Cranberry Orange Cake

Cranberries. They were a round firm berry that we would string on the Christmas tree and that was ALL that I knew what to do with them. In Alaska I made very tart muffins with them. I didn't really like them but I used them because that is what we had.  I never really appreciated this tart berry and the potential that it could have. ..... That is till we moved to Maine where Cranberries are home grown in the bogs and beds around. You wouldn't even know you are driving by them unless you know what you are looking at. Back in college, when I was living with my Meema, we always talked about road tripping it up to New England to see how they grew cranberries. Visiting a Cranberry bog, It was like a thought out of a Hallmark movie. Fast forward to present day, where we live near and are friends with Cranberry farm owners. I have learned TONS about these cool berries, but since this is a recipe blog I will not give you all the information that I now know and just share recipes I have tried

Unlike the small, delicate berries we had in Alaska, Maine's berries are big and usually pretty firm and since living here, I have looked for and tried many new recipes for these berries. Besides scones, this one is one of my favorite ways to use them. I am not sure why I always make this at Christmas time, but it turns out to be such a flavorful cake and you can really decorate it pretty. It sets a mood for a Christmas cake. It might take a little more effort but the result is so worth it! Here is the recipe for the cake, the frosting, and the sugared berries. The sugared berries were so delicious that I made extra just so we could snack on them. They are the perfect combination of sweet and tart! Trust me, Make extra!

This recipe fills a 8 cup bundt pan, which is a small bundt pan, but I doubled the recipe and filled two 8 in round pans to make the round cake. So if you want to make it just like my picture double it and spray two round 8 inch pans. Or is you want to fill a big bundt pan, double the recipe. If you make this in a bundt cake, you may want to make a orange glaze instead of a cream cheese icing.

Cranberry Cake(I double this recipe for 2 round pans)
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 TBSP orange zest
Juice of 1 orange ( I use the one i got the zest from)
1/2 cup butter
2 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 cup chopped cranberries

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Spray bundt pan or 8 inch round pan and then coat with a dusting of flour.
Cream together butter and sugar. 4-5 minutes till light and fluffy. add eggs one ate a time. Mix well. add orange juice and zest and sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and stir well. add to cream mixture. add chopped cranberries and stir in. Pour into pan. Bake 50-55 minutes. Rest 5 minutes then invert out of pan. Let cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick butter
2 block cream cheese(softened)
3-4 cups powder sugar
1 Tbsp Orange Zest
 Cream together butter and Cream cheese. Add powder sugar and Zest. Whip till spreading consistency.  Spread on cake.

Sugared Cranberries
2 cups sugar (divided 1 cup each)
1 cup water
12 oz Cranberries(I actually doubled the amount of berries because there was plenty of syrup to cover them)
In a sauce pan over medium high heat. Heat water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to boil and boil 10-15 minutes till it thickens. Cool 15 minutes. Line a cookie sheet (with edges) with parchment paper, Place cookie rack over the pan. toss the cranberries in batches in the syrup. Place on rack to dry 45 minutes. Then toss in 1 cup of Sugar. let dry a little longer. decorate cake with berries.