Ever since I made this lemon cake back in June, I’ve been dreaming about olive oil baked goodies. The problem is that baking doesn’t come naturally to me. I can make a decent meal with my eyes closed and out of the oddest ingredients at that, but I can’t throw a cake together without a detailed instruction manual. So when I came across a recipe for Cranberry Spice Cake in the current issue of Bon Appetit by Karen DeMasco, I decided to give it a few tweaks and see if it was foolproof enough for me. It was moist, flavorful, and gone in about 20 minutes. It’s versatile enough to serve as dessert with ice cream or whipped cream or with coffee for brunch. Enjoy!
Cranberry Spice Cake – Serves 8
You’ll Need:
For the Cake…
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups (8 oz.) fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup Blood Orange Olive Oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup apple cider
For the glaze…
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoon strained fresh orange juice
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat bottom and sides of cake pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom with parchment paper; coat paper with spray. Whisk flour and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Pulse cranberries in a food processor until finely chopped but not puréed; set aside.
2. Stir sugar, brown sugar, and blood orange olive oil in another medium bowl to blend. Add eggs one at a time, stirring to blend between additions. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla.
3. Whisk in dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with cider in 2 additions and whisking to blend. Fold in chopped cranberries. Scrape butter into prepared pan; smooth top.
4. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out almost clean, 1 hour–1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around inside of pan to release cake; turn out cake onto rack. Peel off parchment paper, then flip cake and let cool for 20 minutes.
5. Whisk powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Spread glaze over warm cake, allowing to drip down sides. Let stand until glaze becomes crackly, about 1 hour. Serve at room temperature.
