A Seasonal Twist on a Classic Favorite: Cranberry Pineapple Upside Down Cake {+ Win a Mealthy Handblend} #MealthyMoms

**Product received for consideration. All thoughts are 100% my own.

'Tis the season for baking!

And I absolutely, positively love baking! While I didn't learn to cook until I was older, baking was a completely different story. Especially around the holidays! One of the first things I remember my mom teaching me to bake was a pineapple upside down cake. For whatever reason, I fell in love with making this particular dessert and it became my go to. By the time I reached high school, I had pretty much mastered it and would have people start to ask for it. Holidays, birthdays, potlucks, you name it! Though I don't make it quite as often these days, it's still one of my favorite things to bake, in large part because of the memories associated with it.

This holiday season, I decided to take that beloved recipe and give it a little holiday twist with the addition of one of my seasonal favorites, cranberries! Today I'm sharing this recipe with all of you.

Cranberry Pineapple Upside Down Cake

• fresh cranberries
• 2 cans crushed pineapple
• brown sugar
• cinnamon
• butter
• yellow cake mix + required ingredients

1. Preheat oven according to mix/recipe for your cake.
2. Use butter to grease your cake pan. I find stick butter the easiest to use, rub it on and use a paper towel to even out and get all the nooks and crannies as needed. You will want to use a LOT to ensure that your cake doesn't stick, and for that delicious flavor. 
3. Now mix your brown sugar and cinnamon together. I don't measure this myself, but you'll want enough to completely cover your cake pan with a generous layer, again don't go light on the brown sugar...this is going to give it that delicious sweet flavor that we love. Cover the bottom of your pan completely with the finished mixture. 
4. Now it's time to layer your cranberries. You can use them whole if desired, but to make it easier to eat and keep the layers a little more even, I used the chopper attachment on my Mealthy Handblend to crush them, and then layered in those crushed pieces.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Next, you will drain the juice from your crushed pineapple. Sit the juice aside. Do not discard, we will use this later on.
6. Layer your drained pineapples over the cranberry layer. (Note: While I know that many use sliced pineapples for pineapple upside down cake, I find that crushed works much better for a few reasons. First and foremost, it's easier to cut and eat, and keeps everything very even throughout. Every bite is going to have the same amount of fruit throughout, just as we did with the cranberries. Aside from that, because you generally don't get ALL the juice out of those crushed pineapples, I find the cake tends to be more moist as well. While you can certainly used sliced, I highly suggest the crushed or a combination of both!)
7. Set aside and begin preparing your cake mix. The great thing about this recipe is that you can use ANY favorite yellow cake mix or recipe that you prefer. I've used a variety of boxed mixes and from scratch options too. They all work well. Prepare mix according to recipe, BUT replace any water in your recipe with the pineapple juice we'd set aside. Generally, I have found that with two cans, I have all the juice I need, but if you should come up a little short, use water for the remainder or buy some extra juice just in case. Mix using the whisk attachment on the Mealthy Handblend until smooth.
   
   
   
8. Pour into your prepared pan over the pineapple. 
9. Bake according to cake mix/recipe directions. (You may find you need to add an extra 10-15 minutes or so bake time, depending on your oven, etc. I always check at the recommended recipe time and add time as needed.)
10. Flip cake onto flat surface, slowly and carefully. If you've used enough butter it should slide out pretty easily, but if some fruit sticks, just spoon it back on. 

That's it! While it looks like a lot of steps to follow, it's quite easy...and VERY delicious! Perfect for the holiday season and beyond.

This dessert was made even easier with a little help from the newest addition to the appliance selection from Mealthy: the Mealthy Handblend.

No matter what your holiday baking brings, Mealthy Handblend has a complete immersion blending system to keep you covered with it's blender, whisk and chopper attachments. There's even a smoothie cup perfect for the fun holiday milkshakes! Yum! From soups to whipped cream to smoothies, the Handblend makes everything smooth and easy thanks it's stainless steel construction and ultra-sharp blades. There are 10 speed settings that allow you to tackle any job... including a Turbo button for a burst of power and speed for those BIG jobs. There's even a chopper bowl attachment that gives you all the room you need for chopping and dicing.

This all sounds great, of course, but the real question is--- how well does it really work?

Amazingly! To be honest, when I used it for the first time with the whisk attachment, I expected it would have about the same power as any ol' handheld mixer. I was stunned at the power when I turned it on. Within just a few short minutes, my batter was creamy and smooth. I was stunned! And the other attachments are JUST as impressive.

But what I love most about the Mealthy Handblend? The versatility. See, I have a tiny kitchen. Seriously, one person in the kitchen is just about too many. There is no counter space to work on, and so while I have a pretty good selection of small appliances, dragging them out is quite the hassle. The Handblend does the job of multiple appliances with one compact one! In the recipe above, I was able to use it for both chopping my cranberries and mixing my batter with the simple change of an attachment. I didn't have to drag out my blender or chopper, OR my stand mixer either. One tool. Done. Not only is it great for space, but it's great for time and cleanup too! And I'll be honest, as much as I love the holiday baking, I despise the holiday baking cleanup so this is a HUGE plus in my book.

Ready to learn more about the Mealthy Handblend and more great appliances from Mealthy? Click here to learn more. 

And one very lucky reader is going to win one for themselves! Enter using the giveaway form below:

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