Clementine Upside-Down Cakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tb clementine (or orange) zest
1 Tb clementine (or orange) juice
Brown sugar
Clementines sliced about 1 centimeter thick (only use the middle slices, not the tops and bottoms)
1/2 cup clementine/orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin well and set aside.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar and beat until mixture is smooth and pale, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down after each. Add vanilla, zest, and juice and beat well. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, folding together until just combined.
In the bottom of each muffin cup, sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of brown sugar. Lay a slice of clementine on top. Fill the cup almost to the top with batter. Bake just until tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool for just a few minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack (hold the wire rack with the top against the top of the muffin pan, flip them over together, then carefully remove the muffin pan) Let cool a few more minutes while making the syrup.
Bring the juice and sugar to a boil, continue boiling until the sugar has dissolved and it just starts to thicken.
Spoon the warm syrup over the cakes. Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream, or berries!