Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

This week I made this super simple cranberry upside-down cake with the children in my care. The kids love cranberries and it makes a nice holiday dessert! Be sure to turn down the oven to 325 degrees F degrees after putting the cake in the oven so the cranberries and caramel sauce don’t burn. Flip the cake after just cooling for 10 minutes (not until the cake is entirely cooled) so the caramel sauce doesn’t solidify in the pan making it hard to remove. 

You Will Need:

Topping:

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries

Cake:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Scant pinch ground cloves
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (plus more for buttering the pan)
1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
1/4 cup milk

Equipment:

9-inch round cake pan with at least 2-inch high sides

What to Do:

1. Preheat the oven 350°F.

2. Butter a 9-inch cake pan generously with butter on the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan with sides at least 2 inches high.

3. Make the caramel topping: In a small saucepan, place the 4 tablespoons of butter and the 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar. On medium high heat, stir the sugar as the butter melts. Once the butter is melted and mixed in well with the sugar, stop stirring and let the mixture simmer for 15 seconds.

4. Pour the brown sugar butter mixture into the prepared cake pan. Spread the cranberries on top of the sugar butter mixture.

5. In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves.

6. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until light. Add the sugar and beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy.

7. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

8. Stir in the orange zest.

9. Mix a third of the dry ingredients into the mixture. Beat in half of the sour cream or yogurt. Mix in another third of the dry ingredients. Mix in the remaining sour cream or yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients, and then the milk.

10. Pour the batter over the cranberries in the cake pan, and smooth the surface.

11. Place in the preheated oven and lower the heat from 350°F to 325°F. Bake until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs. When pressing down on the cake, the surface should bounce back, about 55 to 60 minutes.

12. Cool the cake for 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the inside rim of the cake pan to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Then, turn the cake out onto a platter.

References:

Recipe from Simply Recipes

Photo by Stephanie Felzenberg

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