This little lovely is the culinary creation that I gifted my close friends and family this year for the holidays. I found the recipe on theKitchn and gave it a test run a few weeks before Christmas to rave reviews. The cake has a super dense crumb and is as moist and rich as you'd expect given the amount of butter and sugar in it.
Hey, it was the holidays….there will be no calorie counting until well into the New Year!
For the test batch I made this recipe in 3 dark metal baking pans measuring 3.5"W x 7.5"L x 3"H and baked them for 45 minutes, they came out perfectly. For the actual gifts I gave I ordered up some paper baking molds (first time I've ever used them) and found that they worked quite well too. They were a bit longer and shorter, 2"H x 8.5"L x 3.5"W, and in them the cakes cooked in 40 minutes. While the manufacturer states that you don't need to grease the paper molds, I hit them with a little cooking spray for good measure and found that the cakes released from the paper molds nicely.
Even though the holidays are behind us give these cakes a go, they are a decadent breakfast treat and just perfect with an afternoon coffee, tea, or cup of hot chocolate!
Cheers – Steve
Cranberry Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter ( 1 1/2 sticks) cubed and softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for the pans)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups cranberries (12 ounce bag)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350℉. Lightly butter and flour a 10" springform pan (or collection of smaller loaf pans)
- Use a stand mixer to beat the eggs and sugar with a whisk attachment on medium speed until very smooth, pale yellow, and thickened. Approximately 7 minutes.
- Beat in the butter, vanilla and almond extract and mix on medium speed until the butter is fully incorporated and the mix is smooth, 2-3 minutes.
- Pull the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the flour, salt, and cranberries by hand. Mix gently until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Spread the batter evenly into each of the prepared pans.
- Bake for 60-80 minutes for a springform cake. For smaller loaf pans, start checking after 30 minutes with a cake tester to see if they are done. Expect smaller loaf pans to take around 40-50 minutes to cook.
- Cool for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cake and remove it to a rack to cool completely. Cool 1 hour before serving.
- Wrap the fully cooled cake with plastic wrap and store in a cool place for up to a week, or wrap in plastic, then foil to freeze for up to 2 months.