Orange Cranberry Cake

My first encounter with fresh cranberries was in Europe. My friend pointed out a bag of super red and enticing cranberries sitting at the fresh market front. It’s fair to associate the intensity of color to the sweetness of the fruit right. Red apples are always sweeter than the reddish green ones. That were our exact same thoughts when we saw the cranberries. LOOKS are always deceiving.

And because of that, we bought it. I popped a handful in my mouth and I cringed so bad, my expression was almost hilarious. It felt like all my senses were activated due to shock. I was very awake… very awake..

 

From that day on, I knew munching on these little reddies were not going to part of my fruit diet. Instead, I’ll rather use them for baking. Their tartness makes it a very good pairing with sweeter desserts like cakes. They are excellent as compotes and jam too!

 

When I received a bunch of these fresh babies, I knew I had to bake something with them. Did my usual foodgawking and chanced upon Twopeasandtheirpod’s mouth watering rendition of orange cranberry bread. Looking at the pictures only made me hungrier so I got down to business and whip myself a batch of cake.

The flavor was excellent. I could taste the burst of fresh cranberries in each bite. The sourness wasn’t that overpowering because of the sweetness of the cake. Only regret was that I didn’t cut the cranberries small enough to incorporate them fully into the cake so most of them floated to the top. What a bummer. Next time maybe!

 

Recipe adapted from twopeasandtheirpod (Makes enough for 4 mini loafs- I use my favourite Mini Loaf Pans!! )

Ingredients for the cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 large orange
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh cranberries

For the orange glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 175deg C . Spray 4 Mini Loaf Pans!!  with non stick cooking oil and line the base.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. In a small bowl, combine sugar and orange zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant. Whisk into the flour mixture. Set aside.

3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla.

4. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Fold in the cranberries. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

5. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

6. Remove cake from oven and place on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Loosen the sides of the bread with a knife. Carefully remove loaf from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack.

7. While the bread is cooling, make the orange glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the bread. Cut and serve.

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Still unsure of what to bake this Christmas 🙂 Click the link below for my top favourite dessert recipes and DIY projects this Holiday Season!!

https://www.sherbakes.com/2016/11/top-desserts-and-diy-this-christmas.html