Cranberry Streusel Pound Cake

I'm continuing to make my way through all the Fine Cooking back issues, given to me by a generous customer last summer. There are so many great recipes and this wonderful quick pound cake recipe is no exception.

It is moist and full of orange flavor from the orange zest and extra boost I gave it with a little extract. I switched out the walnuts for pecans because I love the combo of pecans, dried cranberries and orange. I left out the glaze for the top on mine but I'll give you the recipe for it. I think it would have been "over the top" with sweetness.

A perfect snack cake...anytime!

Beat your butter and sugar and throw in the orange zest.

Once all the ingredients are combined, stir in the dried cranberries.

Spoon half the batter into your prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the pecan streusel over it. Then spoon the remainder of the batter over this.

Cranberry Streusel Pound Cake ( adapted from "Fine Cooking" Winter 2005 issue)
Makes one 8 1/2" loaf.

Cake:
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ozs.) unbleached AP flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
1/2 cup ( 1 stick or 4 ozs.) unsalted butter, softened to room temp.
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temp.
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. orange extract (my addition to boost the orange flavor)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Streusel: 
1/4 cup walnut pieces (I used pecans), finely chopped
2 tbsp. light or dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Glaze:
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. heavy cream ( or more as needed)
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
***********************
Preheat oven to 325. Grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan with nonstick cooking apray or butter and dust with flour. Tap out the excess.
1. In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed 1 minute, then gradually add in the sugar, beating til slightly fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl well.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Beat in the orange zest and vanilla.
5. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding in the buttermilk and flour mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
6. Stir in the dried cranberries.
7. Spoon half the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly.
8. Combine the streusel mixture together in a small bowl and sprinkle over the batter evenly.
9. Spoon the remaining batter over the streusel.
10. Bake til golden brown and tester comes out clean, about 1 hour or 10 to 15 minutes longer, depending on your oven. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes, then turn out of the pan and cool completely on rack.
Glaze:
In small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, cream and cinnamon with a spoon til there are no lumps.
The glaze should drizzle in a thin line. Add in a little more cream if the consistency is not yet thin enough.
Drizzle glaze over cake and allow to set at least 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Blood Orange Glazed Cake

I made a recipe that was in our local newspaper last week for a Blood Orange Bread but, by mistake, the ingredient list omitted any fat, such as butter or oil. Needless to say, the bread didn't come out very well and had to be tossed!
So today, having a few extra blood oranges still hanging around, I decided on this recipe. The recipe is actually for a Glazed Orange Cake, that I found in an old cookbook I bought over the weekend but I just subbed the blood oranges for the regular oranges.
And the bonus is the beautiful intense color of the glaze that comes from the blood orange.
I threw in a handful of dried cranberries which go so well with the orange flavor, but raisins or chopped nuts such as walnuts or pecans would also be great. The cake is moist with just the right amount of sweetness and the flavor of the orange really comes through.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes.

Then add the grated orange zest and beat to combine.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Then add in the vanilla.

Add the dry mixture...

Alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Once that's nicely mixed together, throw in the dried cranberries, or whatever other add ins you'd like and mix that just til combined.

Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan...

And bake at least an hour, but mine took more like 15 minutes more. I actually lost count because it kept taking longer..and longer.. and I don't really remember how many times I reset the timer! Just be sure to test the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean...it's done! The cake will get a nice golden color. If you think the bottom may be getting too dark, just put a baking sheet under the loaf pan to help prevent further browning.
Allow the cake to cool almost completely before pouring on the glaze.

Blood Orange Glazed Cake(adapted from "Fanny Pierson Crane, Her Receipts 1796"

1/2 cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

zest of one blood orange

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups AP flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

approx. 1/3 cup dried cranberries ( raisins, walnuts or pecans could be used instead)

Glaze recipe below

***********************************

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour a regular size loaf pan.

1. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar til light, about 2 minutes.

3. Add in the orange zest, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Add in the vanilla.

5. Mix in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

6. Stir in the dried cranberries ( or other add in you're using), then pour the batter into the prepared pan.

7. Bake for at least an hour, maybe a little longer. Insert a toothpick into the center and if it comes out clean, it's done.

Glaze:

Mix 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar with enough blood orange juice to make a glaze with a thin enough consistency to pour. Add more sugar if too thin or more juice if too thick.

