingqueen74 says
Thank you Jenny x
jenny paulin says
mmmm this looks so nice Lucy, the lovely jammy fruit own the top must be so delicious. thank you for linking to #Bakeoftheweek x
bakingqueen74 says
Thank you Jenny! Love that caramelised layer with the jammy fruit
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I love this Lucy – I bet it smelt amazing during the bake and whtn you turned it out! Those colours! Amazing. I’m a huge fan of upside down cakes – they’re so easy and as you say they make such great use of seasonal fruit. Thankyou for sharing with #BakingCrumbs,
Angela x
bakingqueen74 says
Thank you Angela, I must say it was your yummy upside down cakes which made me revisit this old post from a couple of years ago and take new photos!
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
I’ve never made a cake in the slow cooker before I really should try it, this one looks so good.
bakingqueen74 says
Thanks Jacqui, this is a great one to try first!
Alexa | DOORSTEP ORGANICS says
This dessert is exactly for me. I just love how appetizing the look.
Anca says
I never made upside down cake with berries, but always with firm fruits. It looks amazing, I should definitely try it.
bakingqueen74 says
Thank you Anca!