Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake

Okay, here’s a shoutout to DH for being such a good sport about this. I experimented with this cake to the point that I thought he’d go into open revolt but he really was a trooper and understood the need for research here. I must’ve made 10 different versions of this cake till I was satisfied and my reward was, “Deb, this time you’ve got it! ” So, spot on as they say. I was looking for a cake neither too heavy (so many of them were like two ton types, yikes!) not pound like nor fluffy but a nice textured cake somewhere in between and this is it. I’m so pleased with it that I probably will experiment with variations on this theme but that’s for another time.

Suffice it to say, this is a winner and when you shake powdered sugar over it, it looks so lovely you almost don’t want to eat it, but do! 🙂 A note, the powdered sugar gets absorbed into the cake (which is ultimately fine since the cranberry tang allows this) but because of this you should only shake it on just before serving. It’s pretty enough for a holiday meal for sure, kind of winter wonderland on a plate. So let’s get to the prep.

Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C.

As someone who devoted much time in the development, it’s really important to follow the instructions to get the texture right so, start with your softened butter/marg and sugar creaming.

Okay, you will whip them mercilessly together till smooth and creamed. This will take a little time, patience is a virtue. Make sure to scrape with your spatula so no nasty chunks are left on your beater since you want it all combined.

Now you will add your eggs, one at a time. No cheating, you need them to incorporate properly into the mix, smooth smooth smooth.

See how smooth? But still thick. I now will skip to the 4th egg beaten in since you get the drift.

Okay, getting there. Now I scraped the beaters down after this since you can see there’s still some butter/marg sticking. This is important, don’t skip it! Now at this point I added the rest of the liquids, milk/soy milk, orange juice, orange zest (peel, grated) and the almond extract. We use just a hint but if you’re an almond fan, you can up it to 1/2 a teaspoon. Don’t do more or it’ll overpower the cake in its flavor.

Don’t get nervous if it looks a touch curdled, that’s fine.

Now put the dry ingredients in (don’t put in the cranberries with the extra flour, that’s at the very end), the flour, salt, baking powder and beat till smooth and fluffy and thick like so:

Take your bundt pan and either spray with mixed flour/oil spray like Baker’s Joy or spray with oil spray and shake flour all over and tap out excess. Now mix your cranberries with the extra flour and toss till coated like so:

This helps prevent the cranberries from sinking in the batter and they stay suspended. Scoop them out and leave any excess flour behind. Put them right on the batter in the mixer.

Gently fold in with the spatula. Then scrape all the batter into the prepared bundt pan.

Place the pan into the preheated oven for between 50-55 minutes or till lightly browned and a wooden skewer (or toothpick) comes out clean. Check in a few places to be sure. Don’t overbake!

Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. When cold, gently pry all around the edges to make sure it will come out properly and take a nice platter and place on pan and flip out. If you wish, you can serve as is.

If you like the winter wonderland look (I do, I confess) shake the powdered/icing sugar generously over the top and wait for the aaaaahhhh of delight from your guests. A wonderful cake for holidays and every day!

Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake

3/4 cup or 200 grams butter/margarine, very very soft

1 1/2 cups or 300 grams white sugar

4 large eggs

1/2 cup or 120 grams milk/soy milk

1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup or 120 grams orange juice

Grated peel/zest of 1 large orange

3 cups or 375 grams flour 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

2 cups frozen (approximately 220 grams) cranberries, do not defrost

1-2 tablespoon flour for flouring cranberries

spray oil and additional flour (or Baker’s Joy type spray) for pan

powdered/icing sugar for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C.

Put the butter/marg into the mixer with the sugar and beat well till smooth, fluffy and well combined with no chunks. Use a spatula to scrape sides of bowl and beaters and beat again. Add the eggs, beating them in one at a time, till each egg becomes part of the batter and it’s smooth, using the spatula as necessary. Add the milk, almond extract, orange juice and orange zest and beat smooth, again, using spatula as necessary. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat just till smooth and thick and combined. Mix the frozen cranberries with the 2 tablespoons flour and toss till coated. Scoop out leaving excess flour behind and place on top of batter. Using your spatula, fold cranberries into batter. Prepare pan by spraying with oil and flouring and shaking out excess flour. Scrape all batter into bundt pan and smooth top. Bake for 50-55 minutes till top is golden brown (not too dark) and check with wooden skewer or toothpick – no crumbs should cling, check in a few spots. Remove and place on wire rack to cool completely. When cold, pry gently away from sides of pan all over and taking a serving platter, place on top of pan and gently flip out. Just before serving, shake powdered/icing sugar liberally over top to make it look snow covered. Icing sugar will get absorbed if you do this too early, so just before serving!