Cranberry~Almond Upside-Down Cake

Thanksgiving (in the United States) is just 2 days away and I'm still deciding on the desserts I will make.  I love cranberries or as we called them growing up, "bounce berries!"  We're so very lucky in the Pacific Northwest that they are grown locally...Oregon, to be exact.  The color and flavor of fresh cranberries far exceeds the ones that are packaged back in September or early October and shipped to the grocery stores.

I came across this recipe in the December 2012 Wholeliving magazine as a food gift to give to friends, which I love doing.  In addition to cranberries, it also caught my attention because it calls for ground almonds, so it makes this recipe Gluten-free; something a lot of my friends have to adhere to.
The only change I made was in the pan I baked them in--it called for 3" x 6" loaf pans, but I used my multi-mini loaf pan which is 2 1/2" x 4", so I was able to get eight cakes.  More to give or eat!!

Cranberry~Almond Upside-Down Cake

2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (about 10.5 oz)
2T granulated sugar 

4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (+I used 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped)
 
2 cups almonds, toasted and ground
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Measure the 2 cups of almonds and toast them for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool, then grind in the food processor (being careful not to turn them to almond butter!) or use a nut grinder, which is what I did.

Rinse cranberries under cold water and take out any that are spoiled.

Place cranberries and the 2T sugar in a sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring until cranberries begin to pop--about 6 minutes.

 Melt about 2 Tablespoons of butter and brush the mini loaf pans (you could also use a muffin pan). Divide the cranberry mixture among the openings.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the vanilla and beat once more.

Mix the baking soda and salt in the ground almonds, then, add to the bowl and stir to incorporate.  Scoop the mixer over the cranberries and gently smooth the tops with an offset spatula.  

Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until a tester, inserted in the middle, comes out clean--for the size specified by the recipe it was 30 minutes.  However, for my mini loaf pan, it only took 16 minutes.  For muffins, you will have to test.

Let cool slightly, then place a parchment-covered rack over top and invert pan.  Allow to cool completely before wrapping up the individual loaves.

These were a "test" and I will be dropping them off to a couple of friends today, but when I bake them for our dinner, I'm thinking some homemade vanilla (or even better egg nog) ice cream might be a nice accompaniment--what do you think?  Enjoy!