With a tender crumb and deliciously sweet-tangy flavor this Cranberry Upside Down Cake is the best cake for the holidays! So good one slice is not enough!
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!
It is quite a stunning cake, too! So festive and the perfect addition to your holiday table!
If you like what you see and would like to receive new recipe updates, we’d love you to subscribe to our posts or join our site. Needless to say, we’d love you to like us on Facebook and Instagram, too where you can get more recipes and updates. Thanks and happy browsing!
FOR FULL RECIPE & INSTRUCTIONS and to PRINT, SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW.
NOTES ON INGREDIENTS FOR CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Salt
- Butter
- Sugar
- Walnuts or pecans, chopped
- Cranberries, fresh or frozen may be used (if frozen, do not thaw)
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Milk – use whole or 2 % (semi-skimmed)
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
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 a boil.
Pour this butter mixture evenly over the bottom of the cake pan.
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. The cake batter will be thick.
Spoon the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
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 so this is perfect with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream! Better if served warm or at least room temp and on the day it is made.
If you like what you see and would like to receive new recipe updates, we’d love you to subscribe to our posts or join our site. Needless to say, we’d love you to like us on Facebook and Instagram, too where you can get more recipes and updates. Thanks and happy browsing!
Cranberry Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp double-acting baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp butter plus 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, divided room temp
- 1 1/3 cup sugar, divided
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 2 1/3 cups cranberries (about 1 pack), fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or almond extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole or 2 % milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease an 8-inch 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 6 tablespoons of the sugar on medium heat in a small saucepan. Continue to stir until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Pour this evenly over the bottom of the cake pan 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 butter (1/2 cup) on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is pale and creamy. Pour in the vanilla or almond extract and then add the eggs one at a time, beating well 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. Pour in the milk, mix, then add the remaining flour. The cake batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 50-55 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 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 the taste and flavor of a cobbler and so like a cobbler this is perfect with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream! Better if served warm or at room temperature and on the day it is made.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Cranberry Upside Down Cake.
Last updated on November 11th, 2023 at 01:54 pm
This looks delicious!
Thanks, Kat! It is a lovely dessert. Just had it for breakfast too! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
looks swell and nice recipe !
Thanks Priya! So glad to have discovered that one can make cranberry cake this way! Yummmmm!
Hi I made a similar one last weekend (Joy of Baking recipe) It was really good. I will try this recipe too because it looks amazing. I have a question about the sugar are both white ? The recipe says sugar and then White Sugar & to separate the two…
Thanks
Debbie
Hi Debbie, the recipe mentions both are white. Hope you enjoy it and thank you for stopping by.
This sounds delicious and is gorgeous to boot! What size cake pan are you using? I'm assuming a 9-inch but want to make sure before I make this. Thanks!
9-inch should be fine. Please enjoy and do let us know how it turns out.
G'day Abby! Looks delicious, true!
Wish could come and try some right now with my coffee too!
Cheers! Joanne
Thanks, Joanne! This is wonderful with coffee. 🙂 Please enjoy.
Absolutely love upside down cakes! This one looks fantastic! I love how the fruit look like jewels. Gorgeous pop of colour and flavour.
Thanks Chloe and Sarah! This is truly one of my favorite cakes as not only does it look pretty, it truly is moist and scrumptious. Glad you stopped by.
That cranberry looks delicious – great photo!