Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake (adapted from Dorie Greenspan)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp ginger

1/4 tsp salt

6 Tb light brown sugar, packed

1 & 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (8 & 6 Tb)

1/2 cup plus 2 Tb sugar

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted

2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)

1 Tb orange zest

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 whole milk

1/3 cup red currant jelly

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the middle. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and place in oven to toast while it preheats. Line and grease an 8 inch cake pan well. (If you don't have an 8 inch cake pan, and decide to use a springform pan like silly me, make sure you line it very well with foil, or you'll have a puddle of glaze all over your pan!)

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl and set aside.

Combine the brown sugar and 6 Tb butter in a small saucepan. Heat on medium heat until butter melts, sugar is dissolved and mixture is boiling and looks foamy. Pour this evenly over the bottom of the cake pan, sprinkle nuts over, then cranberries, then orange zest. Press gently into the sugar mixture so you have an even layer.

Beat the remaining stick (8 Tb) of butter until smooth. Add the remaining sugar and continue to beat until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk, mixing until just combined, then mix in the rest of the dry ingredients.

Pour the batter over the cranberries and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Place pan on a baking sheet at bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is deep gold and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove it from the oven and run a blunt knife between the sides of the pan and the cake. Carefully turn the cake out onto a serving platter. If any of the berries stick to the pan just scrape them off with a table knife and return them to the cake.

Warm the jelly in a small saucepan (or in the microwave) over low heat and gently brush the glaze over the hot cake. Let cool a bit and serve with ice cream or homemade whipped cream.