Gluten-Free Holiday Cranberry Cake
Baked, flipped and covered in a decadent brown sugar cranberry sauce, this Cranberry Upside Down Cake is the little slice of gluten-free sweetness you've been looking for.

Topping
- 2 tablespoons melted butter 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/3 cup Florida Crystals® Organic Brown Raw Cane Sugar, packed 1/3 cup Florida Crystals® Organic Brown Raw Cane Sugar, packed
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
Cake
- 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup butter, softened
- Florida Crystals® Organic Raw Cane Sugar 3/4 cup 3/4 cup Florida Crystals® Organic Raw Cane Sugar
- 2 eggs 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup milk
- 1 ¼ cups gluten-free baking flour 1 ¼ cups gluten-free baking flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cut a round of parchment to fit the bottom of the 9-inch round cake pan. Brush melted butter over bottom and sides of pan. Spread Florida Crystals® Organic Brown Raw Cane Sugar over bottom of pan and sprinkle cranberries evenly over top in a single layer. Set pan aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In medium mixing bowl on medium speed, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla until blended. In a separate bowl, sift or whisk together all dry ingredients. Alternately sitr in flour mixture and milk on low speed, mixing just until batter is smooth.
Pour batter on top of cranberry mixture, gently spreading evenly with an offset spatula. Bake 50-55 minutes or until cake springs back to touch and tester inserted in center comes clean. Cool on rack before inverting.
Run a knife around the sides of the cake; then, put a serving plate over the cake and invert. Remove parchment paper from top.
Chef's Tip
Leftover raw cranberries can be chopped and added to the top of the baked and inverted cake for a tart and crunchy contrast to the brown sugar candied cranberries.
If using a gluten-free flour blend that includes xanthan gum, reduces amount of xanthan gum in ingredients list to 1/4 teaspoon.
For best results, use weight to determine the amount of flour to use. Gluten-free baking flours differ in the type of grain and nut flours blended. For equal replacement use the guideline that 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs 125 grams.
The top of this cake is likely to look ready before the center is fully baked. It generally will take every minute of the recommended bake time to be done.