Apple Cranberry Upside Down Coffee Cake

Juicy sweet apples and tart cranberries simmered in caramelized sauce soak into tender spiced coffee cake. This apple cranberry upside down coffee cake is a must this holiday season.

Gosh, I’ve been craving cakes and pies for the last month or so, like non-stop! I even have a stash of pound cake in my freezer for emergency craving situations. But there’re times when pound cake is not what you want. Sometimes you want something light and fluffy. Sometimes something fruity. Sometimes you want a slice of tall pumpkin pie, or ridiculously sweet pecan pie. You just never know what you’d want at odd hours of the day. #pregnancyproblems

Recently, I had a craving for a combination of a cake and my pear tarte tatin. And darn it, I didn’t have any pears in the house. But I did have plenty of apples and cranberries. So what do you do? That’s right, you improvise! And the result didn’t disappoint. Just like in my apple cranberry crisp, these two flavors are simply meant for each other!

Soft juicy apples and tart cranberries simmered in caramelized sauce on the stovetop, then covered with tender fall-spiced coffee cake batter and finished in the oven. Gosh, just imagine all that caramelized fruit sauce soaked into that tender cake as it bakes. And can we just talk about that presentation for a sec? Isn’t that gorgeous? Love the pretty little red cranberries adding so much holiday glam to the cake. 

So, like I described earlier, we start cooking the cake on stovetop, then we finish it off in the oven. That means you’ll need an oven-safe skillet to make this recipe.

Despite the complicated look, it really is super simple to make. While the apples and cranberries are cooking in caramelized sauce until nice and tender, we’ll make simple coffee cake with warm fall spices. Greek yogurt in the cake batter helps the cake stay moist and tender. Don’t skip it!

Once the cake is baked and cooled for 5 minutes, it’s time to carefully flip the cake over. Be careful, but confident. You can do it! Wear your oven mitts. And flip it away from yourself, so that you won’t accidentally get any of the hot juice over yourself. This step always makes me a little nervous, but staying calm and confident is important.

Aren’t those apples look like peaches? ❤️

This cake is best served with a cup of coffee (or tea) for breakfast. Especially if you have friends or family staying over for holidays. It’s simple, yet festive! Hope you give it a try.

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Apple Cranberry Upside Down Coffee Cake

Juicy sweet apples and tart cranberries simmered in caramelized sauce soak into tender spiced coffee cake. This apple cranberry upside down coffee cake is a must this holiday season.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 Honeycrisp apples
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup (70gr) light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• ½ cup (55gr) cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)

For coffee cake:

• 1 cup (125gr) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
• 4 tablespoons (60gr) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup (65gr) sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup (115gr) Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Peel and core the apples. Cut the apples into quarters and then cut each quarter in half.
3. In 10-inch oven-safe, non-stick skillet, melt the butter on medium heat. Add the sugars and cook until the mixture slightly browned. Arrange the apple quarters in the skillet. Cook the apples uncovered until the butter mixture is caramelized and turned deep brown color, and apples are soft, about 30 minutes.
4. To make the coffee cake, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
5. In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
6. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add Greek yogurt and mix for 1 minute. Add the remaining flour mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.
7. Sprinkle cranberries and spices over the apples. Pour the cake batter and smooth it evenly, making sure to cover the apples and cranberries. Transfer the skillet into the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Rest the cake in the skillet on wire rack for 5 minutes. Line a baking sheet with another wire rack, place it over the skillet and quickly, but carefully flip over the cake away from yourself. Make sure to wear your oven mitts, as the cake is still hot and some of the hot juice may drip during the process. Cool the cake completely before serving.
8. Store the cake in fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.

For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.

All images and text ©Shinee D. for Sweet & Savory

All photographs and content on Sweet & Savory by Shinee is copyright protected, unless otherwise noted. Please do not use any of my photos without my authorization. If you would like to share my recipe, you may re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the full directions. Thank you for your cooperation!

This post is sponsored by Anolon Cookware. All opinions are mine alone.