Upside-Down Cranberry-Banana Cake

As with the previous post, this was made and photographed during the night when my “good” camera was out of commission. But no matter how great the camera, I was reassured that most cranberry upside-down cakes really look awful on pictures so I suppose my cellphone cam could only ruin visuals so far.

I had about a cup and a half of cranberry that I was saving. I didn’t know what to do with them and considered making muffins. But since me and my friends decided to have dinner, I thought about using them for an upside down cake.

I considered using a chiffon cake for the base or perhaps a sturdier mocha. But when my friend Jovett told me that she had 3 extremely ripe bananas in her apartment – so ripe that they looked a little sorry and ignored – I finally had the answer. Why not a classic banana cake?

For this cake, I used two of Deb’s recipes and combined them (I really should use other sources but SK is such a wonderful reference for baking). I was afraid of how it would turn out since I’m not really sure about mixing cranberry and banana flavors. The cake turned out to be a hit and I was asked to bake the same thing for a bridal shower the week after.

Tip:  A lot of people have trouble turning an upside down cake without the middle sticking on the pan. Use wax paper or foil to cover the bottom of the pan so when you flip it over, the whole cake comes out foil and all. If the berries stick to the foil, stick the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes before peeling it off.