IMPEACH UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Most of us think of upside-down cakes as old-fashioned, but they aren’t. These recipes goes back only to the early 20th century.

No one knows for sure how and when they originated originated, but a 1924 Seattle fund-raising cookbook seems to mark their first published appearance. This was followed by a version in a 1925 Gold Medal Flour ad, another in a 1931 government pamphlet, and finally one in a 1936 Sears Roebuck catalog.

Thus, upside-down cake became a fixed star in the firmament of American home baking. For we do think of them as American, too. And they are… but only sort of.

Upside-down technique, if not cake, existed prior to this in an apocryphal French apple pie.

This pie was created in 1889 by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin, innkeeper/restaurateurs in the Loire Valley.

During the busy hunting season, Stéphanie is said to have put a pan of apples and sugar over low heat, to cook slightly. But as so often happens in a busy kitchen, she grew distracted — —and she let the skillet of apples and sugar cook a tad longer than she’d intended. Instead of merely softening the apples, the sugar had melted and caramelized, and the apples had braised in this caramel. With no time to think, (but clearly enough kitchen-smarts to know that you couldn’t go to wrong with apple slices braised in caramel syrup), Stéphanie cleverly popped a pastry crust on it, baked the whole thing, turned it out and served it.

Voila! The Tarte Tatin, now a French standard (cited by everyone from  Antonin Carême, who referred to it as gâteaux renversés to Julia Child) was born. It even has its own dedicated festival.

Though the Tatin sisters are long gone, the hotel where they invented the reversed apple gateau is still extent, and trading proudly on their tarte.

IMPEACHMENT

Whether happy accident or intentional invention, the cake that doesn’t know which side is up is perfect for when you want a dessert that is quick, seasonal (providing you use fresh in-season fruit), but also a little special.

After four utterly insane years of politics and the near loss of American democracy, plus a pandemic, plus the first-ever second presidential impeachment trial (of a man who, in my view, never should have been elected in the first place), an upside-down cake seemed extra- appropriate. Of course, one made with peaches. Except it’s the dead of winter.

So I went with frozen peaches — Arkansas ones, from last summer, which we froze. But a bag of unsweetened frozen peaches from the market will work just as well.

Some serve these cakes with ice cream or whipped cream, but this is lily-guilding. A glass of cold milk, however, might be a welcome accompaniment, or a mug of good hot coffee.

The cake is especially delicious when still slightly warm.