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Cranberry Upside Down Cake is so pretty, festive and tempting. You’ll love pulling this golden brown cake from the oven with its bright silky red edges bubbling. But wait, you need to let it cool, then flip, and dislodge it from the pan — wowee! Enjoy this beauty for the holidays or for any fall or winter dessert.
This tender cake topped with copious caramel and cranberries is Paleo, Gluten-free, AIP and Low FODMAP. But serve it to everyone; it’s simply phenomenal.
Ice cream on top, definitely optional, but one of my favorite cake and ice cream eating experiences ever. Plain or adorned, this cake is unforgettable.
Ingredients in Cranberry Upside Down Cake
In addition to fresh or frozen cranberries, this Upside Down Cake uses basic, gentle pantry staples:
- cassava flour
- coconut sugar, or use maple sugar or cane sugar if you want the cake to turn out paler in color
- tiger nut flour — Or blanched almond flour may be used if you prefer (this one is the best), not for AIP.
- avocado oil, or olive oil
- coconut milk, or preferred milk
- collagen
- gelatin
- lemon juice
- cinnamon
- baking soda and sea salt
An easy caramel sauce is also used in this recipe. Poured over fresh or frozen cranberries, it creates the bubbling juices around the cake’s edges, seeps into the cake itself and makes the fruit extra juicy.
Just 3 ingredients make the sauce:
- coconut cream or milk
- coconut sugar or maple sugar
- sea salt
How to make Cranberry Upside Down Cake
This cake really is an easy one! Two steps create the top and bottom: making the quick caramel sauce and making the quick cake:
- Grease baking pan: Choose from a leak-proof cheesecake pan, or use a regular cake pan. Add cranberries to the pan.
- Simmer caramel sauce ingredients in small saucepan for 5 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
- Combine dry ingredients for cake in medium size mixing bowl. Add wet ingredients, and mix to combine.
- Pour caramel sauce over cranberries. Scoop thick cake batter over berries, and smooth the top surface.
- Bake until browned, puffed and bubbling juices are coming up around the edges.
When the cake emerges from the oven, it needs to cool fully before being turned upside down and unmolded. Then, top with optional ice cream, and enjoy!
Cranberry Upside Down Cake (Paleo, Gluten-free, AIP, Low FODMAP)
Equipment
- 8 or 9" cheesecake pan or regular cake pan
Ingredients
Caramel Sauce and Cranberries
- 10 ounces cranberries fresh or frozen
- ⅓ cup coconut cream or coconut milk
- ¼ cup coconut sugar or maple sugar
- 2 pinches sea salt
Upside Down Cake batter
- ½ cup cassava flour : use only Otto's or Bob's brands for success; the other brands are too starchy - Use the first ingredient link for 15% off Otto's.
- ½ cup coconut sugar or use maple sugar or cane sugar if you want the cake to turn out paler in color
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons tiger nut flour or blanched almond flour if you prefer (not for AIP)
- ¼ cup collagen <-- see link and DISCOUNT code (Use code BEAUTIFUL10 at check out.)
- 1 Tablespoon gelatin <-- see link and DISCOUNT code (Use code BEAUTIFUL10 at check out.)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda sifted
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup avocado oil or olive oil
- ⅓ cup coconut milk room temperature or warm (not chilled), or preferred milk
- 3 Tablespoons filtered water
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease baking dish (8" or 9" cheesecake pan if you know it doesn't leak at all, or regular round cake pan). (I use coconut oil or Grain Brain's palm oil to grease.) Place cranberries in the bottom of cake pan, spread out evenly. Set aside.
- Make easy fast caramel in small saucepan: Place coconut cream and coconut sugar in small saucepan. Turn heat to medium and bring to simmer, stirring/whisking to dissolve sugar.
- Once simmering, reduce heat to very low and maintain simmer for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Turn off heat and stir in sea salt. Set aside but keep warm.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: cassava flour, granulated sweetener, tiger nut flour, collagen, gelatin, cinnamon, baking soda and sea salt.
- Add liquid ingredients: oil, milk, water and lemon juice, and stir to mix. I use an electric handheld mixer on medium speed until the mixture is combined.
- Pour caramel over cranberries. It doesn't need to be perfectly evenly distributed.
- Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula, and scrape/scoop batter into prepared baking dish. (Batter will be thick.) Use lightly wetted finger tips or wetted offset spatula to smooth top surface before baking. (Some of the berries may show through. The cake layer doesn't look very thick before baking.)
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until browned all over and slightly puffed and the red berry juices are bubbly frantically around the edges.
- Fully cool on rack. Slide knife around perimeter of cake to loosen any sticky spots. Hold serving plate over pan, and holding top of pan and bottom of plate, flip over. Remove pan, replace any loose cranberries that fall out. Slice, and serve.
Notes
Storage
Seal and store leftover cake on the counter overnight or in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm gently before enjoying, or eat chilled.What ice cream to serve on top
Here are two favorite dairy-free ice cream recipes if you'd like to make homemade. Both flavors go great with this cake, and both recipes are fast and easy to make:Nutrition
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KIRII JONES says
Do you have to use the collagen? This looks amazing!
Megan says
Hi Kirii, yes, it does affect the texture, and is used for that purpose. Thank you! (Perfect Supplements is actually having their biggest sale of the year starting right now if you want to save 35% on the collagen, really good timing. They’re the best, with 3rd party testing for 100% pesticide free and pasture-raised. If you’re interested, use my code BEAUTIFUL10 for the extra 10% off at checkout. Here‘s my link. 🙂 I hope you get to make it!
Tonya G says
Would it be a good idea to also cut a round of parchment paper to place in the bottom of the cake pan? I don’t have a cheesecake pan, so wondered if that would make it easier to get out.
Megan says
Hi Tonya, yes, you can do that. I considered it, but decided against it, because I didn’t want the parchment absorbing any of the caramel. But it’s true that it will make it come out more easily and more cleanly.