Vegan Strawberry Cranberry Coconut Upside Cake

While gazing at a bag of cranberries in my refrigerator, I had no idea what to use them for. I love fresh cranberries, usually in dessert, and as much as I enjoyed my Vegan Upside Orange Cake, I thought wouldn't cranberries look festive and bright in this style of cake. 

I advocate for every household to eliminate as much food waste as possible. I looked in my fridge and had strawberries as well as 3/4 of a can of coconut milk still open. I studied my orange upside down cake to see how I can alter this recipe to combine the best of winter and summer flavors.

Like a winterberry cake, the coconut adds a unique flavor to the cake. If you do not like coconut, substitute the coconut milk with a different nondairy milk and canola oil for coconut oil. 

As a health coach, I believe we also eat too much sugar in America. Generally, European sweets do not contain as much sugar as American desserts. This is sweet, but if you enjoy very sweet cakes, add more brown sugar. The six tablespoons used equates to 1/3 cup of sugar.

So it's sweet yet tart thanks to the cranberries. 

Vegan Strawberry Cranberry Coconut Upside Cake
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Makes 1 9-inch cake

Ingredients:
Wet 
1 1/3 cup coconut milk from can (3/4 can)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp vanilla
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Dry
1 1/4 cup pastry flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

Topping
3 tbsp brown sugar 
1 tbsp vegan butter
1.5 tbsp orange juice (from a slice of orange)
1 cup fresh cranberries
8 strawberries, sliced
Pinch of cinnamon, all spice and clove

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin by preparing the pan with the topping ingredients. 

Rub the butter all over the sides and the bottom of the pan. Next, sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter base. Mix the strawberries, cranberries, orange juice and spices in a bowl. Arrange the fruit on the bottom of the pan, on top of the sugar and butter, to your liking. Pour any leftover juice on the bottom of the pan. 

Next mix the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar together, set aside. 

Next, mix the dry ingredients into a bowl. Place the remaining wet ingredients into the bowl with the coconut milk. Mix until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and fold until combined. Do not over mix. 

Pour the batter on top of the fruit, spread evenly. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a fork or knife comes out clean from piercing the center of the cake. Let the cake cool. Place a plate on the bottom of the pan, flip and remove the pie tin from the cake. 

Yum

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