Cranberry-Lime Cake

Every year I buy cranberries exactly once. I honestly do not know what to do with these tart berries other than make a sauce or relish at Thanksgiving. No one likes cranberries much at our house and this year’s seasonal buy remained untouched for a few days. And meanwhile, I was busy with Christmas preps.

Don’t you think these ruby-red cranberries look a lot like Christmas baubles?

I have been making up a lot of cranberry recipes in my head. I thought of putting them in a galette, but was convinced the guys wouldn’t even touch it. Maybe I could combine them with chocolate and bake blondies or brownies. I never knew using up fresh cranberries would be so difficult. I love the sweetened dried cranberries and always have them on hand to use in baking. Just add a small handful in cakes, muffins or cookies, it is delicious.

That’s when I came across a cranberry cobbler recipe on the Martha Stewart website. It sounded very similar to this skillet apple cake I bake. The recipe was for a simple vanilla batter topped with lightly sugared fresh cranberries. I was sure it would work.

A quick and easy way to take a simple vanilla cake to an entirely new level is to add the zest of a lime or lemon to it. I rubbed some sugar and lime zest together and tossed the berries in it. I cannot even begin to describe how lovely it smells!

These are then scattered over the batter and baked till golden.

The recipe on Martha’s website does say cobbler, but I am calling it a cake, albeit a rustic one. It is the perfect cake recipe for a lazy winter day. It takes literally 5 minutes to mix the batter and another 25 minutes to bake the cake. I love how the tart berries and lime zest compliment the sweet cake beneath. The sugar makes the top of the cake golden and the crust slightly crisp, which I love!

Try this recipe and I am sure cranberry lovers and haters alike will definitely go for seconds.

RUSTIC CRANBERRY-LIME CAKE

You will need:

• Sugar – 2 tbsp + 3/4 cup (for the cake)
• Lime zest – from 1 small lime
• Cranberries – 1 cup, fresh
• All purpose flour – 1 cup
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Baking soda – 1 1/4 tsp
• Egg – 1, large
• Milk – 1/2 cup
• Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
• Vegetable oil – 6 tbsp
• Powdered sugar – 1-2 tbsp, for dusting (optional)

How to:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg.F. Grease a 9-inch pan and line the bottom with foil or parchment paper.
• In a bowl, rub the sugar and lime zest together and toss the fresh cranberries in it. Keep aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and 3/4 cup sugar. In another bowl or measuring cup, whisk the wet ingredients together.
• Pour the wet ingredients in to the large bowl and gently mix the batter till just combined.
• Pour the batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top. Scatter the sugared cranberries uniformly on top of the batter.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or till the center is just cooked.
• Remove from oven and cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Now remove from pan and cool completely.
• Dust with powdered sugar, slice and serve warm or at room temperature. You can top it with some whipped cream too, if you like.

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for 6 tbsp melted butter, but I usually use vegetable oil in a simple vanilla cake batter. You can use butter or oil, as per your preference.

 I love how these tart, red berries compliment the sweet cake. It is such a fresh and juicy take on the simple vanilla cake.

Tell me, do you like cranberries? Do you use the fresh ones in baking? Do share.

Do try this lovely cake recipe before cranberries disappear from the fresh produce section.

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