Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter or spray the sides and bottom of a deep pie plate or cake pan (8 or 9″ round) and line with parchment paper. (Parchment paper is optional but it’s easier to remove cake from pan.)
2. Make the fruity bottom layer: In a small bowl, use your hands to combine 3 tablespoons soft butter with the brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. Spread the mixture on the bottom of your pie or cake pan and set aside.
3. Place sliced nectarines in one layer on top of the butter/brown sugar mixture. Arrange in a circular pattern (see blog) or just free form.
4. To make cake batter, use an electric mixer or rubber spatula to combine the remaining 8 tablespoons soft butter with granulated sugar and beat until smooth.
5. Add in eggs, one at a time and vanilla. Mix well.
6. Add in sour cream, lemon juice and zest; mix well.
7. In a separate bowl, stir with a fork: flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
8. Add flour mixture in 3 installments to the wet batter. Mix slowly and gently with as few strokes as possible, just until the last bits of flour disappear.
9. Pour half of the batter over the nectarines, allowing a minute for batter to settle over fruit. Add in remaining batter and tap pan gently two or three times to level batter. Smooth top with a rubber or offset spatula.
10. Bake 40 -50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of just the cake (not all the way down to the nectarines) comes out clean.
11. Keep on oven light and check cake for doneness early. Cake is ready when golden and the top springs back when touched.
12. Let cool in pan at least 20 minutes or longer before flipping.
13. If you did not use parchment paper, use a butter knife to loosen the cake from the pan.
14. To flip, put a serving plate on top of the cooled cake, pick up the cake pan and carefully but quickly turn the pan upside down onto the plate.
15. Remove the parchment or any loose bits of fruit from the pan and put them back on top of the cake.
16. Serve warm or room temperature with ice cream or whipped topping.
17. This cake will last up to three days in the refrigerator.
18. For prettier slices, freeze before slicing. Let cake cool, invert, wrap loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for a few hours or overnight.
19. Slice frozen cake and rewrap with plastic until ready to serve.