cranberry upside-down cake

Today, it was 80 degrees, and I wore sandals to work. I live in the Northeast. It's almost Halloween. Something is terribly wrong.

But even this unseasonably warm weather doesn't stop me from craving autumn's harvest delights. Enter Cranberry Upside-Down Cake. A shot of lemon oil brightens the cranberries' tartness--and serves as my homage to the extended summer's magnificent swan song.

CRANBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

• 1 1/2 cups flour [I used my customary half whole wheat pastry flour, half white spelt]
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance, divided in 2
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 12 oz. bag cranberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 T soy flour
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp lemon oil or 1 T lemon zest, chopped very fine

8 servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt together brown sugar and 1/4 cup of the Earth Balance. Pour into oiled cake pan and arrange cranberries on top.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients [flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, soy flour]. In a medium bowl, mix wet ingredients [milk, lemon oil or zest, vanilla and 1/4 butter]. Using a mixer, blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Spoon the cake batter over the cranberry mixture and bake for about 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cake and run a knife along the circumference of the pan to separate the cake from the pan's edge.

Allow cake to cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes--ideally for 30 minutes, if you can wait that long. Place large plate on top of cake and quickly invert and remove pan.