I’m surprised I can still find fresh cranberries at this time of the year. Other than around Thanksgiving, when cranberries are on the shelves in every grocery store, they could be hard to find at other times. That’s what I thought. Well, I may be at risk of over-generalizing; there are exceptions. If you’re close to the source of production, like Massachusetts (accounts for 30% of US cranberry production) and part of New England, fresh cranberries are plentiful. Great, now I get the key ingredient to make the cranberry spice bundt cake without substitutions.
Do you know that cranberries are a native plant to North America? The only other two fruits native to this land are the blueberry and the Concorde grape. Thought that was an interesting tidbit of trivia. Knowing what’s seasonal and local informs the way we cook.
The lightly crushed cranberries are fold into the cake batter. This is an easy batter to make. What outstanding are the warm spices which are mixed in together with the dry ingredients. The spices include: cardamom, coriander and ginger. In addition, finely grated orange zest adds another layer of citrus flavor that works well with cranberries.
The icing on the cake is eye-catching. In general, I like using cranberries in a cake. However, I’m more than excited to make a stunning cranberry cake with pink icing and specks of red throughout. Leave it to Dorie, she figures out an easy way to make the icing with only two ingredients: confectioners’ sugar and pomegranate juice. Genius!
To sum it up: this is a tender, attractive cake with a whiff of chai flavor that’d put a smile on anyone’s face. Bake one for the love ones in your life. Do we need a season to love and be loved in return?
Cranberry Spice Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- ¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into chunks (plus more for the pan if not using nonstick baker’s spray)
- 2½ cups/320 grams all-purpose flour (plus more for the pan if not using nonstick baker’s spray)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ teaspoons ground cardamom
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1½ cups/300 grams granulated sugar
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange or 2 small tangerines
- ⅓ cup/80 milliliters neutral oil
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup/235 grams plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature and drained of excess liquid, if necessary
- 2 cups/200 grams fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries, coarsely chopped
- FOR THE ICING:
- 2¼ cups/275 grams confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (maybe a bit more) cranberry or pomegranate juice
Instructions
Center a rack in the oven and heat it to 350 degrees.
PREPARE THE PAN: Butter a large (12- to 13-cup) Bundt pan, dust the interior with flour and tap out the excess, or coat the pan with nonstick baker’s spray.
COMBINE DRY INGREDIENTS: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda and then whisk in the cardamom, coriander and ginger; set aside.
CREAM SUGAR & BUTTER: Put the granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl that will work with an electric mixer. Add the zest and, using your fingertips, rub it into the sugar until you catch a whiff of orange. Drop in the butter. Beat the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale, creamy and fluffy. Pour in the oil and beat for a couple of minutes more to blend it in well, turn off the mixer and scrape the bowl and beater(s).
ADD EGGS AND BLEND IN YOGURT: One by one, beat in the eggs, beating for a minute after each egg goes in. Beat in the vanilla — the mixture will look like frosting — then blend in the yogurt on low speed.
ADD DRY INGREDIENTS: Turn off the mixer, scrape the bowl and beater(s) well and add half the flour mixture. Working on low, mix until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Turn the mixer off, add the remaining flour mixture and, again, beat until almost blended. It’s fine if you can still see flour here and there.
FOLD IN THE CRANBERRIES: Working by hand with a flexible spatula, fold in the cranberries and any remaining flour. Scrape the batter into the pan and push it gently into the pan's curves, leveling the top as best as you can.
BAKE: Bake the cake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a tester inserted comes out clean. The cake will be deeply golden brown and pull away from the sides of the pan when prodded. Transfer the pan to a rack, let rest for 5 minutes and then unmold the cake onto the rack. Allow it to come to room temperature before icing.
MAKE THE ICING: Put the confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and sprinkle over the juice. Stir the juice into the sugar. You’re aiming for an icing that flows easily off the side of a spoon. If needed, add more juice by droplets. Either keep the cake on the rack and slip a piece of parchment or a sheet pan under the rack to catch drips, or transfer the cake to a platter.
GLAZE THE CAKE: Spoon the icing over the cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Let the icing dry before serving. Covered, the cake will keep at room temperature for at least 4 days. (If you haven't glazed the cake, it can be wrapped well and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost, still wrapped, at room temperature.)
Notes
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023730-cranberry-spice-bundt-cake
1 Comment
Kim+Tracy
February 19, 2023 at 3:00 pmWow…you won me over with the mention of chai flavor and also that frosting – what a novel idea. Pomegranate juice and sugar, why stop at just using citrus juices? Why haven’t I ever thought of that?