Cranberry Orange Cake
This cranberry orange cake is a recipe that’s been in our family for decades and continues to transform as our eating habits change and we become better educated about healthy foods.
Because it is such a favorite holiday tradition, we have simply found new ways to make it better. The leavening happens because of the citrus and the baking soda and powder, so the flour can be substituted out fairly easily to rice, sprouted grain, or rice and nut flour combinations without sacrificing the light texture and taste.
- Servings: Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Bake Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose or alternative flour
- 1 cup coconut sugar or organic cane sugar
- 1 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1 ½ tsp. aluminum free baking powder
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¾ cup fresh squeezed organic orange juice
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, chilled
- 1 Tbsp. orange zest
- ½ to 1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
- 1 egg, well beaten
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen organic cranberries
- Optional: ½ cup chopped nuts of your choice (walnuts or pecans are best, but the nuts completely change this cake, I get many requests for ‘sans nuts’ cakes, so I always make both types for the holidays)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and then sugar a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan (butter and then coat with granulated sugar). All the dry ingredients will be going into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Start by cutting the chilled coconut oil into the flour until it is the consistency of corn meal.
Then add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, orange and lemon zest, and salt. Set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl mix orange juice and beaten egg.
Chop cranberries and keep separate. A one to two minute session of pulsing in a food processor makes this job super-fast and easy. Mix the cranberries into the dry ingredients until they are completely coated and mixed in well.
Fold dry ingredients into the wet ones – about one third to one half of the dry at a time folding gently, do not beat. Just make sure no dry pockets of flour remain. Spread the batter evenly in the loaf pan. Bake in top half/center of oven for 55 minutes. Turn once at 30 minutes.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, finish cooling on rack upside down on its crispy top side for at least 30 minutes, then turn right side up (bottom may be too moist to hold it up without cracking.)
Once cool, wrap in parchment paper and then foil to keep fresh and avoid the loaf sticking to the foil or becoming mushy.
Originally posted 2020-08-01 08:53:21.
