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Cranberry Upside Down Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Butter a 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pan.

Topping: Place the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking for a few more minutes until the sugar starts to brown (caramelize). Then remove from heat, and pour into your prepared cake pan. Sprinkle evenly with the fresh cranberries.

Cake Batter: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the egg yolks and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture (in three additions), alternately with the milk (in two additions), ending with the dry ingredients.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar just until the whites hold a firm peak. With a large spatula gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter in two additions. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the cake has browned and it just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10-15 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and then invert the cake onto your serving plate. This cake is best served shortly after baking, while it's still warm. But leftovers can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheat.

Makes about 8-10 servings.

This beautiful Cranberry Upside Down Cake is such a unique way to showcase fresh cranberries. It pairs sweet and sticky caramelized cranberries with a light and fluffy butter cake. This cake begs to be served warm from the oven, with or without a dollop of softly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla or caramel ice cream. Leftovers can be covered, stored in the refrigerator, and simply reheated.

The idea for an Upside Down Cake probably came from the French apple cake, called a Tarte Tatin. The Tarte Tatin was created by Madame Tatin, one of two sisters who ran a hotel in the Sologne (Loire) region of France around the turn of the 20th century. Looking at these two desserts the similarities are obvious; both consist of caramelized fruit topped with pastry that is baked, and both are inverted after baking so the fruit is on top. The main difference between these two cakes, is that while the Tarte Tatin tops the apples with either puff pastry or a sweet pastry, the Upside Down Cake uses a cake batter. For a little trivia, the first printed recipes for an Upside Down Cake appeared in the 1930s and the Pineapple Upside Down Cake set the standard. Since then many versions of this cake have been created and this recipe for Cranberry Upside Down Cake is just one example.