Note: You may need to place a baking sheet under the loaf pan during the last 10 minutes or so to help prevent the bottom from darkening too much.

Nantucket Cranberry Pie

Now that we're heading into the Fall baking season, fresh cranberries are again abundant in the markets. This pie/cake from Laurie Colwin's book, "Home Cooking" was a recipe I've had on my mind to make since I found her wonderful book the beginning of this year.
I made her Nutmeg Cake and it was great. This cake is equally terrific. It's a simple and easy to throw together rustic kind of dessert that is best, in my humble opinion, alone, but vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would be a great addition.
The fresh cranberries give a nice bite of tartness and the walnuts add that ever loving crunch I adore! I didn't chop up the walnuts small enough so you may want to chop them finer than I show below. Pecans with the cranberries are also a good combo and would be a great substitute for the walnuts.
At the end of the recipe I have a few additional notes.
I actually used some of the notes' suggestions and used half light brown sugar and added a pinch of cloves to the batter.
This pie, which is more like a cake, is wonderfully moist and just as good, or even better, on day three as day one..if it lasts that long!

Begin by chopping up the cranberries..always a challenge to chop anything round! ( You'll find out why they used to be called bounce berries!).I didn't feel like bringing out the food processor for this but it might have worked better..certainly faster. (But the pieces might have chopped too small with the food processor.)

Then chop the walnuts into rather small pieces. Smaller than I show unless you like big chunks of nuts.

Butter a springform pan or 10" pie plate...

And throw the cranberries, walnuts and 1/2 cup sugar into the pan and mix around a little bit.

Then in a medium bowl, mix the eggs, melted butter, sugar, flour, salt and almond extract together.

And pour the mixture over the cranberry/nut mixture.

Spread the batter evenly over the cranberry and nuts.

And bake it for about 40 minutes. Test with a knife or toothpick inserted in the center for doneness.

Let it rest for about 30 minutes in the pan, then release and remove the sides, if using a springform pan, and cool completely before cutting.

Nantucket Cranberry Pie ( from Laurie Colwin's book, " Home Cooking")

2 cups chopped fresh cranberries

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup sugar

1 cup AP flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 10" pie plate or a 10" springform pan.

1. In a small bowl, mix cranberries, walnuts and dump into your prepared plate or pan.

2. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of sugar over top of the cranberry/nut mixture and mix lightly.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, melted butter, sugar, flour, salt and almond extract til well combined.

4. Pour mixture over the cranberry nut mixture and spread evenly to cover.

5. Bake approx. 40 minutes, or til tester comes out clean.

6. Let pie rest for about 30 minutes, then remove sides of springform pan, if using, and cool completely.

**Notes:

You can:

Use a combo of brown and white sugar
Add a dash of cloves

Add a little orange zest or a tablespoon of orange juice to berries

Can sub vanilla for the almond extract

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookie..revisited!

Over a year ago I posted photos of this cookie but I didn't post the recipe for it. Guess I was feeling very secretive at the time, as it was, and still is, one of the cookies I have for sale through my website. ( Although we took down the store. I decided that I'll just sell online through etsy and foodzie.)
Anyway, after reading about this cookie yesterday, I felt it was only fair to post my recipe for this delicious and very popular cookie. And Anna's cookie is very similar to this one.

The cookie is a nice thick and slightly chewy cookie loaded with dried cranberries, coconut, oatmeal and white chocolate chips. And you can add nuts if you like them. Pecans or walnuts would be great. Remember to toast the nuts before adding to the batter. You can also toast the coconut but I like it untoasted to add to the chewiness.

White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
(Makes approx. 2 dozen)
2 sticks unsalted butter- (room temp.)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups AP flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups white chocolate chunks or chips

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

1. Place cranberries in a small bowl and pour hot water over them, enough to cover. Let them sit about 5 minutes to soften a bit. Then drain and place on paper towels to get the excess water off.

2. If toasting the coconut, spread onto a baking sheet and place in the oven til a nice golden color ( watch it doesn't burn!). Let cool.

3. In a small bowl, place the white chocolate chunks or chips, toasted coconut, dried cranberries and oatmeal and nuts if using. Set aside.

