Cranberry Upside Down Cake Recipe (Fresh or Frozen)

When you want your holiday dessert to wow your guests, make our Cranberry Upside Down Cake Recipe. It is a soft and tender buttery cake topped with a beautiful cranberry layer that’s sweet and tart. Everything about this cake is delicious.

Cranberries are such an underutilized fruit. It used to be that most households would buy a bag of fresh cranberries for Thanksgiving. They were always made into a sauce or cranberry salad in my house. If only we’d had this Cranberry Upside-Down Cake recipe I would have appreciated cranberries so much more over the years.

Our use of cranberries is much better today. You can start the day with Cranberry Donuts or a slice of Cranberry Apple Bread. The aroma alone will get those sleepy heads dashing to the kitchen. They’re not just for breakfast, our Cranberry Walnut Sourdough is amazing alongside a slice of turkey and don’t forget to save some cranberries to make some amazing Pork Chops with Homemade Cranberry Sauce.

This recipe for Cranberry Upside Down Cake is simple to make without a long list of ingredients. And, it’s a 9-inch single-layer cake so it’s perfect for a smaller crowd.

What is Upside Down Cake?

This beautiful traditional cake is baked on top of the fruit filling covering the bottom of the pan. When the cake is inverted onto a serving plate, the gorgeous fruit filling covers the top of the cake. Different types of fruit can be used like we did for our Upside-down Peach Rum Cake. 

Ingredients for This Cranberry Upside Down Cake Recipe

Topping Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter. We prefer unsalted real butter in our topping. 
• Sugar. White Granulated Sugar.
• Whole Cranberries. You can use fresh or frozen, either will work. Don’t use dried cranberries also called Craisins. Thaw frozen cranberries in a bowl. Drain the liquid from the bowl and pat them dry with a paper towel.
• Seedless Red Raspberry Jelly. Or you can use red plum jelly or jam.

Cake Batter Ingredients

• All-Purpose Flour. You can use bleached or unbleached flour. One doesn’t act or taste any differently from the other. Do not use cake flour or bread flour for this recipe.
• Baking Powder. A leavening agent that helps baked goods rise with the right texture.
• Kosher Salt.
• Granulated White Sugar.
• Unsalted Butter. We use real butter but you can substitute it with a butter substitute. That may affect the flavor, however. You want the butter to be at room temperature meaning that when pressed with your finger it leaves a dent, not melted or runny. Creaming room-temperature butter works better than cold butter. If you use salted butter, you can eliminate the salt.
• Vanilla Extract. We prefer pure vanilla extract. However, you can use imitation vanilla extract if that’s what you have.
• Eggs. Large eggs are what we use. You will need to separate the whites from the egg yolks.
• Heavy Whipping Cream. This gives the cake its creamy, delicate flavor.
• Cream of Tarter. Besides being a leavening agent in baked goods it’s used to stabilize whipped egg whites and prevent sugar crystallization in meringue.

How to Make Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Prepare the Supplies.

Set your oven rack to the middle position and preheat your oven. Grease and flour the cake pan and then line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper. 

Make the topping.

Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Add all of the remaining topping ingredients and cook it until soft. Follow our instructions to move the cranberry mixture to the cake pan.

Mix the dry ingredients for the cranberry upside down cake batter

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients for the Upside Down Cranberry Cake batter.

Use an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and blend until combined.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients.

With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture. Beat on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.

Add the egg whites.

Using the electric mixer fit with the whisk attachment beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form and fold them into the batter.

Assemble and bake.

Gently spoon the batter over the cranberries, smoothing out the top. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely in the pan and then invert onto a cake plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need to refrigerate a cranberry upside-down cake?

We prefer to store this cake in the refrigerator so the cake will stay soft and creamy and keep longer if you store it in the fridge in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap. Refrigerating will also keep our topping from getting weepy. 

Can I freeze upside down cranberry cake?

Yes, you can freeze the whole cake, inverted so that the cranberries are upright in an airtight container and thaw in the refrigerator or briefly at room temperature. Alternatively, you can freeze individual slices in smaller containers and reheat them at room temperature or in the microwave.

Can I make cranberry upside down cake ahead of time?

Yes. You can make it up to one day ahead, or it can be made ahead and frozen to be thawed later.

