I LOVE an upside down cake, but my love of these inverted delectables pale in comparison to that of my brother. Knowing his love of figs, I knew that even if nobody in the world liked this cake, I would have at least one fan. His exact comment when I sent the food porn to him? “Oh shit… and fig too?!? Put number 2 in the oven and I’ll be there in four hours!” So, aside from the fact that swearing runs in the family, he’s also a speed demon! Normal drivers get from California’s Central Valley to Pasadena in FIVE hours, but we won’t talk about that here… Love you, little brother! Back to the cake! I added the rosemary to the batter as an after thought. In fact, I even had a plan if it didn’t work. I was going to lie to you people! That’s right, a bold faced lie! I know my cake batter is legit so, I would have left the ingredient out and you would be reading about a regular ol’ fig upside down cake. Since you are reading the rosemary version instead, you should really trust me and use the ingredient!

You will need the following:

Fig Caramel “topping”

• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 stick salted butter
• 10 figs, cut lengthwise
• 9″ round baking pan, or cast iron skillet

Directions:

1. Melt butter and sugar together and whisk until blended. Allow to cook 4-6 minutes until thick and frothy. 
   
2. If using a cast iron skillet, arrange figs cut side down into the caramel and set aside. 

Cake batter

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 heaping Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Sift dry ingredients together and place in a large mixing bowl. If using a stand mixer, fit with the paddle attachment.
2. Add butter to the dry ingredients and blend on low speed for 2-3 minutes. Your mixture will look like crumbs.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together milk, eggs and vanilla.
4. On medium speed, slowly add wet ingredients to dry. Mix until well combined.
5. Add rosemary and mix on high for 30 seconds. 
6. Pour batter over figs and caramel and smooth the surface. 
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Run a knife around the perimeter of the pan. Wait about 10 minutes to invert onto a serving plate. 

This cake is so good and totally grown up! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, and by “we” I mean, the people in my department at work because if that cake stayed in my house it would kick the shit right out of Mindful Monday! Swearing Mom out!