An Upside Down Cake Brightened Up for the Holidays
The color of this cake alone is enough to bring me great joy on a dreary day. The ruby top is a mixture of tart cranberries and sweet raspberries. Raspberries both sweeten the cake and also create a luscious texture. I personally love the tartness of cranberries alone, but they have so much natural pectin that the consistency was more like tight jam then I wanted. The cake underneath is rich with butter and almond flour. Serve with ice cream for dessert, and then enjoy it for breakfast the next morning with coffee.
Grease an 8-inch springform cake pan with butter and line with parchment. Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a saucepan heat the cranberries and 3/4 cup sugar over medium heat, just until the cranberries start to burst and sugar melts.
Turn off the heat and stir in the raspberries. Pour the berries into the prepared pan.
Cream together the butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar, zest and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, scraping after each. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and almond meal. Add half the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mix to incorporate, then add half the buttermilk. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk. Mix just until it is smooth.
Spread the batter evenly over the berries.
Place the pan on a baking sheet covered with foil, just in case the berry juices leak from the pan. Bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool for about 30 minutes.
Invert the cake onto a platter.
Serve and enjoy.
Zoë François, author of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and Artisan Pizza and Flatbreads in 5 Minutes a Day , studied at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. She now calls Minneapolis her home, where she has worked with some of the top talent in the culinary world — Steven Brown, Andrew Zimmern and many chefs at the D’Amico company. In addition to writing, Zoë teaches baking classes and consults at restaurants. You can find her writing and recipe creations on Devour, on her baking blog, zoebakes.com and on the site, www.breadin5.com.
