When the bag of cranberries I put away at Thanksgiving fell out of my overstuffed freezer, I took that as a sign to bake something with it. I was in the mood for coffee cake, so I did some rooting around and found this via Gourmet. The original recipe called for slivered almonds on top of the cake, but since I didn’t have any and didn’t feel like going out – I improvised with a glaze on top. It was amazing! The cake was moist, had a subtle hint of orange zest, the glaze was just right, and the cranberries… oh, the cranberries!!! So amazing in fact, that I ran out the next morning in search of more cranberries to hoard in my freezer. Go out, find some cranberries, and make this cake!!! (Yeah, I’m talking to you Mr. DeLorme!)
For the filling:
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
For the cake:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup milk
For the glaze:
- 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon warm water
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 9″ x 5″ x 4″ loaf pan with parchment paper and grease it.
2. Pulse cranberries with 3/4 cup of granulated sugar in a food processor until finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor use a knife, and toss with the sugar in a bowl. Transfer to a sieve and let drain while making batter.
3. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter and 1 cup of granulated sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract and orange zest. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk in batches, beginning and ending in flour. Mix until just incorporated.
4. Spread a third of the batter evenly in the loaf pan. Spoon half of drained cranberries evenly over batter, leaving a 1/2″ border along sides. Repeat with batter, then cranberries and finish with batter. Bake for an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.
5. While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners sugar, vanilla, and warm water together, drizzle over the top of the cake.
