Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Nothing captures our foodie culture better than Upside Down Cake. (well maybe Mac & Cheese)  Our moms would take a can of pineappple or cherry pie filling and dump it in the bottom of a cake pan.  Then they would mix up a batch of Betty Crocker yellow cake mix and dump that on top of the dumped fruit. The layers would go in the oven. The family would then anxiously way for an exciting dessert casserole.

That all changes with the shabby chic Cranberry Upside Down Cake. The downside-up part is a rich stew of fresh cranberries, brown sugar, melted butter, walnuts, and orange zest.  The upside-down part is the not-so-Betty Crocker concoction of cake flour, butter, sour cream, and eggs..

The tart berries contrast with the brown sugar.  The cake is a solid foundation, while the walnuts provide texture. This is a fool proof piece of perfection. 

You can call it Americana on a plate, You can call it a just reward.  Or you can just call it everything you wanted in a dessert.  Amen.

I do not recommend eating cranberry upside down cake every day.  Just every holiday season when the cranberries are in season, footballs are in the air, and family and friends are sitting around the table.