ALMOST FAMOUS CRANBERRY ALMOND BUNDT CAKE

I have a lot of favorite recipes in my most recent book, Every Day is Saturday, too many to name in a little intro like this, but if I had to give you one—just one—to start with, I might suggest starting here: an easy, please-all cake that can be fancied up with the help of a sturdy bundt pan.

Bundt cakes are like modern miracles. They can transform the simplest cake into a pastry-shop-centerpiece, as long as you butter and flour them well. I love a bundt so much that when my friend Josh recently took a vintage kitchen haul off the street in his Brooklyn neighborhood, I had to volley his wife, Doris (and my dear friend) for who would get to bake in her new//old beat up bundt pan, first.

But back to our bundt. The idea for this spot-on cake came from Sarah Kieffer’s (wonderful) Vanilla Bean Baking Book. I made it a half dozen times within the month the book arrived—a few years ago now—making my own tweaks for our mostly gluten-free, low-sugar household: adding almond flour for texture and flavor, dropping the total sugar and using bitters instead of Grand Marnier. The result is still so crazy delicious, and leans just left of decadent—enough that you don’t feel so bad serving your kids leftover slices for breakfast the day after friends have come to call. You know the kind.

This cake (and her original) is truly delicious—and a total repeat performer, since it swings easily from fall/winter treat studded with cranberries to a summer sweet with plump blueberries, instead.

The original cake calls for a glossy, drippy glaze—the kind that always gets my attention on Pinterest. TBH, I’m more of a fan of the way they look than the way they taste, which is to say: most days I don’t think this needs it. But, and it’s a big but the week before Thanksgiving, a glaze is definitely seductive when you want to dress this beauty up. The holidays seem just as good a time as any. Go for it, friends. And happy, happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. xo

RECIPE BELOW

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ALMOST FAMOUS CRANBERRY BUNDT CAKE

Reprinted from Every Day Is Saturday with permission by Chronicle Books, 2019

CAKE

 1½ cups (3 sticks/336 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar 

1 Tbsp grated orange zest

5 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 hearty dash bitters

2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour or (310 g) gluten-free flour, plus more for the pan

1 cup (120 g) almond flour

¼ tsp baking soda 

¾ tsp fine sea salt

¼ cup (60 ml) fresh squeezed orange juice

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

¼ cup (60 ml) half-and-half

2 heaping cups (200 g) cranberries or (280 g) wild blueberries, fresh or frozen

VANILLA-FLECKED GLAZE (OPTIONAL) 

1½ cups (180 g) confectioners’ sugar 

2 to 4 Tbsp half-and-half

Seeds of 1 vanilla bean, scraped, or ¼ tsp vanilla bean paste

Pinch of fine sea salt

TO MAKE THE CAKE:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Position a rack in the lower middle. Butter and flour a 10-inch, 12-cup (25-cm, 2.9-L) nonstick Bundt pan. 

Beat together the butter, granulated sugar, and zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each until uniform. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, add the vanilla and bitters, and stir to combine. 

In a separate bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the juices and half-and-half, and beat on low to combine, scraping the bowl after each addition. Stir in the cranberries. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan (it will come to the top of the Bundt pan) and bake on a baking sheet until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a tiny crumb, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan, and let cool completely on the rack. 

TO MAKE THE GLAZE:

Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, half-and-half, vanilla seeds, and salt to make a slightly runny glaze. Set the cake on a wire rack on parchment paper and drizzle the glaze over. Let it set slightly before slicing and serving.

PREP TIME: 25 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR AND 25 MINUTES

SERVES 10 TO 12

GET AHEAD 

This Bundt can be made ahead in two stages: Make the batter, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Or bake the cake and let cool completely on a metal rack, then freeze, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks, adding the glaze after thawing it.

GOOD TO KNOW 

Be sure to butter and flour your Bundt pan really well—those cranberries burst and want to stick if they hit the pan. Use an angel food cake pan for a cleaner, modern look. And get all Jackson Pollock if you want—this is awesome with raspberries, blueberries, or a mix of berries, splattered and streaked ever so slightly.

BITTERS

As the name suggests, bitters are a blend of herbs, barks, roots, and fruits (like orange peel) that lends a pleasantly bitter depth to cocktails and, as in this case, baked goods. If you don’t have bitters at home, make your tablespoon of orange zest a heaping one.

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images belong to Sarah Copeland, and should not be pinned or posted without attribution. **

• Photos // GENTL + HYERS

• Food + Prop Styling // SARAH COPELAND

• Ceramics // VINTAGE + HENRY STREET STUDIO