Cranberry Upside Down Cake

We are having what I consider a perfect autumn.  Mostly mild and sunny days.  A chill in the air at night.  Trees resplendent in reds, oranges and yellows.  Those colorful leaves falling and skipping about the ground and roadways.  Outside our window, Canada geese are stopping on their way to their winter homes.  Wherever they go, it will be crowded this year.  There are so many of them.

As sure as fall arrives, so do pumpkins and cranberries.  My kitchen will soon be busy "putting up" pumpkin puree and "putting by" bags of those red berries!  While they both herald fall, the cranberry is for winter as well.  For the past thirty years (or so), this cranberry upside down cake has been on our table.  It first appeared in a November 1980 Gourmet and it was love at first bite.  I've shared the recipe with you before.  Lest you forget, here it is again.  So easy and so memorable--a winner every time!

Cranberry Upside Down Cake-Gourmet, November 1980

Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan with three tbsp softened unsalted butter.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of sugar evenly over the bottom of the pan and arrange a 12 ounce (because it is no longer a pound bag) of fresh cranberries evenly over the sugar.

3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp orange zest

Beat the above ingredients together until fluffy.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp  baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Sift the above ingredients together

Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, 1/2 cup at a time alternating with 1/2 cup of milk until just combined.

Pour the batter over the cranberries and carefully smooth out.

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for about 1 hour--until browned on top.

Let rest in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes.

Run a knife around the edges and unmold onto a platter.

ENJOY!