Cranberry-Creme Fraiche Bundt Cake

This recipe will be my official farewell to cranberries, until next year that is. To be honest, I've gotten sick of them. Every year I get so excited for fresh cranberries to get stocked in our grocery store and I bake with them until I can't stand it anymore. This year I even made jam from them, which I will do again. Cranberries are just a nice distraction for me until rhubarb rolls back around. Rhubarb is my true love and I miss it dearly. Yes, I realize I'm a very strange person. In all honesty, rhubarb is probably my favorite thing to bake with and it makes me sad that I still have several months to wait for it. Don't you feel sorry for me? I do.

I will admit it, cranberries have been good to me this year and this newest cake is quite swell. I was a flipping through a cookbook and one of the reasons I stopped on this cake's page and decided to make it was because of the bright pink glaze. It looked interesting and tasty. I figured I should make one more thing with my winter friend, the cranberry. Hope you get a chance to make it before the cranberries disappear.

Cranberry-Crème Fraîche Bundt Cake

Recipe adapted from  Cake Simple

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup crème fraîche (recipe follows)

1 1/2 c. whole-berry cranberry sauce (recipe follows)

1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds

Cranberry Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the inside of a 10-cup bundt pan with a non-stick baking spray.

Whisk the flour with the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three increments) alternating with the crème fraîche (in two increments), beginning and ending with the flour and beating after each addition until just combined.

Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Swirl half the cranberry sauce over the batter. Pour the remaining batter over the cranberry sauce, and then swirl the remaining cranberry sauce over the batter. Sprinkle the almonds over the top. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until golden brown on top.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely. Transfer the cake to a serving plate and drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. The cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Crème Fraîche (I bought mine, nobody will judge you if you do as well.)

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons buttermilk

Combine the heavy cream with buttermilk, cover tightly, and let sit at room temperature (in a warm room) for at least 8 hours. Stir the mixture, it should be thick and creamy. If it hasn't thickened completely, cover the mixture again and let it sit in a warm place for another 2 to 3 hours and check it again. when it has a nice, thick consistency, it will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Whole Berry-Cranberry Sauce

12 ounces fresh cranberries

3/4 cup water

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cranberries with the water, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and most of the liquid has reduced. After about 10 minutes of cooking, remove about 1 tablespoon of the liquid for the cranberry glaze. Let the sauce cool completely before using it in the cake. The sauce keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Cranberry Glaze*

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 tablespoon cranberry juice (reserved from making the cranberry sauce)

*I added a little orange juice to make the glaze a little smoother. It was pretty stiff before I added a little more liquid. You could also reserve more cranberry juice as well.

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