White Wine Citrus Syrup Cake (GF & DF)

My sister and I are very close and have always got on well. Sure, we had our fair amount of arguments and times of jealously, but we were never the kind of sisters who slammed doors in each others faces or screamed we hated each other. Many of my fondest childhood memories involve my sister (and brother too). Things have been a little hectic and crazy for both of us recently and speaking on the phone one evening we realized we hadn’t seen each other, just us two, for several months. This would not do, so diaries were checked and we arranged to meet at her flat for a good ol natter over lunch.

Due to our combined dietary restrictions – vegetarian, coeliac and diary free – we decided to stay in and cook lunch ourselves. We tossed meals ideas back and forth and created our menu. For mains we made a scrummy wild mushrooms & roasted butternut squash risotto and dessert was an unusual citrus drizzle cake made using white wine!

I’d found the recipe for the white wine cake online and it looked so good that I knew we had to try it. It comprised of a lemon and orange scented almond cake, made with oil and white wine, lightly flavoured with cardamom and doused in a white wine and orange syrup. I’ve never seen wine used as a cake ingredient before and as we planned on using a little white wine in our risotto, it seemed the ideal time to give it a go.

So, how was it? Out of this world good! It’s deliciously citrusy, yet not overpoweringly so, surprising considering the amount of citrus that went into it. It’s got a sweet sticky top surface that yields to a moist and tender crumb. It has that wonderfully damp dense almond texture, while still being unbelievably light. We served in with some fresh strawberries but both agreed they weren’t needed. The cake was incredible!

Even though we were both full from lunch neither of us could resist having another slice. It may have been gluten and dairy free but there were certainly nothing lacking in the flavour department with this cake.

The amount of syrup for the cake looks a lot, but the cake just lapped it up and turned it deliciously moist, but not soggy. You don’t want soggy cake people! If you need to feed someone with food allergies – this recipe is sure to be a winner. Even if you don’t have any allergies but have some white wine open – try this – heck open the wine especially to make this cake – it really is that good!

White Wine Citrus Syrup Cake (GF & DF)
(Recipe adapted from Our Kitchen blog)

White Wine Citrus Cake
4 eggs
220g light brown sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 2 oranges
½ tsp (6) freshly ground cardamom seeds
100ml vegetable oil
110ml white wine (one with a fruity note is good)
90g Doves gluten free flour
1½ tsp gluten free baking powder
180g ground almonds

Method
Preheat oven to 160C. Grease a 9inch/23cm round springform tin.
In a large bowl beat eggs and sugar together until they become slightly lighter in colour, about 2 minutes.
Crush and grind the cardamom using a pestle and mortar and it to the eggs along with the lemon and orange zest.
Gradually drizzle in the oil and wine, whisking all the time.
Scatter over the flour, baking powder and ground almonds and fold in using a spoon or spatula.
Pour the mix into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes. It will be a light golden colour, springy to the touch and have a shiny top surface when cooked.
Meanwhile, make the syrup (below) to drizzle over the cake once cooked.
When cooked, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin before removing to a serving plate.
Prick the top of the cake with a skewer or fork before pouring over the cooled prepared citrus syrup. You mat need to do this in 2 or 3 intervals, to allow the cake to absorb the syrup. Leave for at least 30minutes before cutting.
Keeps well for 3-4 days. The cake gets even moister and sticker the longer it sits.

Orange Syrup

110ml white wine
Juice of 2 oranges (use the zested ones left from making the cake)
75g caster sugar
6 cardamom pods

Method
Crush the cardamom pods and place the little black seeds into a saucepan. Add the wine, sugar and orange juice. Heat gently until the mixture comes to the boil; then reduce to a simmer and allow to bubble for 10 minutes. Then remove from the heat and sieve the syrup into a jug to remove the seeds and set aside to cool.

The Cake Slice February 2011: Coffee Heath Bar Crunch Cake (GF)

This months Cake Slice cake turned out to be a bit of a hidden gem of the cake world. It’s not much to look at, and reading the recipe I was left feeling a little underwhelmed by its description. However, as with lots of things in life, don’t judge too harshly by first impressions. Despite in rather plain and simple appearance this cake is layered with flavours of toffee, coffee and butterscotch.

