Cranberry Orange Almond Cake

Happy Thursday! I had fresh cranberries in my fridge (leftovers from Thanksgiving) so I had to bake something with them. I wanted something that I could eat with my morning coffee/late cup of joe so I came up with this cake which I baked in a pie pan and turned out amaaaazing!!

This cake is packed with cranberries, orange zest, orange juice and has a nice almond cinnamon crumb on the top.

Let’s start with the recipe!

Yield a pie dish or a spring form pan (8-9 inch)

Ingredients

For the topping

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons flaked almonds (toasted)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the cake

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

3 teaspoons fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons orange zest

2 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries (whole, not cut in half)

To decorate

I made frosted cranberries. You can find the info of how to make them at the end of this recipe.

Directions

For the topping

In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, melted butter. Mix with a fork until everything is moistened . Add almonds, mix. Set the bowl in the fridge until ready to use.

For the cake

1.- Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter and flour your pie dish (make sure to cover everything: sides and bottom). Set aside.

If you are using a spring form pan, please use parchment paper. If you don’t the cake will stick and you won’t be able to get clean cake slices.

2.- In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Mix. Set aside.

3.- In a bowl of a mixer, beat butter for about 4 minutes. Then, add orange zest and orange juice. Mix. Add eggs, one by one. Mix well after each addition. Add vanilla . Mix

4.- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix. Add half of the sour cream, mix. Add some more of the dry ingredients. Mix. Add the other half of the sour cream. Mix. Add the last part of the dry ingredients and mix until everything is well incorporated. Do not overmix.

5.- Fold fresh cranberries into the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Like I mentioned before. I used a pie dish.

6.- Add some more fresh cranberries on the top. Add the topping.

7.- Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

8.- Let it cool completely.

9.- Before serving, place some frosted or fresh cranberries on the top.

Frosted Cranberries

Ingredients

You’ll need 1 1/2 cups fresh cups cranberries, 1  cup of maple syrup and 1   cup white granulated sugar. If you need just a small amount, just cut the recipe in half.

*I have a wonderful orange vanilla syrup, so I used that instead of the maple syrup, they tasted very good, if you want to check out this syrup, here is the link https://royalrosesyrups.com/products/orange-vanilla-syrup

Directions

1.- Rinse cranberries and sort to discard any that may be discolored. Put in a small bowl. Dry them with paper towel.
2.- Heat maple syrup in the microwave just until warm. If it is too hot, the berries may pop.
3.-Pour over the cranberries and gently toss. Let them soak overnight in the fridge. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap.
4.- In the morning:  Drain all the extra syrup with a colander .
5.-Put granulated sugar on a baking sheet, and gently roll the cranberries, a few at a time, until coated.
6.- Let them dry until you are ready to decorate your cake.Enjoy!