Cranberry Upside Down Cake

Restaurant Review | Whole World Natural Bakery & Restaurant Vegetarian ...

Fans of vegan and vegetarian food would never know today that a fire closed Whole World Natural Bakery & Restaurant for several months last year.

In the small space, beyond minor color changes, the funky, informal decor has been faithfully restored.

At a time when many restaurants wouldn't dream of making their own, Whole World creates all of its half-dozen or so salad dressings. The benefits include a creamy garlic that lives up to its name.

The house salad ($4.75) has fresh leaf lettuce along with chickpeas, alfalfa sprouts, sunflower seeds and red onions.

Several soups are always available, and the lineup changes daily. Virtually all ($3.25 a cup, $4.50 a bowl) are worth a try.

The potatoes, cabbage, carrots and white beans in the mild Irish bean soup coexist peacefully.

Each soup is served with two slices of soft wheat bread, grilled on one side, that seem almost like oversize croutons.

The Hungarian mushroom soup has a light, creamy mushroom broth that belies the use of soy milk instead of regular milk or cream. It's recommended for anyone who prefers a soup not too filling yet full of flavor.

The chalkboard always highlights specials, such as the red-lentil burger ($6.75). The mild mashed-lentil patty is gently fried before being placed in a soft whole-wheat bun - along with lettuce and a green mayo with a good oniony flavor.

Unlike regular quesadillas, the folded white-bean-and-spinach quesadilla ($7.95) isn't fried. But the tortilla exterior is crisp. Inside, the beans and greens plus spinach, onions and pepper-jack cheese are nicely flavored, with perceptible chili heat. On the side is a small cup of a pungent pico de gallo.

Like many other dishes at Whole World, the quesadillas can be made vegan by omitting the cheese.

Another worthwhile special is cabbage and noodles ($9.25). Properly sauteed strips of cabbage and onion are placed over wide noodles. On top is a generous sprinkle of smoky tofu "bacon," made in-house. The dish is as tempting for carnivores as for vegans.

The pizzas come with a choice of a whole-wheat or white crust. The white is made with soft flour, producing a crust that isn't as chewy as most others - but the flavor is decent. And, in the case of the Greek spinach pizza ($10.95 for a 9-inch pie), the crust is topped with a nice assortment of feta and provolone cheese, olive oil, fresh tomatoes, spinach and red onions.

The baked desserts - prominent at Whole World - contain almost no white flour. Whole-grain ingredients are used well, with the grains contributing to the overall effect.

Cranberry Upside Down Cake | Foodie With Family

May I talk to you for a moment about cake?  I have a love/hate thing going with cake.  When I was a kid I disliked cake.  My poor mother.  I asked for a pie every year for my birthday and my Mom has what borders on piecrust making phobia.  I was a selfish little child.

After much contemplating over the years-which included eating many, many cakes of many, many varieties-I realized that what I really hated was frosting.  And after playing around with frosting a bit I realized that what I actually hated was bad frosting, specifically.  As in frosting made just with shortening, sugar and food coloring.

What really changed my opinion of cakes was learning to think outside the pastry bag.  By chucking the ubiquitous buttercream I discovered that cakes -simple buttery cakes- weren’t just merely edible.  They were sublime.   For years now I’ve topped my cakes with ganache, whipped cream, fruit preserves, syrups, and all sorts of other goodies.  If you haven’t made the leap, give it a try.  In fact, try it with this cake.

Because this cake, in particular, is my favorite cake ever.  And The Evil Genius’s favorite cake ever.  And three of my five children (but not the one who doesn’t like fruit and not the one who doesn’t like anything that the non-fruit lover dislikes.  Please, Lord, let this be a phase.) I originally made this from the recipe that appeared in Everyday Food Magazine . I made it as written the first couple times and changed it out of necessity (was missing the allspice, but had nutmeg) the third time.  There was no looking back.  Nutmeg took up permanent residence in the recipe.

The rich, buttery cake provides the perfect foil for the sweet, tart, spicy, explosively flavorful cranberry topping.  And could it get easier?  I don’t think so.  This cake I could make in my sleep.  And I think I have a couple times.  Including the year that I gave birth four days before Thanksgiving, but was ‘going to make a cake, dangit’ to have with our dinner.  This cake pleases everyone (excepting the aforementioned two children who call me Mama) who eats it.  But don’t just take my word for it.  Make it.  Heck, make two.  Trust me.  You’ll be glad you did.