There’s a moment, just after you pour the batter over the fruit, when the pan feels heavier. Not from weight—from expectation. Upside-down cakes are quiet that way. They don’t promise much. Just fruit, sugar, batter. Then, when you flip it, the top becomes the bottom, and what was hidden is suddenly there, glistening.

Cranberries are sharp. They need sweetness, yes, but also something to meet their acidity halfway. Rye flour has that. Not much—just a quarter of the total. Enough to give the crumb a slight tug, a whisper of earth beneath the citrus and butter.

The rye was an accident the first time. Regular flour was low, rye was what was open on the counter. It makes sense with cranberries—earthy where they’re sharp, substantial where they’re bright.

You melt butter in a skillet or cake pan, stir in brown sugar until it bubbles into a thin caramel. Scatter cranberries over it—whole, not chopped. They burst in the oven, their skins splitting open, juice thickening into jam.

The batter comes together in one bowl. Flour, rye, baking powder, salt. Then butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, a glug of molasses—just enough to deepen the colour. The molasses pours thick and dark, folding into what would otherwise be a pale batter. You pour it over the berries and bake.

The cake rises slowly. When it’s done, the edges shrink just a hair from the pan. You let it sit five minutes. Any sooner and you get a mess. Any later and the caramel hardens to the pan. Then a plate on top, hands on both sides, and a flip.

There’s a soft thump. The cake releases. Some cranberries have burst, staining the caramel pink. Others stay whole, their skins taut and shining.

Cranberry & Rye Upside-Down Cake

Makes one 9-inch cake, 8–10 servings
Time: 15 minutes active, 1 hour total

Ingredients

For the topping

  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
  • 2 cups (225 g) fresh or frozen cranberries

For the cake

  • ¾ cup (95 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (30 g) rye flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • ⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • ⅔ cup (160 ml) whole milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Melt the 3 tbsp butter in a 9-inch ovenproof skillet or cake pan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar until smooth and bubbling, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. Scatter the cranberries evenly over the caramel. Set aside.
  4. Whisk the all-purpose flour, rye flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
  5. In another bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until just combined. Add the egg, vanilla, and molasses; mix until smooth.
  6. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with dry. Mix until just incorporated.
  7. Spoon the batter over the cranberries, spreading gently to the edges.
  8. Bake 40–45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the edges pull slightly from the pan.
  9. Cool in the pan 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, place a serving plate over top, and invert carefully.

Serve warm or at room temperature. It keeps, covered, for three days.

One slice sits slightly askew on a white plate, a cranberry clinging to the side where it broke away from the rest.