Coconut Upside Down Cake with Whiskey Caramel Sauce

Photo and recipe by Wynwood Kitchen and Bar executive chef Miguel Aguilar

This is not an upside down cake in the usual sense. Instead, as the cake batter bakes, it rises up and turns golden around the coconut topping. The porous cake soaks up the delicious sauce. This has become Wynwood Kitchen and Bar's signature sweet.

Makes 6 or 7 cakes and about 1½ cups sauce

Whiskey Caramel Sauce:

½ cup whiskey, divided
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1½ tablespoons butter
¼ cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt

Coconut Topping:

½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Coconut Upside Down Cake:

¾ cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
6 ounces (1½ sticks) butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup coconut milk
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
6 mint leaves, for garnish

To make sauce:

1. Mix half the whiskey with the corn syrup and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, periodically gently tilting the pan to swirl the contents; do not stir. Cook until mixture turns amber.

2. Remove from heat and quickly whisk in the remaining whiskey, butter, cream and salt. Be careful as the mixture will bubble up. Chill.

To make topping:

Mix all the ingredients together well.

To make cake:

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. Combine coconut milk and vanilla. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating and scraping bowl after each addition until just combined.

4. In batches, alternately add the flour mixture and the coconut milk as you beat to combine. Refrigerate the batter until chilled.

5. Heat oven to 350ºF. (For best results use a convection oven.)

6. Spray 6 or 7 (4-ounce) muffin cups with no-stick cooking spray. Divide the cake batter among the cups. Divide the topping among the muffin cups, placing coconut mixture formed into a rough ball atop the center of the batter.

7. Place in oven on middle shelf with a drip pan below. If using a convection oven bake 12 to 15 minutes. In a conventional oven bake 25 to 35 minutes, until set and golden on top.

To serve:

1. Place a portion of sauce on each of 6 or 7 dessert plates.

2. Working with one plate at a time, tilt the plate to swirl the sauce so it forms a pool about 5 inches in diameter. Place a warm cake on top of the sauce on each plate. Garnish with a mint leaf.

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