Cranberry Caramel Upside-Down Cake

With the holiday season comes a lot of parties and dinners, and a good excuse to try out some new recipes.  Searching for cranberry dessert recipes, I saw this one on Lotti + Doof and thought I’d give it try – and I’m so happy I did.  It is moist, and the sweetness of the caramel, and tartness of the cranberries work really well together.  I made it in a cast-iron frying pan, but you could make it in a cake pan.  It took about twice as long to bake as the recipe said, but since I’m just learning about how my new oven works, I’ve listed the original baking time.

What you need:

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter (1/2 and 1/4 for separate parts of the recipe)

2 & 3/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 eggs, separated, at room temperature

1/2 cup whole or homogenized milk, room temperature

1 & 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon

vanilla

What you do: 

1. Melt the butter with 1/4 cup brown sugar in a 9 inch cast-iron frying pan, stirring, until it begins bubbling. Let this cool. (If you don’t have a frying pan this size, just make the caramel in another pot, then pour it into your cake pan.)

2. Cook the cranberries and orange juice in a small pot until the cranberries begin to pop.  Pour the cranberries over the cooled caramel.

3. Beat 1/2 cup butter and the granulated sugar until it is fluffy.  Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.  Stir in the vanilla.

4.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Add 1/3 of it to the batter, then 1/2 the milk, 1/3 more flour, the rest of the milk, then the rest of the flour.  Mix only until the flour is combined.

5. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form.  Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites, then fold in the rest.

6. Pour the batter on top of the cranberries and smooth the top of it down a little.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350F.  The cake should be a little browned and pull away from the sides of the pan.  I also tested mine with a toothpick, which told me I needed to bake for a lot longer.

8. When the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Then run a sharp knife around the edge and invert it onto the serving plate.

Yum! Enjoy!