Cranberries happen to be a delicious, fall fruit that Wisconsin harvests a lot of. Thankfully, they’re abundant at harvest time, and freeze so easily that I stock up every year. Just for times like this – dreary, cool summer days. I love these little fruits. And, they’re wonderful in this easy to make cake. The subtle tartness of the cranberries mixed with the sweetness of the cake are perfect together, and remarkably light, making this a perfect little desert when Wisconsin weather can’t make up its mind about which season it should be in.
Like I said, it’s easy to make too, with minimal ingredients and an eight inch cake pan, an electric mixer and a few mixing bowls.
Here’s what you’ll need – the ingredient list:
- 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature (Earth Balance vegan butter sticks work so good here, and bonus! No cholesterol in them!)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (as always, I highly recommend Saigon cinnamon, it’s fabulous!)
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 3/4 cups cranberries
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
The first thing you’ll want to do is preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the last time I posted a baking recipe we got a new Samsung oven that actually heats up to 350 degrees! Quickly! It beats that 20 year old Jenn Air I used to bake with. Yet I do miss it. Don’t tell Hubby please. You know that was an old oven when the new oven’s delivery man says at first sight of the old oven, “Wow, that’s old.” Yeah, whatever, just give me the new one…..
Anyway…
Next, rub the sides and bottom of the cake pan with a couple of tablespoons of your butter.
Then, in a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon and allspice and sprinkle your mixture evenly over the bottom of the cake pan.
Then arrange the cranberries evenly over your cinnamon mixture on the bottom of the pan. Oh how I want to dive into this picture….
Now, in your electric mixer, cream the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter with the last 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Now add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Yours will look better than this, I promise. I can never achieve the proper creaminess of that fluffy texture. I’m guessing because the butter is never quite at room temperature.
In another medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three separate batches, alternating with the 1/2 cup of milk until all the ingredients are well combined.
It will look a lot like this. So pretty, in an appetizing kind of way.
Take your beautiful cake batter and spoon it over the cranberries in your cake pan.
I used a small rubber spatula to even out the top for optimum cake beauty.
Bake cake on a cookie sheet for 30-35 minutes.
Yeah, so much for optimum cake beauty, right? Doesn’t matter, this side is going to be the bottom of the cake. Whew.
Once the cake has cooled on a wire rack for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edge of your cake to loosen it up.
Then invert it onto your favorite cake serving plate.
Your beautiful cake is done. This is so simple to make. I keep saying that, but it bears repeating because it’s just so good! Honest.
Dive in and enjoy!
Martha knows cake: This recipe is adapted from one by Martha Stewart in her cookbook, Everyday Food.
Serves 8. (We actually got about 12 smaller servings)
Per (8 piece) serving:
- Calories – 349
- carbs – 55g
- fat – 13g (7g saturated)
- protein – 4g
- cholesterol- 31g
(These numbers were figured on the Fitness Pal recipe calculator using regular butter. Calories, fat and cholesterol levels go down quite a bit when using Earth Balance buttery sticks instead.)
I all but gave up on these adorable little cakes as I was dividing the batter into the muffin tins – it sure didn’t seem like enough! Of course I panicked, I am me after all. But, I carried on anyway, just to see what would happen. I’m so glad I did.
Because that little bit of batter made the perfect-sized little apricot cake. They puffed up nicely. Yes, they’re small, but just the perfect size for a light summer treat. I love that they’re both sweet and tangy too. There’s just a teaspoon of lemon zest in the recipe, but it’s enough to work well in contradicting the sweetness of the 1/3 cup of sugar.
The only thing I changed from the original recipe (from the June issue of Bon Appetit), was the butter. Instead of using regular, unsalted butter as the recipe calls for, I used Earth Balance’s buttery sticks. (Yes, we’re trying to cut back on fat and cholesterol, and this is the best substitute I’ve found for baking). Other than that, I changed nothing. And I wouldn’t want to!
