Cranberry Orange Upside-Down Cake
Make this fun and festive cranberry upside-down cake for the holidays this year and you will not be disappointed.
I’m working on my repertoire of upside-down cakes to include one for every time of the year. I just love the sticky, sweet, (seasonal) fruity top, the fluffy white cake underneath. You just can’t go wrong. Let’s make it!
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Ingredients you’ll need
- fresh cranberries
- orange zest – a must with cranberries if you ask me
- butter – you will need butter for the cake batter and for the topping
- brown sugar – this will be mixed with melted butter to create the sticky fruity topping
- basic cake ingredients – all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, milk, granulated sugar
How to make it
As always, start by preheating your oven. For this cake–to 350F.
Melt a portion of the butter and combine it with the brown sugar in a 10-inch cake pan. Arrange an even layer of cranberries over the butter/sugar mixture. Zest 1 orange and sprinkle over the cranberries.
Measure out the dry ingredients into a small mixing bowl: flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and stir to combine.
This is a butter-based cake so we start by creaming butter and sugar with an electric mixer until lightened in color and creamy. Then add an egg and vanilla and beat again until smooth. Add zest of remaining orange.
For the rest, alternate adding milk and flour in three additions. So, start by adding 1/3 of the milk, beat on low till mixed, then 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Repeat until milk and dry ingredients have been added.
Gently spread the cake batter (it will be thick) over the cranberries. Use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the batter.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
About 15 minutes after removing from the oven, place serving plate or cake stand upside-down over the finished cake. Use oven mitts to protect your hands and quickly + confidently flip the cake so it can drop onto your serving plate.
Gently lift the cake pan up to reveal your finished cake.
Oh no! What do I do if some fruit sticks to the pan?
No biggie! The top surface is extremely forgiving when warm. Carefully scrape any pieces that stuck and turn them over to fit in the places where the topping is missing. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface as you refit any cranberries.
Tried this recipe?
If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you! You can also find me on Pinterest!
PrintCranberry Orange Upside-Down Cake
Make this fun and festive cranberry upside-down cake for the holidays this year and you will not be disappointed.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter + 7 tbsp, divided
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- zest of 2 oranges, divided
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Melt 7 tbsp of butter and add it to a 10-inch cake pan with brown sugar while it’s still warm. Use a fork to mix together and add cranberries in an even layer over the butter/sugar mixture. Zest one of the oranges and sprinkle zest over the cranberries.
- Measure flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add 1 cup of butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until lightened in color and fluffy.
- Add egg, vanilla and zest of remaining orange and beat again until creamy.
- Add 1/3 of the milk and beat on low until combined, then add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, beat on low until combined. Continue alternating milk and dry ingredients until all ingredients have been added and are mixed.
- Spread the cake batter (it will be thick) over the cranberries in an even layer.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes on a center rack or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 15 minutes before flipping. Place serving plate upside down over the top of the cake pan. Use dish towels or oven mitts to hold and flip the pan/plate. Gently lift the cake pan up to revel your beautiful cake. See notes if any of the cake sticks to the pan.
Notes
Cake repairs after flipping – as mentioned in the post: if some cake/cranberries stick to the pan, its totally repairable! Fix it while hot as that is when the cake surface is most forgiving. Simply scrape and cranberries/cake pieces from the cake pan, flip and fit them into the spaces on the cake. It’s usually pretty easy to figure out where they go. Use the back of a metal spoon to smooth across any repairs and you are good to go.
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