Sunday, March 29, 2015

Cran-Raspberry Upside-Down Cake


What do you do when an upside down cake is upside down for the seasons?

The Rhubarb Upside Down Cake version sounded really good.

Hothouse rhubarb, however, is finished for the season and field rhubarb isn't ready yet.  

Not a stalk of frozen rhubarb in town .


So onto cranberries which are pretty scarce this time of year.
Five dollars for a bag of frozen cranberries and they weren't even organic!

I was just happy to find them.

The Bake was on for the Alpha Bakers


So first the upside down sugar part gets cooked.  Poured into a prepared cake pan the cranberries are scattered on top.


A very simple sour cream and butter cake batter is mixed together to spread over the cranberry confection.

After thirty minutes in the oven it comes out  to be glazed with raspberry preserves.

While it cools, raspberry Italian meringue is whipped up.  


I'm not crazy about meringue.  This however, is not like regular meringue.
It's thicker, denser and has an altogether different flavor.



Some of us didn't wait for the topping.


And had to have another slice for comparison.

Definitely going on the holiday list.  It's vibrant in color with delightful flavors.
Perfect for gray winter days.  And not so bad for spring. 



This cake was a big success.  We all loved it!

Still I can't wait to try it with fresh rhubarb.
~

The Baking Bible is available to buy at all the usual places.

9 comments:

  1. Looks just lovely. Was the meringue a good texture match for the cake?

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  2. I paid $10 for my frozen cranberries, if this makes you feel better? LOL! And mine was also not organic..and I messed up the first cake and had to redo..wasted my expensive cranberries. Your idea of making 2 layers of the cake is such a great idea! I should take note of it and do that next time if i do bake any upside down cakes. Oh..my new toy is that infra-red thermometer..

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  3. Your cake looks delicious and pretty with the italian meringue!

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  4. It turned out great! Guess I'm just a slacker since I didn't make the meringue or the whipped cream variation.

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  5. I adored the meringue with the cake as it smoothed over the harshness of the cranberries. I also liked the meringue for its stiff texture and the way it combines with the cake and jammy fruit on topping. Should be a good cake for the holidays.

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  6. Vicki, your cake and meringue look so appetising although it's easy to understand why some of your guests didn't wait for the topping. Beautiful colour on the cake!

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  7. Your cake looks so good, and like yourself I can't wait for rhubarb to be back in season...cranberries also!

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  8. Hi Vicki: It looks so good! I would have eaten a lot more of this if it had lasted! I do love the Italian meringue with it. I will try the rhubarb version this summer. Hope I can my post up soon. Have a lovely holiday weekend!

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  9. Italian meringue is my favorite! I wish I had doubled it. I am looking forward to trying the fresh rhubarb version too.

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