Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

I recently brought this cake to a dinner for ten, and it was much enjoyed by all. I don't make it very often, and then each time I do, I resolve to not wait so long!

CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

8-10 servings

adapted from Cooking Light, November 2009

 

Topping:

butter for preparing the cake pan

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

2 T. butter

6 oz fresh or frozen, thawed, cranberries

 

Cake

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1 c. granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs, separating out whites/yolks (both used in recipe)

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 c. skim milk (other milk also fine)

optional: serve with vanilla ice cream

 

Preheat oven to 350. 

 

To prepare topping, generously butter a 9" round cake pan.  (If you have a “quick-release” pan with a slider, that will help get the cake out; see NOTE at bottom.)  Heat brown sugar and 2 T. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook 2 minutes or until butter melts and sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.  Pour sugar mixture into prepared cake pan, tilting pan to coat bottom evenly.  Arrange cranberries evenly over sugar mixture.

 

To prepare cake: set out a small, medium, and large bowls.

In the small bowl, beat the egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside; this will be stirred into the batter.

 

In the medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir with a whisk.  

 

In the larger bowl, beat sugar and 1/2 cup butter at medium speed until well blended and fluffy (about 3 minutes).  Add egg yolks and beat well.  Beat in vanilla.  Fold flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Then gently fold the egg whites into the batter.  

 

Spoon the batter over the cranberries, spreading evenly.  Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.  

 

Cool in pan 15 minutes on wire rack.  Place a serving plate upside down on top of cake, and invert the cake pan onto the plate.  Let stand 5 minutes and remove the pan.  Serve warm (or see below for making further ahead).  

 

NOTE: I have also made the cake as much as a day before serving. I left it in the pan until ready to serve.  When I used a pan with a "slider" to loosen it, it came out easily.  When I used a pan without a slider, I had to work to loosen some of the bottom as well as the sides, and lost some around the edges.  

Fresh Tomato Tart

I am starting to get some tomatoes from my garden, but not enough yet to make a batch of spaghetti sauce, so my eye was caught by this recipe for a fresh tomato tart in David Lebovitz's blog. I had one large Purple Cherokee tomato on hand and a few tomatoes like Roma but a larger (I forget the name of the variety), and that was plenty for the tart. It was delicious! The crust is unusual in its inclusion of cornmeal, a very nice addition.  Because the tart bakes for about 40 minutes, I think this would likely be fine with grocery store Roma tomatoes if you don't have any home-grown or farmer's market tomatoes. I served it as a side dish with eggplant parmigiana. It would also be nice with some soup or a hearty salad.

FRESH TOMATO TART

adapted from https://davidlebovitz.substack.com/p/fresh-tomato-tart

serves 6 as a side dish

 

For the dough

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup polenta or cornmeal

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

5 tablespoons ice water, plus more if necessary

 

For the tart

about 3 T. Dijon or whole-grain mustard

3 medium tomatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

6 ounces ricotta (whole milk or part skim)

1-1/2 tablespoons melted butter (I used a little less)

Parmesan cheese, grated

To make the dough, mix together the flour, polenta, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. or (and use a pastry blender or your fingers to mix the dough). Add the cubed, cold butter and cut into the flour with a pastry blender (or blend in with your fingers) until the pieces of butter are the size of large corn kernels. Add the water mix with a spoon and/or your hands until the dough starts to come together. If the dough feels too dry to do that, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until it comes together. (I used about another 1-1/2 T.) Use your hands to gather the dough and shape the dough into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or an eco-friendly alternative and chill for at least an hour. (The dough can be made up to 3 days in advance.)

To make the tart, preheat the oven to 400. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Unwrap it and, holding the disk of dough perpendicular to the counter, rap the sides of the dough on the counter, turning it as you go, to soften the edges, which helps them stay together and not get too ragged when you’re rolling out the dough.

On a lightly floured countertop or large silicone mat, roll the dough out to a 14-inch circle, turning the dough and sprinkling more flour on the counter and the dough to keep it from sticking as you’re rolling.

Place the dough on a flat (not rimmed) baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spread a layer of mustard on the dough, leaving a couple of inches empty around the perimeter, which you’ll fold over the filling later. 

Slice the tomatoes about 1/3-inch thick and layer them in concentric circles, overlapping them a little, over the mustard. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. 

Place chunks of ricotta cheese over and, in some places, partially tucked under the tomatoes.

Fold the edges of the dough over the tomatoes to make an outer crust. Brush the edges of the dough with melted butter and grate Parmesan cheese over the entire tart, including the crust. 

Bake until the tomatoes are soft and cooked through and the crust is dark golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. Slide the tart off the pan onto a wire rack and let cool for about ten minutes before putting on a large round plate to serve.

Strawberry Shortcake Cobbler

This recipe was quite easy to make and really good. The only time-consuming part was hulling and slicing the berries. I think it would be nice with other fruit as well--I think I'll try peaches next.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SKILLET COBBLER

https://www.driscolls.com/recipes/strawberry-shortcake-skillet-cobbler

8 servings

 

To serve 9-10 people instead of 8, up the strawberries to 40 ounces and add just a tad more sugar and cornstarch. Everything else can stay the same.

32 ounces strawberries, hulled and sliced

3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup

2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 T. cornstarch

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

2 T. baking powder

6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup milk

pinch salt

1 large egg

 

PREHEAT oven to 375°F.

 

GREASE a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with butter. (I used a 10.5” stainless steel straight-sided skillet, which worked well.) I think the 8-serving version would probably also work in a 9” square bake pan, but I’d put it on a sheet pan in case it might bubble over.

 

In a large bowl, COMBINE strawberries, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Let sit for at least 15 minutes, while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

 

In another large bowl, WHISK together the flour, cornmeal, remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and baking powder. Add butter and salt and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or your fingers until the butter is incorporated. (I started with a pastry cutter and then continued with my fingers.)

 

WHISK egg and milk in a small bowl and then stir into the flour mixture. Set aside the batter.

 

SCRAPE strawberries and juices into the skillet.

 

DROP batter by the spoonful onto strawberries. (The “islands” will merge together as the cobbler bakes.)

 

BAKE 30 to 35 minutes or until the top of the cobbler is golden brown.

 

REMOVE from the oven, and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

 

TOP cobbler with whipped cream (1 cup heavy cream whipped with 1 T. confectioners sugar), vanilla ice cream, or low-fat vanilla cream (recipe here).