This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
Golden cranberry upside down cakelets are the perfect addition to your holiday table. Perfectly petite, the mini cakes showcase sweet-tart cranberries nestled in a brown sugar-caramel topping over an orange scented cake.
Serve the cakelets slightly warm, dusted with powdered sugar or topped with billows of snowy whipped cream. May your Christmas be merry and bright!
More delicious cranberry dessert ideas:
Print
Cranberry Upside Down Cakelets
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Total Time: 53 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 cakelets, depending on the pan
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Mini cranberry upside down cakelets are the perfect addition to your holiday table. Serve warm, topped with powdered sugar or whipped cream!
Ingredients
Topping
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries
Cakes
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp fresh orange zest
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup reduced-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a mini bundlette cake pan with nonstick spray.
- For the topping, combine butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in cranberries; divide mixture evenly between each cavity and set aside.
- Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter, sugar, and orange zest in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk (begin and end with flour mixture).
- Fill each cavity 2/3 full and tap pan sharply to remove air bubbles.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes, until cakelets are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakelets in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before inverting onto rack to cool completely.
Notes
Baking pan: I used this Nordic Ware Bundlette Pan. You may have extra batter, which can be baked in mini loaf pans. Alternatively, bake batter in 3 mini (5 3/4″ x 3 3/4″) loaf pans – baking time will be 36 to 38 minutes.
Hi Laura, thanks for another gorgeous recipe! Would it work with frozen cranberries, too? Merry Christmas!
Hi Eufi, I haven’t tried it with frozen cranberries, but I think it should work just fine! Hope you have a Merry Christmas! 🙂
Can this recipe be done in a standard bundt pan?
Hi Kristine, I haven’t tested this recipe in a standard bundt pan. This is a great cranberry bundt recipe if you want to make a full size cake: https://tutti-dolci.com/cranberry-orange-bundt-cake/