The color of this cranberry upside down cake with raspberry alone is enough to bring me great joy these days. It is snowing here in Minnesota, which is a blessing and a curse. Snow is a blessing, because it brings new life to the cold and allows my boys to go snowboarding and sledding in the evenings. It’s also a beautiful blanket over all that was gray just yesterday. There is nothing worse than a winter in Minnesota without snow. The cold, dark, seemingly endless season would be unbearable without it. The curse of snow, is that it is … well … cold and I am not a fan of cold. But, I digress.
The cake’s ruby top is a mixture of tart cranberries and sweet raspberries (my son’s suggestion, after tasting the ALL cranberry version, which he found too tart). The raspberries both sweeten the cake and also creates a more luscious texture. I personally love the tartness of the cranberries alone, but they have so much natural pectin that the consistency was more like tight jam than I wanted. The cake underneath is rich with butter and almond flour. I served it with ice cream for dessert and then had it for breakfast the next morning with coffee.
Cranberry-Raspberry Upside Down Cake
Find the full recipe at the bottom of this post.
To make the cake:
Grease an 8-Inch Springform 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.
Mix the batter:
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 all 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.
Eat warm or room temperature.
With ice cream or nothing at all.
Ingredients
- 24 oz (6 cups) cranberries fresh or frozen
- 10 oz (about 2 cups) raspberries fresh or frozen
- 2 cups sugar divided
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch springform pan with butter and line with parchment.
- 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 all 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. Eat warm or room temperature. With ice cream or nothing at all.
Wow, this cake looks delicious. The crumb looks lovely and bouncy, perfect to soak up all that sweet, tart, topping.
Zoe, that’s one fabulous cake, love the cranberry,raspberry topping!
What can I use in place of the almond meal? Or where can I get some?
Hi Maile,
You can buy almond flour/meal at most grocery stores. It is sold by Bob’s Red Mill and is in the baking or health food section. You may also check the gluten-free products.
Thanks, Zoë
This sounds so good!
Well, that is just beautiful. and so seasonal!
This looks so beautiful and delicious!
Oooh pretty! I did one similar a few years ago (a horribly photographed early blog post) with cherries (looks the same) and it is very pretty and there is something so festive about it. I think your son is right – rasberries would cut the tartness of the cranberries, right? And I am so jealous of the snow! It is beautiful! Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays, Zoë!
This looks divine, a definite centrepiece for a festive dinner table! I would most definitely have it with ice-cream, ha!
x
Can I omit the raspberries and double up on the cranberries?
Hi Lindsay,
You can omit the raspberries, but the top will be a bit tighter and more tart. You can try increasing the cranberries to make up for the raspberries, but you may want to also add a touch more sugar to them.
Thanks, Zoë
This cake looks delicious. I made a cranberry tart for Thanksving and it tasted tart and wonderful but it did not look as pretty as this one! I discovered your blog through LHJ article with Ina Garten! Great article. I want to make your chocolate caramel matzo.
Hi Michelle,
Thank you for visiting my site! Enjoy the matzo.
Cheers and happy holidays! Zoë
An 8″ springform? I lined the sides and left a good 2″ margin above the pan and the cake filled it. Smells divine. Hope it’s as lovely as yours.
Thanks!
the color, flavor combination, and texture looks so good. I have never used almond meal but looking at this, I am tempted to buy some and bake them ASAP!
What a beautiful cake! I’m going to HAVE to make this one. Thank you for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Thank you Miriam!
Cheers, Zoë
looks delicious! I have a 6″ springform pan – should I adjust the ingredient amounts? And if so, how? Thank you!
Oh this is lovely! I was just wondering what to make for the Christmas Eve service at church. 🙂 And I’m wondering . . .what do you think would happen to the yummiest factor if one were to zest an orange into the berry mixture?
Hi CJ,
I think it would be wonderful to add a bit of zest to the mix!
Happy Holidays! Zoë
The bright red color really does make this cake look great. Thanks for sharing this cranberry raspberry cake recipe.
Served it to my wife and our parents this morning with whipped cream and it was a big hit. Only issue with mine is the 8″ springform was too small..moving up next time, and there WILL be a next time!
Hi Vaughan,
Thanks for trying the cake, so glad you all enjoyed it!
Cheers, Zoë
That looks definitely tempting!
Dear Zoë
have nominated your lovely blog for the Sunshine Award. Congratulations!
Please pick up your award and the information on paying it forward on : sinsationscakes.wordpress.com
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Radhika
Happy New Year, Zoe! I can’t believe I’ve been following you since Jan, 2007!
This looks like a wonderful cake. My hubby loves my pie made from this combo. I’ll have to try it!
Zoe, I have questions about square metal baking pans. i’m just learning about how metal pans are better for cakes than Pyrex. But I’m finding that the corners are rounded on the pans! Is this usual? I was thinking of making and maybe selling fudge. As a pastry chef, do your square pans have rounded corners? Thanks so much.
Hi Zoe,
This is such a yummy cake. However, I had trouble getting the center to bake. I just returned the cake to the oven hoping that another 10 – 15 minutes will firm it up. Thanks!!!
Hi Karen,
It is a very dense cake and takes a long while to bake. Do you bake with an oven thermometer? This is a great way to know if your oven is baking true to temperature. Sometimes ovens run hot or cold and that will effect your baking times.
I hope the cake turned out well for you!
Thanks, Zoë
this looks yummy. do you think this cake would freeze? thanks
Hi Risa,
Yes, I think this cake will freeze well.
Thanks, Zoë
hank you!
I made this gorgeous cake for Thanksgiving, and it was a huge success. I also added a layer of granny smith carmelized apples in between the cake and the raspberry mixture. I have had requests to make it again for Christmas, It was perfect delicious and refreshing at the same time after a heavy meal. Thanks so much
This cake looks delicious! Can it be cooked ahead of time? Thanks!
Hi Alexandra,
You can make it a day ahead.
Enjoy! Zoë
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made this cake tonight and it was AMAZING! I replaces the lemon zest with two(ish) tsp of orange zest and it was delicious.
I made this today, but I used an 8″ square pan and half the number of cranberries. Turned out beautifully.
I think this recipe is fabulous. We have made it several times, but each time I’ve had trouble with too much fruit and batter to fit a 8″ springform pan. I did it again each time because I had more than a year in between bakes. This time I weighed the fruit so I know I had the exact quantity that the recipe calls for and I even removed more than a cup of fruit before adding the batter. It just poured over the edge of the pan as it baked and my pan was 8 1/2 inch. I removed some of the batter after it was in the oven for a few minutes and made four little cakes with the fruit I had taken out earlier and I’m eating some of the cake that pooled around the outside of the pan now (it’s delicious). If you follow the recipe, this requires a 10-inch springform pan, definitely not an 8-inch one.
Hi Karen,
Thank you for the feedback. I haven’t made the cake in a long while, but will retest.
Thanks, Zoë
What can I use instead of the almond meal/flour?
Can I use something other then almond meal? I hate to buy it and only use 1/2 cup then the rest just waste in my cupboard!
Why don’t you make your own almond meal by grinding almonds in a food processor, coffee grinder or high speed blender. That way you can make just the amount you need – 1/2 cup of almond meal takes probably a bit less than a 1/2 cup of almonds.
I made this for Thanksgiving tomorrow and scooped a bit of batter and berries out to make a mini cake for myself and its SOO good! This is absolutely my new favorite upside down cake! I also put about a Tbsp of orange zest in with the berries and a replaced the lemon zest in the cake with orange because I was lazy. Also, it looks gorgeous! Definitely a centerpiece dessert in my opinion!