The cake comprises of a light sponge, studded with tiny grains of instant coffee, which add little bitter coffee hits whenever you happen across one. I’ve never thought of adding coffee to a cake this way before, but I loved the contrast it added against the sweet brown sugar cake. Just before baking, the top of the cake is scattered with a light streusel mixture made from crumbled Heath Bars which gives the cake a little crunch and a fabulous butterscotch flavour.

Heath Bars are an American candy/chocolate bar of a thin layer of brittle toffee surrounded by a thin coating of chocolate. Very similar to Dime bars here in the UK. I didn’t have access to Heath Bars, but I did have a bag of Heath Chips (toffee pieces) sent to me from America by the lovely Monica. I used those and loved the toffee butterscotch flavour they imparted.

I baked my cake for 15 minutes less than the recipe suggested after other bakers had commented that their cakes were cooked much before the time given. The resulting cake was light, soft and tender with a very fine crumb. It did crumble a little, but I suspect this was mainly due to my use of gluten free flours than the cake itself. It tasted delicious when served with a few raspberries.
Click here to see The Cake Slice blogroll

Coffee Heath Bar Crunch Cake (GF)
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

For the Cake
180g plain flour (I used 100g buckwheat & 80g brown rice flour)
1 tbsp instant espresso powder
1½ tsp baking powder (I used 2tsp)
½ tsp salt
100g unsalted butter, softened
220g light soft brown sugar (I only used 170g)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1½ tsp vanilla extract
220ml milk
(1tsp xanthan gum if making gluten free)

For the Streusel
50g chopped Heath bars or brittle toffee/butterscotch
2 tbsp light soft brown sugar
2 tbsp plain flour (or rice flour)
15g butter, softened

Method – Streusel

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 9inch round springform pan.
Combine the Heath bars, brown sugar, flour and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Work the mixture with your fingers until it resembles large crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Method – Cake

Combine the flour, espresso powder, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture and then half the milk, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Repeat, alternating the flour and milk, ending with the flour.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with a spatula. Scatter the streusel onto the batter, distributing it evenly over the cake.
Bake the cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes (Mine was done in 40minutes). Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Release the sides of the pan and use a large spatula to slide the cake from the pan bottom to onto a wire rack. Cool completely, cut into wedges and serve.
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Makes one 9 inch round cake

Celebrating my 4th Blog Anniversary with Fruity Orange Tea Loaf GF

Wow I can’t believe it's been 4 years today since I started my little blog. At the time I don’t think I would ever have imagined I’d still be blogging 4 years later. I’m pleased to say I get just as much, if not more, out of blogging now that I did when it was all new and exciting. Blogging has opened my eyes to the recipes, cuisines, cultures and weird and wonderful ingredients there are available out there in the world. It has encouraged and enabled me to make dishes I would probably never have attempted or even heard of if I had not discovered blogging. You, the readers and other bloggers are mostly to thank for this – so thank you! Ok, enough of the Oscar impersonations!

One of my life’s little pleasures is always having some sort of sweet treat after lunch. I’m a firm believer that a little bit of what you fancy does you good! Sometimes I crave slices of rich and indulgent cake, while other times a simple pot of yoghurt fits the bill perfectly. Recently I’ve been after something sweet, yet simple and homely. Nothing too elaborate or fussy and this fruity orange tea loaf is perfect for just such a craving.

I recently received an email from a family friend who said she had been advised to follow a wheat free diet. She had bought a gluten free fruity cake when out for the day and enjoyed it so much she wanted a recipe to make her own. She described a moist, richly fruited loaf cake and identified the fruits it contained. She asked if I had a recipe. I didn’t, but never one to pass up a challenge I told her I’d see what I could do and this moist, fruity, lightly spiced tea loaf is the result.

The ingredients list she gave me included fruit juice, but no oil or butter. Based on this I decided that the bread was probably similar to a tea loaf – where fruits are soaked overnight in strong tea before being baked into a cake, with the extra tea used as the liquid/binding agent. I decided to use a mix of dried fruits and soak them in fresh orange juice to achieve a similar result. This worked brilliantly and resulted in extremely plump and juicy fruits and really enhanced their flavour.

