Cranberry Pound Cake

This recipe is a left over from my cranberry craze this winter. I discovered how amazing cranberries are fresh in baked goods, and let me tell you, they are amazing. A little tart, but with the right amount of sugar they are just a bit sweet. It's just an amazing combination. This recipe was based loosely on a recipe I found on Pinterest for Mixed Berry Poundcake with Cinnamon Streusel. I added a glaze to it, and I got a lot of good feedback from this one from my coworkers. The texture is amazing, the sweet glaze with the tart cranberries... you've got to give this a try!

2½ cups all-purpose flour
2½ tsps baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, cubed
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp almond extract
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup whole milk (or buttermilk)
4 cups cranberries

12 ounces white chocolate chips

For the Cinnamon Streusel:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter or margarine, cubed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash, drain, and dry cranberries. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. Use about 2 Tbsps of the flour mixture to toss cranberries - this helps them from settling in the cake.

Make the streusel by whisking together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. You can use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the sugar until the mixture forms pea-sized crumbs. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 

 

In a large mixing bowl, beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.

 

Add in eggs, one at a time, followed by extract, sour cream, and milk, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Gradually add in the flour mixture until just moistened. Fold 3/4 of the cranberries and white chocolate into the batter.

Place half of the batter into a well buttered/greased 10-inch bundt or spring-form pan.

Sprinkle with streusel and remaining berries.

Spread the rest of the batter on top of the berries. The batter will be thick.

 

Bake for 1 hour or so, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is set and golden. Allow the cake to cool completely, and then remove from pan. Mix together about a cup of powdered sugar, several tsps of lemon juice and almond extract until mixture is the thickness you prefer. I tend toward a thicker glaze.

 

Slice and serve! This will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the fridge) for up to 5 days.