The Diva That Made Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake

This is a great Thanksgiving dessert that is super-easy to make and gives the impression you worked much harder than you did. I found it ages ago, in one of those ladies group cookbooks that raises money for charity.

The actual book has long since disappeared from my collection. While I’m not able to give credit to the original writer, I’d like to thank all the ladies (and gentlemen) who donate their time and recipes to these sorts of cookbooks. These books are priceless and keep track of our culinary heritage.

I’ve changed the recipe slightly. I use homemade cranberry sauce in the recipe, but the canned whole cranberry sauce that was in the original recipe works perfectly fine too.

There’s no picture since I have not made it in ages either. It’s visually appealing since the almonds brown nicely and the cranberry sauce peeks through under the glaze. Make it and send me a picture.

The first person to make it and send me a decent, usable picture of this cake will get a free Reci-tee!

Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1/4 c butter
• 1 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 c sifted flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 c homemade cranberry sauce (see below) or 1 can of whole cranberry sauce*
• 1 c sour cream
• 1/2 cup shaved almonds

Topping:

• 3/4 c confectioners sugar
• 2 Tbsp warm water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dry ingredients: Sift together dry ingredients.

Wet ingredients: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream, almond extract and vanilla extract.

Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until blended, do not over mix.

Spoon half of the batter into a 9” tube pan. Add half the cranberry sauce, then remaining batter and remaining cranberry sauce. Sprinkle the top with shaved almonds.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool. Flip cooled cake out on a plate, then flip it back on the serving plate.

Mix topping ingredients and drizzle over the top of cake and serve.

Makes eight servings.

If you are using canned sauce, you can add 1 Tbsp of finely grated orange rind to the recipe, but it is not essential.

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 orange juice, fresh squeezed, if possible
• 1 Tbsp of orange rind, finely grated
• 1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries, rinsed

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally. cook until most of the berries pop which is approximately fifteen minutes. Cool.

Makes 2-1/4 cups.

This recipe is on the Hungry Domaine website. Paul Zweben. and I worked together at the River Cafe back in the Stone Age when he was a cook and I was a dining-room slave. We reconnected over Twitter! He’s a cooking, eating, real estate agent and loving hubby who has an obsession with Dunkin Donuts. I think he should buy a franchise, already!