By Last day of school. Another year. Nineteen years as a counselor now, which is longer than some of my students have been alive, which is a thought I'm choosing not to examine too closely because it leads directly to "where did the time go" and that's a rabbit hole with no bottom.
Packed up my office. Aaliyah's flower drawing still on the wall — I'm leaving it. It's mine now. It's the office's now. Whoever sits in this chair next September will see a made-up flower drawn by a girl who learned to crack an egg and changed her life and the flower will mean something even to a stranger. Art does that. Food does that. Love does that. It means something even when you don't know the story behind it.
Isaiah is coming home for the summer — finished his second year at UNC Charlotte. Basketball went well. Grades stabilized (back to B+). He's bringing a summer bag and the GREENS KING apron and, he mentioned casually, a girl named Danielle. Not BRINGING bringing — just "she might visit." Isaiah doesn't use the word "girlfriend." He uses phrases like "someone I hang out with" and "she might visit," which in Isaiah-speak means: I am deeply invested but will die before admitting it.
Made a big batch of banana pudding for the end-of-year church potluck — Mama's from-scratch recipe. Homemade custard, sliced bananas, vanilla wafers, meringue. Carried it into the fellowship hall and it was gone in twenty minutes. Sister Patricia (the choir alto, not the attorney) said, "Your mama would be proud." I said, "My mama would say the meringue needed more peaks." Both things are true.
The banana pudding is Mama’s — and it will always be Mama’s — but I started thinking about what I’d bring to the next potluck, the one that doesn’t carry nineteen years of muscle memory in the bowl. This Black Forest Upside-Down Cake has that same fellowship-hall energy: rich, generous, dramatic enough to earn a compliment from Sister Patricia, and sturdy enough to survive the drive across town in the passenger seat. If Isaiah and Danielle are around when I make it, I suspect it will be gone in twenty minutes too.
Black Forest Upside-Down Cake
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour melted butter into a 9x13-inch baking pan and tilt to coat the bottom evenly.
- Build the topping. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the butter. Spoon cherry pie filling over the brown sugar in an even layer. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar until combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined — do not overmix. A few streaks of flour are fine.
- Pour and bake. Carefully pour the batter over the cherry layer in the pan, spreading gently to the edges. Bake for 38–42 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and flip. Let the cake cool in the pan for exactly 10 minutes — no longer. Run a knife around the edges, place a large rimmed baking sheet or serving board on top, and flip in one confident motion. Lift the pan away slowly.
- Serve. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with whipped cream if desired. Expect it to disappear fast.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 56g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 280mg