cake | wordsfromanneli

Just in time for Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law sent me this recipe. As it happens, it’s a great recipe for any time of the year and any occasion. It was my first time making this cake, but it wasn’t that hard to do, and because it tasted SO GOOD, I have to share it.

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer but it occurred to me that it might have been even easier with a regular handheld mixer because you can just stick the beaters into a different bowl rather than wash the bowl and reuse it to do the two steps of mixing (you’ll see what I mean).

Step One

Take an 8″ square cake pan and put two tbsp. melted butter in the bottom of the pan. Then spread 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the bottom of the pan.

Set this aside to put in the oven at 350 degrees for a couple of minutes just before it’s time to add the batter. (You need to have time to make the batter before heating the butter/sugar mixture).

The recipe says to add about a cup and a half of fresh cranberries (or even two cups) to this butter and brown sugar mixture. I always have frozen cranberries for my baking so I put them into a big measuring cup and add hot water to thaw them, draining and replacing the hot water a couple of times to thaw the cranberries. These will be added later to the heated up sugar/butter combination.

About 1/4 cup of pecans will also be sprinkled onto the bottom of the pan after the cranberries are added.

** I heated the oven and put the pan in to melt the brown sugar into the butter when I was finished making the batter in the next step.

Step Two

Now let’s make the batter.

Put these ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix after each addition:

3 tbsp. softened butter

1/4 cup white sugar

2 egg yolks (save the whites in a little bowl for mixing later)

1 tsp. vanilla

Step Three

In a separate bowl, put the rest of the dry ingredients together:

1 1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp.

Step Four

Add the flour mixture to the batter, alternately with 1/2 cup of milk, ending with the flour mixture. If the resulting batter seems a bit too stiff, add a couple more tbsp. milk.

The second time I tried baking this cake I did add a bit more milk (say, almost 3/4 cup altogether) and it was better.

Step Five

This is about the time when I put the pan into the preheated oven, because the next step takes about the right time while the brown sugar is melting into the sugar.

In a clean bowl, put the two egg whites you have saved from when you put the egg yolks into the batter. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.

Fold the egg white mixture into the batter. (Don’t stir it in. Gently fold it in.) The batter should look slightly foamy.

Step Six

Take out the pan with the heated butter and brown sugar, sprinkle the warmed up cranberries evenly over the brown sugar. Then sprinkle a few pecans over the cranberries. If you have a nut allergy you can easily skip this step.

Pour the batter over the cranberries in the pan and spread it evenly.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

When it is done, let the cake sit for a few minutes; then loosen the sides by running a knife along the sides of the pan. Put a plate over the pan upside down and invert the cake onto the plate.

Step Seven

Make a pot of tea or coffee and cut the cake. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream or just have it plain. It’s really good all by itself.

The photo below is from my second try, where I added a tiny bit more milk and used 2 cups of cranberries rather than 1 and 1/2 cups. Better, I think.

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8:56 a.m. and I have a morning’s baking done. Mother’s Day is coming up so I wanted to bake our favourite cake that my friend Ariane turned me onto. She was looking for something gluten free and baked this cake when I visited her. I don’t care about whether it’s gluten free or not, but it was important to her, and so it might be good for others out there who are also gluten intolerant. You can find Ariane’s recipe at the end of this post. It’s supposed to be an almond cake but I have several hazelnut trees in my yard so I experimented by substituting hazelnuts and it worked just fine.

You have to imagine this cake on a pretty plate, served with dollops of whipped cream, or ice cream if you want to do the easy route. Either way, it’s the best cake I’ve tasted in a long time and it’s VERY easy to make. Thank you, Ariane!

The rest of the things in the photo were put together while the cake was baking. On the left, is the easy ciabatta bread that I learned about in the ciabatta bread video (Click on “bread” to view the tutorial on easy ciabatta bread) and in the top of the photo is my usual (60%) whole wheat bread dough with milk, honey, and caraway.

The muffins were an afterthought because I had ground hazelnuts left over from the cake, so I added a tiny bit of flour, some currants, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk eggs, melted butter. It was easy because all the ingredients were already on the table.

I just noticed that the muffin tin looks well used. Oh well … better than sitting in the cupboard all shiny and never used.

Now, will it be tea or coffee with your muffin? Sorry, I can’t serve the cake until tomorrow. It’s especially made for my mother-in-law. But you’re welcome to a muffin.

Ariane’s Lemon Ricotta Almond Cake

2 cups almond meal (I use hazelnuts because I have them – grind them in the food processor with the fine grater blade, or you can use the cutter blades and chop until the hazelnuts turn to meal – it’s noisy).

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3 large eggs

1 cup (or less) sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups ricotta cheese (I use cottage cheese – works just fine)

juice of one lemon (about 3 Tbsp.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine almond meal, baking powder and salt.
In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well. (I do this in the food processor, processing the cottage cheese until smooth and then adding the other ingredients).
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir well until smooth.
Pour mixture into buttered 9-in. pan, deep pie dish, or springform pan (my favourite).
Bake 55-60 min. until cake is completely puffed up, no longer jiggly in the center, and golden brown on the edges.
Cool cake completely (it will deflate) and chill in fridge at least 4 hrs. before serving.
Cake remains moist and is better the next day. Serve with whipped cream, or ice cream, or garnish with lemon zest. Cut slices small like you would cheesecake. It’s very filling. You can always have a second slice…. You probably will.