Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Love cranberries! So glad to make anything with them 'cause I love the freshness and tartness that they impart to any dish that you use them in. Great to discover as well that you can make them into an upside down cake....wonderful... now my favorite upside down cake. The pineapple has truly met its match! Enjoy this beautiful and delicious cake that's wonderful as a dessert dish for the holidays!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspooon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoon butter and 1 stick butter (room temp)
6 Tablespoons sugar plus extra 1/2 cup sugar (separate each sugar)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 1/3 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole or 2 % milk



Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Grease a round cake pan with a little oil or use a non-stick spray. Set it aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set it aside.

Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter and sugar on medium heat in a small saucepan. Continue to stir until the mixture comes to the boil. Pour this evenly over the bottom of the cake pan and and top with the cranberries, smoothing the layer and pressing it down gently with your fingertips.  Sprinkle the nuts. Distribute them evenly. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer beat the remaining stick of butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue to beat until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Pour in the vanilla extract and then add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half of the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter. Mix in the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Batter will be thick.

Spoon the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. I did not use a baking sheet but found out later that the cranberry sauce bubbled over. Perhaps next time, I will place the round pan onto a sheet before baking.

Bake in a preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let the cake cool down for about 15-20 minutes before you remove them from the pan. Run a blunt knife between the sides of the pan and the cake. Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving platter. If any of the berries stick to the pan - as they might - just scrape them off with a knife and return them to the cake.

This reminds me of a cobbler and so like a cobbler this is perfect with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream! Better if serve warm or at least room temp and on the day it is made.

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This recipe was adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Cranberry Upside Down Cake.

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