The batter is very soft and wet, but it has a long slow bake in the oven which allows a thick, slightly chewy sticky crust to form, while keeping the inside lovely and moist. The batter looks as though it’s going to overflow from the tin, but it doesn’t rise much due to its high fruit to batter ratio, so there were no oven disasters.

Despite being densely fruited, the cake itself is not in the least bit dense. It’s soft and springy and actually makes a ‘squish’ sound as you take a bite through all the succulent fruit. It’s a delicious way to have a bit of ‘me time’ snuggled on a comfy chair, tearing off little bits with your fingers. Plus, with no added fat there’s no need to feel guilty about it either.

Fruity Orange Tea Loaf GF

Ingredients100g dates – stones removed (if pre-chopped make sure they are dusted in rice flour, not wheat flour)

100g sultanas

100g raisins
50g dried apricots
275ml fresh orange juice

150ml water
50g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp mixed spice

Zest of 1 lemon
250g gluten free self raising flour

20g ground almonds

½ tsp gluten free baking powder

MethodChop the dates and dried apricots into pieces the size of a large raisins and add them to a bowl along with the sultanas and raisins.

Measure the orange juice and water into a small saucepan and heat until steaming. It does not need to simmer or boil. Pour the hot juice over the dried fruit, stir briefly and then cover the top tightly with clingfilm and leave to steep overnight or for at least 10-12 hours.
The next day, the fruit will be very plump and juicy looking. Some of the fruit juice will still remain in the bowl which is fine.
Grease a loaf tin, approx 10x20cm, and pre-heat the oven to 150C and line the base and up the two longest sides with a long strip of greaseproof paper.
Stir the sugar, mixed spice and lemon zest into the soaking fruit. Stir until the sugar has mostly dissolved.
Add the eggs and mix well until they are evenly combined.
Scatter the flour, almonds and baking powder over the surface of the mixture. Use a large spatula or wooden spoon to beat the flour into the fruit mix, starting in the centre and working your way out towards the edge until everything is well incorporated (it will be a very wet mix).
Pour the batter into the prepared tin (it will reach the top) and bake for 1 hour and 30 – 40 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out relatively clean (it may still be sticky if you hit a raisin).
Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve in thick slices. I like it just as it is but it can be served with butter if that’s your thing.

Keeps well for 3-4 days wrapped in clingfilm and tastes great lightly toasted under the grill (don’t put it in a toaster!)

Parsnip, Apple & Orange Pecan Cake with Maple Mascarpone Frosting (GF)

This cake may well be the best cake I have made in weeks…months…possibly even all year! I know that’s an incredibly bold statement, but eat a slice of this cake and you’ll see where I’m coming from. It’s moist, slightly sticky, sweet and jam packed full of flavour. It’s fruity, a little nutty and filled with a luxuriously creamy maple mascarpone frosting.

Parsnips in a cake may sound like an odd idea, but they are sweeter than carrots and they often make an appearance in baked goods. Just as with carrot cake, you don’t take a bite of this cake and think ‘parsnips’ they are there to add a natural sweetness and incredible moist texture. Apple and orange also lend their juicy sweetness and it’s actually the flavour of the orange and spices that hit you first, before all the other flavours and textures pop up. The mascarpone frosting is only slightly sweetened with the maple syrup, retaining a lot of its cooling creamy smoothness which leaves a wonderful rich and decadent feeling in your mouth that has you clamoring for another bite.

The texture of the sponge is moist and slightly dense, but in a gorgeous sticky fruity way. You can see from the slices that this doesn’t prevent it from being a light, springy cake. It needs that little bit of substance to support and balance the combination of flavours.

I made this cake for my mum’s birthday last week. I actually found this recipe a year ago, just after her last birthday, and have been sitting on it for a year, waiting for parsnips to come back into season and for her birthday to roll round again. It was definitely worth the wait and due to its moist texture, a simple flour substitution was all that was required to make it gluten free. Best cake ever!

