I made this cranberry cake three times over Thanksgiving week because I just can't get enough of it. It's sweet with a golden crumb, soft and moist, and dense without being heavy, with juicy explosions of tart cranberries.
This is also really easy; it comes together in about 10 minutes. I often cover it in kirsch-flavored whipped cream, but lately I have been baking it instead with a topping of pecans caramelized in butter and brown sugar. The nuts make this rather fruitcake-like - a fruitcake for non-fruitcake eaters.
Cranberry Cake
makes one 9x13-inch or one 10-inch springform cake
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 tablespoon kirsch (optional)
2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups cranberries (1 bag)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan or a 10" springform pan.
Beat eggs and sugar together for at least 5 minutes — probably as long as 7 or 8 minutes — the egg and sugar mixture should double in volume and turn pale yellow, leaving ribbons on top of the batter when you lift the beaters.
Add the butter and flavorings and beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in flour and fold in cranberries. Pour into greased pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes for a 9x13, or a little over an hour for the springform. You made need to tent the cake with foil in the last 15 minutes or so to keep the top from browning.
Cool completely before serving.
Optional pecan topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans, toasted
Heat the butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and stir. Add the toasted pecans and cook for several minutes, stirring, until the butter and sugar mixture is shiny and smooth and the nuts smell toasted. Spread over the cake batter and bake as above.
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Comments (12)
I am so disappointed with this cake !! I decided to make it because all of the comments were so positive and it came out as flat as a pancake...I bake for a living so followed the recipe very carefully and I'm wondering if there is something missing in the recipe like baking powder or some such thing ?
I would really appreciate heraing from someone about this cake. Thank you in advance, Bernice .
Hi Bernice - there's definitely nothing missing; I wondered the same thing when I first tried the cake. No leavening! All the leavening action comes from the eggs. They should be beaten until much increased in volume; they'll "ribbon" as the recipe says. Lift up the beaters and see if the egg and sugar mixture creates thick ribbons in the batter as it falls down.
It's a little hard to explain, but suffice to say that the eggs and sugar will increase in volume and become very pale yellow.
This recipe is awesome! I made it last last night and on a whim served it with some bourbon whipped cream. I'm not ashamed to say that I also ate some today...twice. (:
I made this cake for my coworkers and have been getting rave reviews! (Unfortunately, because I gave them as gifts, I couldn't TASTE them, so I still haven't tried it myself.) One recipe of cake batter makes two 8x4 loaf pans.
A couple of notes:
- the loaves have required way more than 45-50 minutes - probably as much as 1 hr, 15 minutes
- the first batch, I used the pecan/brown sugar/butter topping, but I thought I might've burned it in the pot (once the brown sugar stopped looking gritty, it separated from the butter) - plus, baking it so long, I had to tent it to stop the pecans from burning
- as a result, I adapted a crumb topping that is turning out well (though is very approximate in measurements):
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
a bunch of cinnamon
approx. 1/2 cup pecans, chopped finely
Stir together until mixture resembles coarse sand, then sprinkle on top of cake batter.
Can't wait to taste it eventually! What an easy, seasonal recipe!
i used toasted oats instead of the toasted pecans - which i put at the bottom of my springform-bundt-cake pan before baking. after about 1 hour, 20 minutes it turned out perfect. this cake is delicious and the colors are beautiful!
I tried this today and just loved it. It turned out awesome and I think the cranberries can be replaced with other types of fruit or left out altogether for just a yummy yellowish cake. Delicious!
Oh sweet jesus this is good. I did a little of my own tweaks. First, I threw in a pinch of salt with the flour. second, instead of almond extract I threw in some orange zest. I highly recommend doing this. I baked it with the pecans on top (again with a pinch of salt). YUMMMM
This cake was excellent. I'm a very novice baker and I was a little bit concerned about the egg as a leavening agent. I was patient and it worked!
I'm definitely going to use this as a base cake for other fruits. I'm excited to make this for the holidays!
I made this the other night on a whim and *LOVED* it! I used walnuts for the topping and just plain canned whipped cream to serve it. Yum yum yum.
http://newcookontheblock.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/easy-as-pie-cranberry-cake/
Just made this cake and it is fantastic. Used my new Kitchen Aid mixer and the egg/sugar mixture thickened up perfectly. The cake part is sweet and has a wonderful texture. The cranberries add just enough flavor. Vanilla flavored Cool Whip, a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a dab of cream cheese would top off a wedge of this perfectly.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe - - I plan to pass it on to my family.
I make the Everyday Food Cranberry cake with the cranberry compote on the top. It looks stunning and tastes great. Big hit!
This cake is delicious! I made it during the holidays using orange juice and zest, as another poster had suggested. Tonight, I'm using blueberries, lemon juice and lemon zest. Hopefully, it will turn out as yummy as the original!