cranberry-pistachio upside down cake

Recipe by
C G
Vallèe du Willamette, OR

From MofC. When I prepared the test recipe I cut the recipe in half and I also used an 8" round well seasoned cast iron skillet lined with parchment paper. I strongly suggest using the parchment paper.

yield 8 -10 (one 9" round cake)
prep time 20 Min
cook time 55 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For cranberry-pistachio upside down cake

  • 1/3 c
    brown sugar, packed
  • 1/3+3/4 c
    unbleached white sugar
  • 4 Tbsp
    butter (half a stick)
  • 1 1/2 c
    fresh or frozen cranberries (if frozen there's no need to thaw them)
  • 1/3+2/3 c
    pistachios, shelled and chopped
  • 1 1/4 c
    unbleached flour, divided
  • 1 1/2 tsp
    baking powder
  • 1 tsp
    baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp
    ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp
    salt
  • 12 Tbsp
    butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
  • 2
    eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp
    vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp
    orange zest (i used zest from cara cara orange)
  • 8 oz
    creme fraiche or sour cream

How To Make cranberry-pistachio upside down cake

  • 1
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar, 1/3 c white sugar and 4 T butter. Cook and stir until the mixture bubbles and sugars dissolve. *Pour onto bottom of pan. Sprinkle with cranberries and 1/3 c chopped pistachios. *Note: Once you pour the sugar/butter mixture into the pan it will start to harden quickly. Tip the pan around to distribute the sugar/butter mixture evenly.
  • 2
    Place half of the flour and 2/3 c pistachios in a food processor bowl and grind the pistachios as fine as possible. Transfer to a medium-size bowl, add remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix well to blend ground nuts with flour mixture. Set aside.
  • 3
    In a mixer or large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter and 3/4 c white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time then stir in vanilla and orange zest. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with crème fraîche or sour cream. Spoon batter into pan, covering cranberries and pistachios. Tap onto counter 2-3 times to release any large air bubbles.
  • 4
    Bake in preheated oven 50 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min. Run a small knife between cake and pan to release, then invert onto serving platter and carefully remove pan. The cake must be inverted while warm, otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan. Serve warm.

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