Chef Julie is thinking about chef Alice Waters’ Cranberry upside-down cake.

This cake is a delicious use of the seasonal cranberry. Consider using the same recipe and substituting rhubarb for the cranberries for an interesting riff on Waters wonderful dessert

Thinking About:

Chef Alice Waters’ Cranberry Upside-Down Cake
Topping:
2 oz. (½ stick) Unsalted Butter (soft)
¾ cup Light Brown Sugar
9 ounces (3 cups) fresh Cranberries
¼ cup fresh Orange Juice
Batter:
1 ½ cups A/P Flour
2 teas. Baking Powder
¼ teas. Salt
4 oz. (1 stick) Unsalted Butter (room temp)
1 cup Sugar
1 teas. Vanilla Extract
2 eggs (separated)
½ cup whole milk
¼ teas. Cream of Tartar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚f; brush Butter and sprinkle brown sugar into 9-inch round cake pan, place in oven. As Sugar dissolves, stir to distribute mixture evenly in pan. When Sugar begins to caramelize, remove pan from oven, let cool.
In small bowl, combine Cranberries and Orange Juice. Toss to completely coat Berries. Spread Berries evenly in pan, and sprinkle with remaining Juice. Set pan aside, and prepare cake batter.
In medium mixing bowl, sift together Flour, Baking Powder and Salt…Set aside.
In stand mixer, cream Butter and Sugar until pale, light and fluffy. Add Vanilla, and beat in Egg Yolks one at a time, scrap down bowl. Add Flour mixture alternately with Milk, ending with dry ingredients. Set batter aside.
In clean, dry bowl, whisk Egg Whites & Cream of Tartar to soft peaks.
In 3 batches, fold whites into batter; spoon batter into prepared pan; and spread evenly over Cranberries.
Bake until top is browned and cake pulls away slightly from edges of pan (25 to 35 mins.)
Let cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto cake plate. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream, flavored with a few drops of Grand Marnier Liqueur.

This recipe started my creative juices bubbling on the power burner, as I thought about Chef Waters; in NorCal, she is the reining queen of organic/locally grown, sustainable foods.