Easy Cranberry Upside-down Cake.

[Sf_J]

No one in my family likes Pumpkin Pie so every year I'm tasked with coming up with some alternative desserts for Thanksgiving. This year I found an interesting recipe in Cooking Light magazine. Simple? check. Fresh seasonal ingredients? check. No frosting or icing? check. (my family also loathes thick frostings, I might be adopted as I love buttercream and cream cheese icing). I doubled the recipe and ended up with 2 smaller cakes and 1 regular 9 inch cake.

You'll need :

* Cooking spray
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 6 ounces fresh or frozen, thawed, cranberries

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 2 large eggs, separated
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk

-Topping Ingredients measured out


-Cake ingredients displayed (missing one stick of butter in pic. remember I doubled the recipe)


-Preheat your oven to 350°.

-in a small saucepan combine brown sugar and butter over medium heat. cook just a minute or two after all the butter is melted and combined well with the sugar, stirring to mix.


-divide the warm caramel mixture evenly among greased or sprayed pans. I used a 9 inch standard round pan and 2 smaller spring form. tilt pan to spread evenly or use a silicone spatula to gently pat the caramel so it coats the bottom evenly


-divide the rinsed and dried cranberries evenly on top


-whisk or sift together flour, baking powder and salt


-combine granulated sugar and softened butter in a large bowl. beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. add egg yolks one at a time, beat well after each addition.

[Sf_J]

-add vanilla. mix well. Add flour mixture a little at a time, alternating with milk. mix well after each addition. Start and end with flour. scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated well.




-with cleaned and dried beaters or a whisk, whip the egg whites until they are opaque and hold a stiff peak.




-gently fold the egg whites into the batter. This is the only "hard" part. I sort of make a crater in the batter and add the whites in 2 parts. Fold until just combined.




-divide the fluffy batter among the prepared pans. spread the batter to the edges and smooth out top with spatula. You want to leave about an inch or more space, don't overfill. ( I did a little on the big pan and my resulting cake has a "foot" or edge)




-bake on middle rack for 40-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the pans cool for 5-10 minutes before inverting and releasing the cakes onto a serving platter. Serve warm with ice cream or cool and eat later. It has a nice texture with a juicy tart topping. reminds me of coffee cake, I bet a streusel crumb topping would be a nice addition. If you don't like cranberries you can substitute blueberries or experiment with other fruits.

enjoy!

[domonbaylespam]

looks really good, I think the streusel crumb topping would be a really good idea too. Thanks for posting

[Berticus]

nice thread! those pictures look great and now i am hungry.

[odd]

If i had cash I would buy you a personal Hobart.

[Berticus]

i ended up using this recipe and it turned out great. your creation looks better than mine did but ay ay ay it was good.

[huxley]

I have an unatural love for the look and taste of whipped things.