Cranberry, Orange, Pecan White Cake

Another cranberry recipe for you lovely folks. I found this recipe for Cranberry Layer Cake on Pinterest, and while I loved the flavor ideas of the cake, I was not about to buy boxed mixes so I went in search of a solid white cake recipe that I could use for this and for any other needs. This search led me to this blog for White Cake Taste Test. I decided to go with the butter version, and oh my gosh, it was delicious. 

Adding the cranberries, orange and pecans from the original recipe makes for one mouth-watering cake. Slather it in cream cheese icing with orange zest and this cake becomes out of this world. The only other changes I made were making this cake three layers instead of two, which required more icing - definitely not a bad thing, right?

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 tsps almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 tsps baking powder
1 tsp table salt
12 Tbsps unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (I didn't toast mine)
1 Tbsp finely shredded orange peel

For icing

3/4 cup butter, softened (or 1 1/2 sticks)

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1.5-2 lbs confectioner sugar

1-2 tsp orange zest

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two (or three) 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. 

Either use a food process to lightly chop cranberries or use a knife. Unfortunately, my knife skills are not that good, so I went with the  food processor.

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed.

Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining. 

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes.

Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer. 

Add cranberries, orange zest and pecans and fold into batter.

Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops.

 

Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23-25 minutes (18-20 mins if you use three cake pans). Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes.

Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

To make the icing, cream together butter and cream cheese. Add extracts. Gradually blend in confectioner sugar until icing is creamy and the desired consistency. Add orange zest.

 

Frost each layer of the cake carefully, and then smooth frosting.

Enjoy this delicious creation!

Orange Pound Cake

This has a been a year for trying new things for me. I have tried about a half dozen different pound cake recipes so far, and I really haven't been disappointed with any of them. Another thing that has been new for me this year is working with fresh citrus fruit using zest and juice in recipes. There really is nothing quite like it. Seriously. You should try it! I found this recipe for Orange Pound Cake Mini Loaves on Pinterest, and decided that this would be a great Monday treat at work. It went very well and I received quite a few compliments on it. I decided to just use regular loaf pans and it worked well. Another alteration is that I used about 1/2-1 tsp of almond extract in the glaze. It was a divine addition.

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tsps pure vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup orange zest

For Simple Syrup:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sugar

For Glaze (optional):
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsps freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour four 5 3/4" x 3 1/4" x 2" mini loaf pans or 2 regular size loaf pans and lay a strip of parchment paper along the bottom and up the two long sides of each pan, pressing the paper into the corners of the pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Measure buttermilk, orange juice, and vanilla into a measuring cup. Set aside.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until creamy. Blend in sugar and beat for a few minutes until light and fluffy.

 

Mix in eggs, one at a time, and orange zest, and beat until well incorporated.

With mixer on low, slowly pour in 1/3 of the flour mixture. Mix in half of the buttermilk mixture. Blend in another 1/3 of the flour mixture and remaining buttermilk mixture. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until just blended.

Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

While loaves bake, prepare orange simple syrup. Stir together 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup sugar in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat while occasionally stirring, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside to cool.

When cakes are done, cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack. Set rack over a sheet pan or piece of foil, and using a brush or a spoon, soak each cake with simple syrup.

 

Allow to cool completely. For glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp almond extract and enough orange juice for a smooth spreading consistency (about 1 1/2 Tbsps) in a small bowl. Drizzle over cakes and allow to set and harden before wrapping loaves or storing them in an airtight container.