Keeping with traditional holiday foods is important in creating family memories, good or bad.
When I was a kid my grandmother’s contribution to the holiday meal was a concoction we always refer to as holiday salad. How this dish had the name of salad in it is mind boggling. I am sure that this recipe came from some Jell-O brand cookbook and my grandmother received a few compliments on her dish, so she made it hers. From what I can recall it had some sort of cream cheese and pineapple filling with a bright red Jell-O top. Since it was called a salad, the dish was served during the meal. To me it should have been moved to the dessert table, but hey, whoever heard of a dessert salad?
Anyway, this concoction always makes me wonder what odd dishes show up at other peoples’ homes on the holidays? Is it the green bean casserole or maybe canned sweet potatoes with marshmallows? What finds its way to your table every year?
I don’t have the recipe for the Jell-O salad, but I am going to share with you one of my favorite holiday desserts. Everyone has their favorite pies, and I will certainly share more of my favorites with you, but today I am sharing a beautiful and easy cake. Cranberry Upside Down cake can be a showpiece at your dessert table. Make sure to use your best serving dish for this beautiful cake.
Cranberry Upside Down Cake
4 ounces unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 1 lb. fresh cranberries 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon orange zest 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milkPreheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by 1-1/2-inch round cake pan.
Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper. Sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar evenly over the bottom and arrange the berries in the pan. In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and remaining sugar. Add egg, vanilla and zest.
Beat the mixture until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating with the milk, and mix until combined.
Pour the batter over the cranberries, smoothing out the top, and bake on a sheet pan in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer the cake to cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Run a knife around the inside of the cake pan to invert the cake onto cake platter.
Serve the cake with fresh whipped cream.
Enjoy!
Andrea Charroin was a trained baker and pastry chef in San Francisco before she and her family moved to Redding 11 years ago. After falling in love with Redding’s downtown, Andrea and husband Westley opened a little pastry shop, Rene-Joule Patisserie, across from the Cascade Theatre. For the three years Rene-Joule was in business, it was renowned for making everything from scratch, using the best ingredients and keeping with a seasonal menu. To this day, Andrea is asked about her Marathon Bars, Orange Twists and sourdough bread.
Copyright 2009 Andrea R. Charroin. Visit her blog at bakerslove.typepad.com
