Written by Chef Trina Confusione special to The Pensacola News Journal

Time to bring out the tried-and-true pie and cake recipes that all the family has come to love and look forward to every year. In every family, someone has perfected the staples; pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie and so on. If you are not one of those lucky ones that make that family favorite, you are probably the one that gets to take new and interesting desserts to the family dinners. That would be me. I never take the same dessert to the holiday festivities. I always try to do something I know no one else would even think of doing, but still has that “Holiday” element to it.

This year I wanted to use the element of cranberries. There are not many desserts that use cranberries, and why only use them in a sauce? You can use fresh or dried cranberries for this recipe. If using dried cranberries, reconstitute them first. I like to let mine marinate overnight in orange juice, or an orange liqueur like Grand Marnier. Just be sure to squeeze out any excess liquid. Happy Holidays!

CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Butter a 9-inch by 3-inch round cake pan and set aside

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Topping

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup light brown sugar

2 cups cranberries

In a heavy-bottom saucepan melt butter over medium heat; add brown sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is foamy and pale, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour into prepared cake pan and swirl to distribute evenly on bottom of pan. Place cranberries evenly over topping. Set aside and make cake batter.

Cake

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons cornmeal

½ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 large eggs, separated, room temperature

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons orange zest (about two oranges)

2/3 cup milk, room temperature

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cornmeal and salt; set aside. Beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium speed. Gradually add 1 cup of sugar. Continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes; scrape the bowl. Beat in yolks and vanilla; scrape the bowl. Reduce speed and add dry ingredients and milk alternately in 3 or 4 batches, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl. Add orange zest and beat on low until just smooth. Beat egg whites in separate bowl until you have soft peaks. Add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold ¼ of whites into the batter to lighten, and then add remainder of whites to batter and fold in completely. Pour batter into cake pan and spread evenly over the topping. Bake on bottom oven rack until golden brown and a toothpick comes out of middle of cake clean (60 to 65 minutes). Cool on rack 2 minutes; slide a small knife around edge of pan and cake to release sides. Place a serving platter over the pan and hold tightly while inverting the cake onto the platter. If any of the topping sticks to the pan, remove and place on top of cake.

Tags: America, Cooking Tips, Holidays, local restaurants, party planning, Recipes, Things to do, Trina Confusione

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Chef’s Corner Cranberry Upside-Down Cake