Cranberry upside down cake and Happy Sinterklaas-evening!
I’m sitting behind my computer and feel that I am staring at the screen. Staring without actually seeing anything. I’m soooo sleepy… Should I take a nap? Just pretend I don’t have to do anything else? But then, I know that naps and me, don’t go very well together. I tend to wake up feeling worse then before, so I skip that thought. Instead I lie my head on my desk – well on my arm which is resting on my desk – for a few minutes and that actually helps… I feel a little better although still somewhat tired. It could very well be the weather as today we hardly had any daylight at all. It was sooooo dark!
I had to turn on all the lights to not have the feeling it was night instead of day. It was the perfect day for a lot of baking and cooking but when the time came for taking the pictures it was really too dark. I was happy we had just a tiny bit of sunshine in the afternoon so I could at least get a few shots done.
Today is also Sinterklaas here in Holland (and Belgium I think too) which we don’t really celebrate anymore, not since we were little kids anyway, but I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of small children anxiously waiting tonight to see what presents Sinterklaas will bring them as today is Sinterklaas’ birthday and therefore it is “pakjesavond”. Confused yet? In honour of Sinterklaas’ birthday (well not really but it sounds good doesn’t it?) I decided to make a cranberry upside down cake. I had spotted this cake on Meeta’s blog What’s for lunch Honey when searching for something else and figured this would be perfect.The original recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking from my home to yours, which I also happened to have.
The cake is absolutely gorgeous. Slightly sour and lovely moist and delicious. I’m sure I’ll be making this again!
Cranberry upside down cake
Ingredients:
- 135 gr all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - 1/2 tsp kardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
210 gr unsalted butter, at room temperature
165 gr sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecan
200 gr fresh cranberries
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup cranberry jelly
Directions:
Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and salt in a bowl. Melt 90 gr of butter in a small saucepan. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of the sugar and cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Pour this over the bottom of a 20 cm round cake pan. Scatter the nuts and top with the cranberries. Press down gently using your fingertips.
Using a mixer cream the remaining 120 gr of butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and continue until the mixture is pale and creamy. Beat for about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Pour in the vanilla.
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 and then the remaining dry ingredients. Spoon the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. You might feel like you have very little batter but remember this is a flat cake and it will also rise somewhat.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and run a blunt knife between the sides of the sides of the pan and the cake. Turn the cake out onto a serving platter.
Warm the jelly in a small saucepan over a low heat. Gently brush the glaze over the hot cake.
Recipe from 'Baking from my home to yours' from Dorie Greenspan
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Fabulous! I love cranberries and upside-down cakes.
Happy Sammichlaustag!
Cheers,
Rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 5th, 2012 at 14:09
O is that how you call it? Sammichlaustag! Well happy Sammichlaustag then!
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Happy Sammichlaustag!!
I have fallen in love with those pics Simone….They look so real and good…for a minute i thought the cake was right in front of my eyes
Love the recipe too
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 5th, 2012 at 14:09
Thanks so much Shema! And the cake is pretty awesome too..
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Lovely and perfect for the holidays! I love the bright red cranberries…such great tart flavor!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 7th, 2012 at 11:11
Yes and totally delicious. I am so in love with cranberries!
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Wow! What a beautiful cake! I love how festive it looks, being red with cranberries. And also what a wonderful background in the photos – makes the cake stand out even more!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 7th, 2012 at 11:11
Thanks so much Julia!
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I love an upside down cake, the cranberry topping is gorgeous!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 7th, 2012 at 11:17
I had never actually made an upside down cake before but I will definitely be doing this again. Loved it!
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The cake looks great.
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 7th, 2012 at 11:18
Thanks Joy!
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We celebrate Sinterklaas this morning & we love it, even that we aren’t kids anymore!
What a truly fabulous & tasty upside down cranberry cake! Yeah!!! I love using fresh cranberries a lot, this time of year!!
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 9th, 2012 at 17:28
I know but we always celebrate it later. I like the Christmas mood better so we kind of combined the two!
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Happy St Nicholas Day:-) I will be celebrating with my children later today. Your cake looks wonderful.
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 9th, 2012 at 17:28
Great Wizzy! Hope you had a great St Nicholas day too!
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I am thinking of making a variation of this cake this weekend! This looks great and It’s one of my fave recipes.
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 9th, 2012 at 17:29
Yes it was totally delicious and I loved the fact that it is not so very sweet!
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Simone, this is a gorgeous cake! I just love saying the word Sinterklaas.
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Simone (junglefrog) — December 9th, 2012 at 17:29
O haha, I wish I could hear you say it!
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Such a lovely cake! I love cranberries in baked goods, but so rarely use them that way myself. Their flavor is fabulous, and this cake looks amazing. Good stuff – thanks.
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I am so behind on reading your lovely blog, so I will be back to read more this week for sure:-) I am a cranberry freak, and adore upside-down cake…..so pretty much think this looks AWESOME!!!! The cake really does look so moist and delicious. Hugs, Terra
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