Hostess Tips and Tricks

We use shortening or butter to prepare our pan. Spraying it with nonstick cooking spray doesn’t work well when using flour. You can use a baking spray that contains flour, however.

Insert the unbaked cake in a thoroughly preheated oven. Don’t overbake the cake. It’s finished when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with just a crumb or two. Also, the edges of the cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.

Let the cake cool for 45-50 minutes in the pan. Then invert it very carefully onto a serving platter. I like to place the platter over the pan and then hold it in place as I flip everything over. You may need two sets of hands.

I know it is tempting to cook the cranberries and sauce at high heat to finish faster, but do not give in. This mixture will burn easily and will also be in the oven for a long time. Keep it at medium heat.

If you have never folded egg whites into a batter before, it can be a daunting task. Don’t worry! The key is to go slowly, and gently. Simply place the egg white mixture in the bowl on top of the batter. Then insert a spatula down into the batter and “fold” it over the egg whites. Continue pushing down gently, turning the spatula as you go and fold the batter over the egg whites again. Be as gentle as possible and continue until the egg whites and batter are incorporated.

Placing a baking sheet under your cake makes it easier to get in and out of the oven.

Variations and Substitutions

Orange and cranberries go together deliciously. Add a tablespoon of orange zest and use orange juice as an addition or replacement for the juice from the cranberries.

Try a different berry! Use a berry that has a similar moisture content such as blueberries. 

​Sprinkle the top of the cranberries with sugared cranberries.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Author: Hostess At Heart

Our delicious Cranberry Upside Down Cake recipe makes the perfect holiday dessert. It combines sweet and tart flavors in a soft and buttery cake.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Save thisSaved! Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword: Cranberry cake, Cranberry Upside-Down Cake, Upside-down cake

Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

• 9-inch Round Cake Pans
• Parchment Paper
• 2-Quart Saucepan
• Glass Measuring Cups
• Electric Stand Mixer

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Topping

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 cups whole cranberries fresh or frozen (thawed)
• 2 tbsp of seedless red raspberry or red plum jelly/jam

Cake

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs separated
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ tsp cream of tarter

Instructions

 

• Adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with a 9-inch parchment paper round and then spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter for the topping. Add remaining topping ingredients. Cook over medium heat until cranberries begin to soften, approximately 3 minutes.

  Strain cranberries from the juice. Put cranberries into the bottom of the prepared cake pan in a single layer. Return 1/2 cup of juice to the saucepan. Discard the rest. (I only had 1/2 cup of juice so I used all of it. Continue cooking until thickened, approximately 5 minutes. Once thickened spread the sauce over the cranberries. Refrigerate while you prepare the cake.
• In a medium-sized bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add vanilla and then egg yolks one at a time. Mix until well combined.
• Alternate adding flour mixture and heavy cream, beating on low speed just until combined.
• In a small mixing bowl add egg whites and cream of tarter. Beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites gently into cake batter.
• Gently spoon batter over cranberries, smoothing the top out evenly.
• Bake 40 to 50 minutes until top is browned and center springs back. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a paring knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a serving plate. Remove the parchment paper carefully. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Notes

Adapted from HyVee Seasons Holiday 2011 issue.

Nutrition

Calories: 426kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 2gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 99mgPotassium: 129mgFiber: 1gSugar: 41gVitamin A: 835IUVitamin C: 5.4mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 0.7mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

Originally released on November 21, 2016, this recipe for cranberry upside down cake has undergone updates to enhance our readers’ experience, including simple details and new images. No changes were made to the actual recipe.

This post was created to celebrate #CranberryWeek, hosted by Caroline’s Cooking and A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures. You can follow the #CranberryWeek Pinterest board for more cranberry inspiration. Just look at all the other cranberry recipes:

• Cranberry-Apple Sauce from The Chef Next Door
• Cranberry Palmiers from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Cranberry Rosemary Cornbread from Life Currents
• Cranberry Snack Cake from Cooking With Carlee
• Cranberry Upside Down Cake from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Noreaster from Family Around The Table
• Pork Shashlyk and Tkemali from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cranberries from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Slow Cooker Cranberry Brisket from Palatable Pastime
• Stuffed Endive with Blue Cheese, Walnuts & Cranberries from Full Belly Sisters
• Upsidedown Cranberry Cake from Hostess At Heart
• Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread Recipe Hostess At Heart