Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:
-1.5 TB melted butter
-Brown sugar
-1 can whole berry cranberry sauce with optional addition of some chunked up fresh cranberries
-Zest from 1/4 of an orange
-Favorite vanilla cake recipe

Grease an 8 inch cake pan well and put the melted butter in the bottom, covering it completely.  Pack a layer of brown sugar in about 1/8th inch thick or so (aka thin layer) and top with a layer of cranberry sauce mixed with fresh cranberries and orange zest.  The fresh cranberries cut through the sugar and give it a little pizzazz.

Next, pour in your favorite cake recipe and bake as directed.  We like to use the one on the back of the Swan's Down cake flour box, but you can use others and even experiment with flavors if you are feeling bold.

When the cake is done, remove and flip it out onto a cake plate, tapping the bottom as needed to release the cake.

This is a fun spin on pineapple upside down cake that is just in time for the holiday season.  You could also add things like pecans to the topping if you have a family that likes them.  Ours is not fans of such shenanigans (except me, but then again I would find a way to put bacon in this...oh what a good idea...a bacon pineapple upside down cake....)

Anyway, I highly suggest using a half cup or whatever you want to use of fresh cranberries, of which I would chop.  The sugar in the topping helps tone them down, but they work to cut through the sweetness.  It is a pretty good setup really.

Happy crafting!