JACKSON, Wyo.—I don’t know if it’s the east coast in me, but nothing says the holidays quite like cranberries. Maybe it’s their jolly coloring, their cunning versatility that brings them into any dish, or maybe it’s their ability to serve as both decoration and treat. What I do know, is that their sweet and sour characteristics make them one of my favorite winter fruits.
Cran-apple Coffee Cake
This is an easy bake to bring to a holiday party, in to the office for coffee breaks, or to have around the house for a not-too-sweet snack. The recipe is adapted from the Uni Homemaker blog.
For the cake:
2/3 granulated sugar
Photo: Buckrail// Helen Goelet
3 tbsp light brown sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest and juice of 1 orange
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ cup sour cream
2 small apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 (12) bag of fresh cranberries, washed and dried
For the Crumb:
1 cup AP flour
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup light brown sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Assembly:
Preheat the oven to 350 °. Grease and line a 9”x13” baking dish.
Peel, core and slice your apples and toss them in a bowl with lemon and orange jucie. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together.
Using a stand mixer or a whisk, beat white sugar, lemon zest and butter until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time until fully combined before adding the vanilla extract. With your mixer on low, add the dry mix to the wet, 1/3 of the mix at a time. Scrape down the sides between each addition. Once all the flour mix has been mixed in, fold the sour cream into the mixture. Be sure not to over mix.
Pour batter into your pre-lined baking dish and spread out evenly. Spread your apple slices evenly over top, then cover them with your cranberries. Sprinkle 3 tbsp light brown sugar over top.
Combine all ingredients of your crumb in a medium bowl and bring together with your fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle over the cranberries. Bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the dish. Cool completely before cutting.
Savory Cranberry Glaze
Instead of having cranberry sauce on the side of your meat, why not use it to glaze it for a savory sweet finish? I recommend using it to glaze a lamb or pork shank to give that deliciously salty, fatty fall off the bone meat a caramelized crispy finish. This glaze is enough for 4 lamb or pork shanks.
For the sauce:
1 (12 oz) bag of fresh cranberries
1 orange, peel and juice
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh cloves
1 c sugar
1 c water
1 c dry red wine
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp freshly chopped rosemary
Method:
Bring the cranberries, orange peel, orange juice, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, sugar and water to a boil then simmer until the cranberries pop. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook together until the alcohol has burned off, roughly 5 minutes. Pour over your meat of choice, cover in tin foil and bake until tender at 300°, turning occasionally for roughly 2 ½ hours. Remove from oven, bring the temperature up to 425 and return to cook uncovered for another 15 minutes until the glaze has caramelized and is slightly crisp.