Parsnip, Apple & Orange Pecan Cake with Maple Mascarpone Frosting (GF)
(Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food)

Ingredients
175g butter
200g light soft brown sugar
100g golden syrup
3 eggs
250g Doves gluten free self raising flour (or regular flour)
2tsp gluten free baking powder
2tsp mixed spice
250g parsnips (about 2 large)
125g eating apple (I used Cox)
50g pecan nuts
Zest and juice 1 orange

Maple Mascarpone Frosting
250g mascarpone cheese
2tbsp maple syrup
3-4tbsp milk

For the Cake

Heat oven to 180C. Grease and line two 8inch/20cm sandwich tins.
Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup together in a large pan over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, Peel the parsnips and coarsely grate them along with the apple (you can leave the skin on but remove the core). Roughly chop the pecans and finely grate the zest from the orange.
Using a large spatula, whisk the eggs into the melted sugar mixture, then stir in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice. Add the parsnip, apple, pecans and orange zest. Squeeze in the juice from the zested orange and mix well.
Divide the batter between the tins (it will be quite full) and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and the tops spring back when pressed lightly.
Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely.

For the Frosting

Place the mascarpone in a bowl and leave for 15 minutes to warm to room temperature.
Add the maple syrup and beat together until well incorporated. Add enough milk so that you achieve a thick, yet spreadable consistency.
Place one cake layer on a serving plate and place spoonfuls of the frosting over the surface. Use a knife to spread the frosting out into an even layer, right to the edges of the cake.
Top with the second cake layer and dust the top lightly with icing sugar.
Serve in generous slices. The cake becomes even moister and stickier the following day.

Daring Bakers January 2011 Challenge: Joconde Imprime. Chocolate and Hazelnut Gateaux with Raspberry Cream & Dark Chocolate Ganache (GF)

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

I was so excited by this challenge. I have often seen beautifully designed, striped or swirled, sponge desserts in bakery windows and dreamed of creating similar things myself, but I never knew how they were made. Well, now and I know and…I’ll let you in on a secret… it’s not difficult either!

Your simply pipe your design of choice onto a baking tray, place it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up (so that the rest of the sponge mixture doesn’t ruin the design), cover with a joconde sponge, bake, turn it out and ta-da! Beautifully decorated sponge, ready for adding that wow factor to the outside of desserts, gateau’s and mousses etc. Magic!

Joconde sponge is a special flexible sponge which allows you to wrap it around cakes and desserts without it cracking or breaking. This is thanks to its use of very little flour and butter, with ground nuts and eggs making up the majority of the ingredients. This also means it’s fantastically easy to convert to being gluten free – hurrah!

I already knew I wanted to use my joconde sponge to create a chocolate and raspberry gateau to act as my sister’s birthday cake. I decided to use hazelnuts in place of the almonds as I think they taste delicious when paired with chocolate and raspberries. With this in mind I dyed some of my batter with cocoa powder and a little with pink food dye to tied in the chocolate and raspberry colours. I had great fun creating little swirly circles and dots with a piping bag and I love how the finished sponge turned out.

After baking I used the joconde to line a large ring mould which I layered with discs of gluten free chocolate cake, dark chocolate ganache, more cake, raspberry cream, another layer of cake and then a final layer of ganache! How wickedly indulgent! I then dusted it with some edible gold glitter to give it some birthday sparkle.

I didn’t let my sister see the design of the cake until it was time to remove the ring mould. Everyone loved seeing the swirly dotty design of the outer sponge. It really added some wow factor. Cutting into the cake revealed the truly indulgent layers of cake, dark chocolate ganache and raspberry cream. All in all it was a fabulous cake and so delicious that no one would ever know it was gluten free. I’ll definitely be making one again in the future, the decoration possibilities are endless!

