If we were having coffee I’d offer you some cranberry upside down cake. It’s a hybrid of two recipes: one I copied out of a magazine years and years ago that became a family favorite, the other is a scaled down one from a Baking for Two magazine I got a few years ago, not long after our son flew off to make his own nest.

It’s kind of fussy to make but worth it.

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

The recipe makes a 6″ round cake, just right for two.

For the topping (bottom?)

• 2 tsp (or up to 1 tbsp) of melted butter
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans and/or walnuts work well)
• 1 1/4 cup fresh cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Oil the 6″ round cake pan. Pour the melted butter into the pan and spread it out. sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter as evenly as reasonable. Heat in the oven for 2 minutes, then add the nuts and cranberries. Set aside.

For the cake

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup milk (I tend to use Trader Joe’s Almond Beverage)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, separated, plus one large yolk
• pinch cream of tartar

Whisk together the flower, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Whisk the milk and vanilla together in a separate bowl.

Beat butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until combined, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Reduce speed to low then add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk mixture in two additions, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Beat the egg white and cream of tartar to soft peaks.

Whisk 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining. Pour over the topping layer in the pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edge and invert it onto a serving plate.

Another cranberry idea from this week

I don’t have a recipe for this, because I made it up on the fly.

I used the crusts I cut off of the bread I used to make dressing for Thanksgiving to make a cranberry apple bread pudding.

I cut about three cups of the crusts up, tossed them with a sliced up apple and a cup or so of cranberries. then put the mixture into 6 muffin cups and a mini loaf pan (grease the pans well). Whisked together a bunch of eggs, about 6, some milk, about 1 cup (I use Trader Joe’s Almond Beverage), some sugar, about 1/4 cup, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Pour the egg-y mix over the bread and let it soak for a while, then bake at 350 deg F until a knife comes out clean. This makes a nice breakfast, with a drizzle of maple syrup, or just a sweet, but not too sweet, snack.

Thanksgiving was fine for us

We went to my Dad’s (we officially designated him part of our household for pandemic purposes months ago) it was just the three of us plus one close friend of the family…plus the three dogs…and our cat.

We had all the usual suspects: turkey, gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and cranberry sauce, with pumpkin pie after. Needless to say there were significant amounts of left overs.

It rained a bit, but didn’t pour, so we were able to walk on the beach when the tide was out. The dogs love that.

All-in-all it was a relaxed time, more so than the last couple of years, which included my grandmother’s last Thanksgiving in 2018 and our first without her in 2019.

How was your week? If you celebrate USA Thanksgiving how did it go?

For Weekend Coffee Share by Eclectic Ali.