Happy Thanksgiving
Ah yes the holiday that forces us to unbutton our pants and sink into a food coma within hours of its end, celebrating American settlers' inability to grow their own crops with what else but a feast full of food that we didn't grow. How fitting. But facetiousness aside, I do love cooking and an entire holiday centered on it is so much fun. This year my mom and I made the turkey and stuffing, and I made honey roasted carrots, buttermilk cornbread, brownies, and a cranberry upside down cake from a recipe found on Pinterest that was so yummy. I've included the recipe for the cake below. We spent the afternoon stuffing our faces and hanging out at my grandma's house and my cousin Lane was here from Georgia visiting, accent and all. Thanksgiving, of course, is also a time to be thankful and right now I'm thankful for my home, my family, my animals, and for good food, pretty clothes, and the gorgeous weather here in south Florida. (I wore a dark green camisole from JCrew, light wash Seven for all Mankind jeans, pointed-toe leopard print Nine West flats, and a crystal Express necklace.)
Cranberry Upside Down Cake
Prep Time: 20 mins; Cook Time: 70 mins; Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Topping
- 3/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
- 4 tbsp (1/4 cup or half a stick) unsalted butter
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
Cake
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- a pinch of ground cloves
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk
Equipment
- A 9-inch cake pan with at least 2-inch high sides
- An electric mixer
Method
- Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch diameter cake pan.
- In a small saucepan, place the 1/4 cup of butter and the 3/4 cups of packed brown sugar. On medium high heat, stir the sugar as the butter melts. Once the butter is melted and mixed in well with the sugar, stop stirring and let the mixture simmer for 15 seconds or so.
- Pour the brown sugar butter mixture into the prepared cake pan. Spread the cranberries on top of the sugar butter mixture.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl vigorously whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until light. Add the sugar and beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the orange zest.
- Mix a third of the dry ingredients into the mixture. Beat in half of the sour cream. Mix in another third of the dry ingredients. Mix in the remaining sour cream. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the milk.
- Pour batter over the cranberries in the cake pan, and smooth the surface. Place in the preheated oven and lower the heat from 350°F to 325°F. Bake until a tester comes out clean, 55 minutes to an hour. Cool cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a blunt knife around the inside rim of the cake pan to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Then turn the cake out onto a platter.
Click photos to enlarge