Joconde Imprime (GF)

Ingredients
85g ground almonds (I used freshly ground hazelnuts)
75g icing sugar
25g Doves gluten free flour
3 large eggs
3 large egg whites
10g caster sugar
30g unsalted butter, melted

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C and line a large 13x18 inch swiss roll tin with silicone paper.
In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
Sift together the ground almonds (hazelnuts), icing sugar and flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light.
Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to nut mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
Fold in melted butter.
Take one or two scoops of batter and place into small bowls. Set the rest of the batter aside to use later. Colour or dye the small amounts of batter using cocoa powder or food dye so that it provides a contrasting colour to the original batter.
Here is where you can be creative. Fill piping bags with the coloured batter and pipe a design onto a baking tray that has been covered in silicone paper. Make lines, swirls, words, anything that takes your fancy.
Place the decorated tray in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.
Then, remove the tray from the freezer and quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern.
Bake at 200C until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, around 12 minutes.
Once baked, cover the surface with a sheet of greaseproof and a damp tea towel and leave until cool.
Once cool, turn out onto a flat surface and carefully remove the silicone paper. Your design should now show up against the pale base of the Joconde batter.
Trim the edges off the sponge and then cut into strips and use to line the inside rim of a large or small individual ring moulds, with the design facing outwards. Press the edges together so they will stay together once removed from the moulds. Fill the moulds as you wish and chill for an hour before unmoulding.
I chose to turn my dessert into a chocolate gateau for my sister’s birthday. I layered the inside with discs of chocolate cake layered with dark chocolate ganache and raspberry cream.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Gateaux with Raspberry Cream & Dark Chocolate Ganache (GF)

1 x Hazelnut Joconde (recipe above)
1 x 8inch chocolate cake (see below)
Dark chocolate ganache (see below)
Raspberry cream (see below)


Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

180g Doves white self raising flour
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
180g caster sugar
180g butter
3 eggs
30g cocoa powder
40g sour cream

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C and line two 8inch round cake tins with greaseproof paper.
Simply place all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together until smooth and well combined.
Divide the batter between the two tins, making one tin have slightly more batter in than the other, about 40 to 60% ratio.
Bake for 22-25 minutes until risen and springy to the touch.
Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire wrack and leaving to cool.

Dark chocolate Ganache

200ml double cream
200g dark chocolate
20g butter

Method
Heat the cream gently in a small saucepan until it just comes to a simmer. Meanwhile, break the chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave to sit for 3 minutes without touching it. Then gently fold/mix the cream into the melting chocolate to create a thick glossy ganache.
Cut the butter into small cubes and stir into the ganache.
Use quickly.

Raspberry Cream

150g raspberries
20g icing sugar
100ml double cream

Method
Crush the raspberries with the sugar until broken down.
Lightly whip the double cream until it is just starting to form soft peaks.
Add the raspberries, juice and all, and stir to combine. Don’t worry f it looks a little soft as it thickens up in the fridge once assembled.
Use fairly quickly.

Assembling the Gateau

Place your ring mould, lined with the joncode sponge onto a serving plate.
Trim your chocolate sponge layers so that they fit snugly inside the ring mould. (I used the base of a 7inch tin as a guide).
Place the thin cake layer into the mould to form the base of the gateaux. Cut the thicker sponge layer in half, horizontally, to form two thinner layers. Set to one side.
Pour half the chocolate ganache over the base layer sponge and top with one of your cut layers of chocolate cake.
Spread over the raspberry cream and top with the final layer of chocolate cake. It should reach to the top of your ring mould now.
Spread the remaining half of the chocolate ganache over the top, completely covering the cake and top of the joncode sponge.
Decorate as your wish – I dusted the top with edible gold glitter. Refrigerate for an hour before running a hot knife around the top rim of the metal ring mould and removing, leaving the finished gateaux in place.

Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas everyone! I just wanted to share my decorated gluten free Christmas cake with you. It’s a simple design of a marbled blue fondant background with blue and white snowflakes sprinkled with blue edible glitter to give it some sparkle. 

The choice of decoration was an easy one to make considering the huge amount of snow we have had over the past few days - 8inches! That probably doesn’t sound much to some of you, but I’ve never seen so much snow in my life! It certainly adds to the festive feeling though.

