Book Review: 'Cranberry Valentine' by Wendy & Harry Devlin

✰✰✰ Mr. Whiskers has never received a single Valentine. Maggie is concerned, but Grandmother doesn't have time to talk about it. A few days later, Mr. Whiskers is aghast to discover someone has sent him a Valentine. Who could have done that? In a strange coincidence, a lady in a green coat is asking around town about Mr. Whiskers. What could she want? Now Mr. Whiskers concerned. Armed with a heart-shaped box of chocolates, Mr. Whiskers makes his way to Maggie's house where he's pleasantly surprised.

The Bottom Line: As with Cranberry Thanksgiving, this book comes with a recipe. While we previously enjoyed the Secret Cranberry Bread, this recipe for Cranberry Upside-Down Cake, seemed a bit off. I prepared it according to the directions. It's pretty easy, but since I didn't have walnuts, I substituted pecans. For the yellow cake mix I chose a box of Betty Crocker's Super Moist Butter Recipe Yellow cake mix. It took about 30 - 40" to prepare and another 50" to bake. After waiting 10" I flipped it. [Note: Kids will definitely need help with this.] It turned out of the pan onto the tray nicely; however, there was a layer of sugar stuck to the bottom of the pan. As the cake cooled, the sugar crystallized on top. Boo. 

As a seasoned baker, I was disappointed. If I were to make this recipe again (which I probably won't), I would definitely reduce the amount of sugar from 2½ cups to 1 - 1½ cups. Additionally, I would mix the cranberries with the sugars before adding to the pan and pre-melt the butter. Alternately, it might be best to skip the layer of butter and the sugars and simply fold in about 2 cups of fresh cranberries and ½ cup of nuts directly into the batter; then bake as directed. 

Ah, live & learn. This recipe is VERY sweet, best when served with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping (I used Cool Whip.) 

A slice of Cranberry Upside-Down Cake.

In sum, this Cranberryport tale was a little bit dated and somewhat disjointed in the storytelling. Still charming, however, the story had nothing to do with the featured recipe.

Details: Cranberry Valentine written & illustrated by Wendy & Harry Devlin. Picture book published by Four Winds Press in 1986. 31 p. ISBN: 0-02-729200-2