Oct 15, 2012

Cranberry and apple cake


We loved it! I took it to my parents yesterday, even my Dad tried it and even took a second! It was gone in 15 minutes.

I mean the sourness from the cranberries, the sweetness from the cake and the taste of oranges somewhere in between. The juicy fruits contrasting with the texture of the cake. And colors: the bright red from the cranberries and the yellow cake with the brown top.


Everybody had a comment, you just could not help it. Julian said the cranberries where exploding in his mouth - that's my favorite! My Mum wouldn't guess that there were cranberries in it, she thought there were red currants. I think the bitterness was taken away be the oranges. Even Hania liked it, although she couldn't decide whether to eat the fruit or not. She did.


It was Sunday, so I wanted to take my time. I went as far as going to a local convenient store to get oranges. I thought that's where the secret to the recipe was. Everything else I had in the kitchen. The fresh cranberries I got the day before.


I've seen so many cranberries at the local market this fall, I just didn't know what to do with them. They usually are put in jars to eat with turkey later. My Mum does it. I don't.


A couple of days ago I was looking for an apple cake recipe and this one showed up. It looked easy and interesting and it was by Ina Garten. The list of ingredients looked long at first, but it is a simple list.


I didn't change the recipe one bit, well - the minimum. I even put the eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, because Ina said they needed to be room temperature. I followed the recipe very well.


It was fun to make! Cranberries looked so good in a bowl with orange zest and brown sugar. Beaten eggs from the mixer were also a pretty site.



Recipe adapted from Foodnetwork

12 ounces (340 g) fresh cranberries, rinsed, with no stems
1 medium size apple (Ina said Granny Smith, I used what I had), cored, peeled and diced 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar
1 Tablespoon of grated orange zest (I used 2 big oranges)
1/4 cup of fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon and 1/8 of teaspoon of cinnamon (quantities are divided)
2 large eggs room temperature
1 cup (200 g) plus 1 Tablespoon of sugar
1 stick (120 g) butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream (I used yogurt)
1 cup (150 g) flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 325 F (170 C). Melt the butter. Let it cool.

Combine cranberries, apples, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, orange zest and orange juice in a bowl. Set it aside.

Beat the eggs with an electric mixer (with the paddle attachment if you have the big mixer) for 2 min.
With the mixer running, add the sugar, butter, vanilla, sour cream and beat it until just combined. Lower the speed, slowly add the flour and salt.

Pour the fruit mixture in a glass 10 inch (25 cm) baking dish. Pour the batter (not butter) evenly on the fruit. Sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon and the rest of sugar.

Put it in a hot oven for 55-60 min, until the toothpick comes out clean (there will be some fruits on it, but that's ok) and the fruit bubbles up around the edges. Serve it warm or room temperature. We ate ours 3 hours after and it was still warm.

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