I always use an 8x3 or 9x3 pan to avoid overflow (Karen Wallace). I have no idea why Hamstar's cranberries floated up. I'm guessing they were not cooked long enough prior to pouring into the bottom of the pan. Maybe that caused them to be too light and float up. I've made the cake multiple times and it looks great. I do confess that I always use extra cranberries to make sure that I end up with I complete red top. I've always worried about that. It has turned out great every time.

I just turned my cake over and.....there's no topping! The cranberries floated up into the batter. I'm sure it's delicious, but it looks nothing like the picture. What happened? Did this happen to anyone else?

This is super-yummy. It made too much batter, overflowed my 8x2 round cake pan, and then stuck to the sides, so when I up-ended it over a serving plate, the middle came out first, followed lazily by the sides. I billed it as "Cranberry Ugly Cake", and every crumb was consumed. Next time I'll use more cranberries -- 2.75 cups didn't produce a full layer -- and not add all of the batter.

I made this cake while making dinner....it is that easy. I didn't have almond paste on hand but I did have almond meal in my freezer and that worked great. The texture of the cake is really neat....a little chewier than you would expect. Kind of like a sweet cornbread. The tart/sweet cranberry topping was perfect. Great recipe for family meals and would travel well due to firm texture and a well set topping. Sprinkle a few chipped walnuts on the top for deco!

Once you make this cake for family and friends be prepared to be asked to make it everytime you have a get together.

Wonderful cake for family and entertaining! I used cranberries that I froze back in November. It worked perfectly! Step two took a few extra minutes and I let the syrup thicken for a bit longer too because of the added water from the frozen berries. I made it in a Nordic Ware fancy bundt pan and it looked pretty! Everything else I kept the same. A new family favorite!

Nice recipe. The course ground cornmeal makes a huge difference to this cake. I specially went out to get the cornmeal and glad I did! It gives the cake a nice thicker cornbread type texture which goes well with the cranberries. Some people may not love this cake because the cranberries can be quite tart, but I like the tartness.

I made this cake when the recipe first came out and I have been making it every year since, sometimes twice! The cornmeal and maple syrup truly make this cake unique. Looking forward to baking this cake again in a few days!