This Cranberry Upside Down Cake is full of your favorite holiday spices and fresh cranberries, sweetened with dark brown sugar, and kicked up with tangy orange zest. Perfect for the holidays or anytime cranberries are in season!
Up. Down. Kicked around. This Cranberry Upside Down Cake is bouncing all around our kitchen at the moment. In the fridge. On the counter. In our bellies. Back in the fridge. Oh sure, why not one more piece. Back out of the fridge. It’s in high demand.
There is no rest for the delicious.
I slightly kicked up the flavor of this dessert from another recipe by giving the cake a nice kick of cinnamon and a baby burst of orange zest. OHHHH YEAHH. Eat it and weep for your waistline. But who the heck cares? It’s time for us to stop worrying about that stuff.
At least that’s my philosophy. [unbuttons top of pants]
This is one of those times you can use extra butter without judgment. Tell them you’re just following instructions. If Santa is coming, this is no time to be breaking rules, right?
Pour those cranberries into your buttered pan. Then, after you add your mixture of sugar, cinnamon and allspice on top of your cranberries, sing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” at the top of your lungs. Are you doing it? Remember, Santa knows if you’ve been good or bad.
We couldn’t keep our paws off it. So it’s like…GONE.
Let’s hate the above picture together, shall we? Why in heck is there a piece still left?! HEY who didn’t eat every last bite?? Rule #23: Never leave a fellow cranberry cake bite behind.
This recipe comes together pretty easily for such a fancy turnout. I think you’ll wow some holiday guests with these baking skills! You can Instagrambook it to your Facetimesnap and all of your Twitterbird followers will give it a star. Hashtag it #wow. Awww remember Twitter stars? Technology, sigh.
Still craving more cranberry desserts? Check Out Fall Spiced Cranberry Muffins with Tangerine Glaze and the most delicious Cranberry Apple Sauce you’ll ever lay your lips on.
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Kicked Up Cranberry Upside Down Cake
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
Cranberry Topping
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 3/4 cup fresh cranberries
Cake
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided (divide before softening)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1–2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Use 2 tablespoons of the softened butter and smear it on the bottom and sides of 9-inch cake pan. (Yes, it’s supposed to be a lot of butter!) Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine first three ingredients of the topping mixture (1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon allspice). Mix well. Pour cranberries evenly into the bottom of the cake pan that you just buttered. Add a few extra cranberries if there are any gaps – you want them all scrunched up against each other. Add the sugar mixture on top of the cranberries. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to cream together the remaining 6 tablespoons of softened butter, dark brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Mix until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and orange zest and mix until well combined.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet mixture in 3 batches and alternate with the milk in 3 batches. Mix until well combined.
- Spoon the batter over the cranberries in the pan and smooth out the batter so it’s fairly even on top.
- Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let pan cool for 15 minutes before removing cake from pan. Run a knife around the sides of the pan to make sure it will come out easily. Flip pan over onto cake plate and let cool completely.
Notes
You can store leftovers at room temperature but I stored mine in the fridge. If you store it in the fridge, I found that putting 1 slice on a plate and microwaving for 10 seconds brings it back to a luke-warm temperature and it tastes great!
More great recipes at www.thekitchensnob.com
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
Marinated Cucumber Salad
This cranberry upside down cake looks absolutely delicious! I love how the tartness of the cranberries balances with the sweetness of the cake. Can’t wait to try this recipe—perfect for the holiday season!
Amazing recipe,
I’ve done but I skipped the allspices as I felt it will overcome the Cinnamon which I love.
Thank you
I’m so glad you liked it!
This looks delicious! Can I make it gluten free?
Hi Annemarie, I don’t see why not! I just don’t bake gluten free so you’d have to adapt the recipe yourself. Let me know if I can be of any help.
Oh my goodness I can’t believe you don’t have any reviews on this cake. It is one of the best. The spice of the cake, the sweetness of the sugar and then the tartness of the cranberries – so delicious. Made this for a brother/sister Christmas gathering and it was such a hit I am making it again for Christmas with my children. My new favorite dessert.
Hi! Your picture looks/states that you mixed the cranberries with the sugar mixture but instructions say layer on top. Does it make a difference? Thanks!
Hi Liz. You pour the mixed cranberry/sugar mixture first into the pan (the bottom) and then put the batter on top. When it’s done cooking, you flip the cake over and they end up on the top. Does that make sense? I’m not sure if I understood your question correctly. Hope that helps!
In the recipe directions you say put sugar mixture in first then add cranberries. In the description with pics you say combine sugar mixture with cranberries and put in the pan.
Hi thanks for your question! Thanks for pointing that out. I will correct the post. The recipe at the bottom of the post is the correct version of instructions. You want to put the cranberries in the pan first, then pour the sugar and spice mixture over the cranberries. I don’t mix the cranberries with the sugar, although the picture sure looks like it! Let me know if you have further questions. 🙂
How much fresh cranberries? I don’t see them in the ingredients list?
Hi Holly. Thanks for your question. It’s near the top of the recipe where it says “Cranberry Topping” and the amount is 1 and 3/4 cup fresh cranberries. Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂
You note in your recipe “Pour sugar mixture evenly into the bottom of the cake pan that you just buttered. Add the cranberries in a single layer on top of the sugar mixture” yet in a response in Comments section you note the cranberries should be put in first. Could you please advise the correct order as your cake looks delicious.
Hi Helen! Thanks for catching this. I’m having some trouble updating the recipe on my end, but I put the cranberries in first (after butter) then pour the sugar on top of the cranberries. Honestly, I think either way would work but that’s the way I do it. In the meantime I’ll figure out what technical glitch is going on and try to update the recipe.
Can you use frozen cranberries?
Yes, just thaw them first.
Hi! Can this be made the day before? And possibly heated up prior to service?
Yes absolutely. I would treat it like any other cake.
Have you ever made this in a springform cheesecake pan? I am concerned about this releasing from the pan intact and it seems like a springform pan would take care of that. I make a cranberry orange nut cake in my springform pan. This sounds fabulous and I cannot wait to make it!!!
No, I haven’t made it in a springform pan. I didn’t have any trouble with it coming out of the pan. The batter is like a regular cake in which a springform pan is not needed. Hope this helps!
This looks great, would be a hit at the Thanksgiving table for sure!
Thanks! I know some families might not pass up the pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, so I like to bring this out on Wednesday before Thanksgiving – we’re usually ready to get into some food mischief by then! It also is great during the December holidays.
I am definitely making this recipe for my quilt group gathering. It just looks so delicious! I just love the great photos too!
Great, let me know how it turns out!
Can light brown sugar be used
You can substitute light brown sugar, I just prefer the dark in this recipe.