Running With Perseverance

I really enjoy baking, especially around the holidays, and I really enjoy baking with cranberries. Their tart flavor and bright red color goes so well in so many recipes. Last year I made a fantastic cranberry pound cake, but this year I wanted to try something different. Going through my collection of favorite recipes, I found a cranberry upside down cake recipe from Cooking Light that I decided to make for Christmas breakfast.

The full recipe is in the ReciPress section below, but just look at the star ingredients!

This is a layer of fresh cranberries over a bed of toasted pecans nestled in brown sugar and melted butter–yum!

Cranberry Upside Down Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Butter (melted)
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup peacans, chopped and toasted (I started with a heaping 1/2 cup of pecan halves)
• 12 oz. package fresh cranberries (rinsed and dried)
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 egg whites (beaten into stiff peaks)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat 9-inch square pan with cooking spray.
2. Pour melted butter into prepared pan and sprinkle brown sugar over it. Bake at 350 for 2 minutes.
3. Sprinkle toasted pecans over brown sugar/butter mixture and top with cranberries.
4. In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk together.
5. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar, then add egg yolks one at a time, then add vanilla.
6. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to butter/sugar mixture, mixing after each addition (flour-milk-flour-milk-flour).
7. Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then gently fold into batter.
8. Spread batter over cranberries.
9. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Cool on cooling rack for 5 minutes.
10. Use a knife to loosen edges of cake, then invert onto a large serving plate.

Do you prefer milk or coffee with your cake?