To decorate your baked Christmas cake you want to first level off the top with a serrated bread knife. I find I always tend to start off flat and end up going crooked halfway through. This year I thought up a solution – place your fruit cake in a shallow dish that has sides that reach just below the top of your cake. Then simply slice off the top, using the rim of the bowl as a guide and you end up with a nicely flat top on which to decorate. Don't throw the off cuts away, they are the cooks perk and will give you a hint as to the flavour of your cake.

Brush the top of the cake with Brandy and lay on a thick disc of marzipan. Colour some fondant icing the colour of your choice (or leave white) and roll out into a large circle, about 3inches/7.5cm wider in diameter than the base of your cake. This ensures it will cover the sides as well. Brush the cake all over with a little Brandy and then drape over the fondant, smooth down the sides, and trim off any excess using a sharp knife. All that’s left is to decorate to your hearts content.

Tying a bow round the finished cake not only looks pretty but also hides any small tears or creases you may have at the base of the icing.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope it’s full of lots of food and festive fun.

The Cake Slice December 2010: Fresh Cranberry Cake (GF)

Fresh cranberries instantly conjure up images of Christmas and snowy winter days, so I was delighted when this cake was voted as December’s cake. I was so excited at the prospect of using fresh cranberries. I love dried cranberries, but until I made this cake I had never tasted a fresh cranberry in any form! I know – shock horror! This is because in the UK we only have access to fresh cranberries for the few weeks either side of Christmas. They are not sold fresh or even frozen, at any other time of year. Because of this, I have never got organized enough to buy them in time before they disappeared. After having tasted them, I am so jealous of people in America who seem to have fresh or frozen cranberries available all year round – they are so zingy and fresh tasting and I adore their vibrant glossy colour, like shiny red jewels.

This cake is a vanilla cake which is studded with fresh cranberries and topped with an almond streusel that turns wonderfully golden and crunchy during baking, giving the cake a sort of almond Florentine crunchy topping that worked so well with the moist fluffy cake. The cranberries burst whilst in the oven creating little stained pools of ruby red juice dotted throughout the cake which made it look so appetizing.

The cake is also extremely moist, although I may have undercooked mine slightly. The recipe made a huge 10inch cake which was too big for me, so I cut the quantities by a third and baked it in an 8inch tin instead. I thought this might also mean less baking time, so I checked my cake early and gave it a little shake to see if it was cooked – big mistake – the middle wasn’t quite set with the result that the centre sank! I left it in the oven for the rest of its baking time but unfortunately the damage was done. However, this didn’t decrease from the deliciousness of this cake, so no real harm done.

I adored the flavour of the cranberries in this cake. They seemed to pop when you bit into one releasing their zingy, slightly tart juices. The sweetness of the cake and the golden crispy crunchy almond topping prevented the berries from being too sharp and made for one delicious cake. My family kept cutting off little slices just to ‘neaten’ the edges.

I am now a fresh cranberry convert and have bought an extra two bags which I have stashed away in the freezer to use at a later date. This cake was also really easy to convert to being gluten free and was so festive that I bet it would make a great alternative to the traditional Christmas fruit cake if dried fruit’s not your thing. Click here to see the other Cake Slice bakers cranberry cakes.

Fresh Cranberry Cake (GF)
(Recipe adapted from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Streusel Topping
65g flaked almonds
20g unsalted butter, melted
20g light soft brown sugar

Cranberry Cake
160g plain flour (I used Doves GF flour blend)
¾ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
300g caster sugar (I only used 225g)
100g butter, melted and cooled
¾ tsp vanilla extract
230g fresh cranberries

Method – Streusel

Heat the oven to 150C. Grease an 8inch round spring form pan.
Combine the butter, almonds and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Work the mixture between your fingers to form large crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Method – Cake
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium high speed until the mixture is lightened and increased in volume, about 5 minutes.
With the mixer on low speed, add the butter in a slow stream. Turn the mixer to medium speed and beat for another 2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.
Gently but thoroughly fold in the flour mixture, half a cup at a time. Then stir in the cranberries.
Scrape the butter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the streusel over the batter. Bake the cake until it is golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1hour 10minutes.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Release the sides of the pan and use a large spatula to slide the cake from the pan bottom onto the wire rack. Cool completely before cutting into wedges and serving.
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Makes one 8 inch round cake