4. Place butter and sugars in mixing bowl and beat 2 minutes, til smooth.

5. Mix in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. Stir in vanilla.

7. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into the butter/sugar mixture, mixing just til thoroughly blended.

8. Stir in the white chocolate/coconut/dried cranberries/oatmeal/nut mixture.

9. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet, spacing 2" apart.

10. Press each cookie to flatten slightly ( it will be kind of like a hockey puck shape).

11. Bake 14 minutes or til bottom edges are a nice golden brown but don't overbake as it could dry them out too much.

12. Let cool on baking sheet 2 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Orange Cranberry Cake

The all time favorite kind of cake in our house has always been this type of loaf cake to eat with afternoon or late night tea. This recipe is really a winner, combining the flavors of orange and cranberry with some oatmeal in the batter giving a little crunch with every bite! And speaking of crunch, adding some nuts such as walnuts or pecans would be great, too! And a cake like this is always better in a day or two..if it lasts that long! For a lower fat version you could try substituting yogurt for some of the butter.
I found a supplement type booklet today from Better Homes and Gardens called, " All-Time Favorite 2010 Cookbook" and this cake looked like the perfect one to try.
The original recipe calls for using a 10 " tube pan but I wanted to use a loaf pan. Because I thought there might be too much batter for the pan, I also made some muffins with the extra batter. And, of course, the muffins would cool alot quicker than the loaf cake..meaning I could eat them alot sooner!
This cake has a wonderful flavor and texture and the glaze just brings out the orange even more. It's easy to put together so give it a try.

Start by stirring the oatmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

In your mixer bowl, add the softened butter and beat about a minute. Then add the sugar and beat another minute til combined.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

It has a nice yellow color.

Throw your cranberries into a food processor and pulse to chop into small pieces.

Warning!: Cover your ears if you're using frozen crans..Yikes , it's loud!

Once the cranberries have been pulsed, throw in 2 tablespoons of sugar and mix a little.

Set this aside a minute or two.

Meanwhile, go back to the batter and add the flour alternately with the milk.

First some flour...

Then some milk... til it's all combined.

Next, grate 2 teaspoons of orange zest into the batter and give a stir to combine.

Fold your chopped cranberry mixture into the batter.

Spoon cake batter into your prepared pan...

And some into your prepared muffin pan! I used one of my muffin pans and made only 4.

Bake in a 350 oven. The original recipe says to bake 50 to 60 minutes. My muffins took, maybe about 30 minutes. The loaf took about 45 minutes to one hour. Do the toothpick test to be sure.

Let the cake ( or muffins) cool in the pan about 20 minutes. Take them out of the pan to cool completely before putting on the glaze.

To make the glaze, put 1 cup of confectioners sugar into a small mixing bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of orange zest ( or more if you're like me and think more is better!). Then add 2 to 3 teaspoons of orange juice to make drizzling consistence. ( I used my orange for the juice, rather than OJ from the bottle).

Stir the mixture til you get a nice thin smooth glaze.

Pour over the cooled cake or muffins.

Then reward yourself for a job well done! Make yourself a cup of tea and have a big slice!!

Orange Cranberry Cake

2 1/4 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats ( I used old fashioned)

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup butter, softened ( I used unsalted)

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup milk

2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped ( Iused frozen crans and didn't bother to thaw them.)

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. finely shredded orange peel

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. orange zest

2 to 3 tsp. orange juice.

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 10 " tube pan. ( Or a 5" x 9" loaf pan or muffin pan)

1. In bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. In large mixer bowl, beat softened butter about a minute, then add sugar and beat another minute.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

4. Add flour alternately with milk, beating on low speed after each addition.

5. Grate 2 teaspoons of orange zest into batter.

6. Chop cranberries in food processor and toss with 2 tbsp. sugar.

7. Fold berries into batter and spoon batter into prepared pans.

8. Bake 50 to 60 minutes for tube pan or til toothpick comes out clean. Bake about 45 minutes to one hour for loaf pan and about 30 minutes for muffins).

Let the cake or muffins cool in the pan about 20 minutes.

Then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

9. Make the glaze by placing the confectioners sugar into a small mixing bowl.

10. Add 1/2 tsp. of orange zest and 2 to 3 tsp. of orange juice and stir to make a smooth thin consistency. Spoon over cooled cake.