New England Cranberry Duff

A recent Martha Stewart Living magazine featured this recipe, and I've found it to be a big hit. It was great at Thanksgiving time, but cranberries are certainly welcome around Christmas, too. Only one recommendation: when they say it serves 6, laugh out loud. Garfield and I finished it by ourselves, but it's easy to double in a 9 x 13 baker. That way you can actually share with your children...if you're nice like that.

New England Cranberry Duff

Serves 6
To make this Northeastern interpretation of an old-fashioned upside-down cake, cranberries and toasted pecans are topped with buttery batter, then baked and inverted. The cranberries soften in the oven but the pecans stay crunchy, lending a textural flourish.


1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1/3 cup pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt


1. Preheat oven to 325°. Butter bottom and halfway up sides of an 8-inch square glass baking dish using 2 tablespoons butter. Spread cranberries evenly over bottom of dish. Sprinkle pecans on top, then sprinkle with 1/3 cup sugar; set aside.


2. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat; set aside. Put egg and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until pale and thick, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low; gradually beat in flour, and then salt. Pour in melted butter in a slow, steady stream, beating until smooth.


3. Slowly pour batter into pan to cover cranberries. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge to loosen, and invert to unmold onto a serving platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.