Cranberry Cake

Can you believe it’s Christmas Eve? I certainly can’t. Hard to believe we are hurtling toward 2013.

I am sitting by my REAL Christmas tree drinking some homemade hot chocolate and wondering if I remembered all my gifts and Christmas dinner ingredients. Lots to organize and remember during Christmas. But tonight I skip the cooking and baking and we go out to dinner. Whew!

A lot of work goes into a relaxing, picturesque holiday. All the baking, planning, cooking, hosting, cleaning. It’s self-imposed, of course, but once you get yourself on the hamster wheel that is Christmas tradition, entertaining and gift giving, it’s hard to get off. Expectations are established.

After Christmas Eve dinner tonight we won’t be having this cake. . because we already ate it. Instead we’ll be having some peppermint brownies and ice cream. Cranberries are festive but so is peppermint. Probably because of candy canes?

Although if I think about it, cranberries sort of seem more like fall and Thanksgiving fare but my family usually eats a lot of them for Christmas. There is always a frozen cranberry dessert on Christmas Day that my aunt  makes. And there is usually some sort of cranberry chutney or jelly. Chutney made by my aunt, jelly made by Ocean Spray. And shaped like a can. . as it should be.

This is an easy cake. Simple ingredients that you might have on hand already. I don’t know about you but I keep a bag of cranberries on hand this time of year just in case some cranberry baking ideas pop into my head. Is that just me? Hmmm. . .

I layer this in the cake pan as though it is an upside down cake but the berries sort of  float up into the batter a bit. Still pretty and tasty.

Sweet and lightly spiced with cinnamon and little pockets of tart cranberry goodness.

Have a Happy Holiday and enjoy some relaxation and maybe some cake! Time for me to go and relax for a little while!

Cranberry Cake

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsps vanilla extract

2 2/3 cup flour

3 tsps baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 2/3 cups milk

4 Tbsps butter, melted

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

2 cups fresh cranberries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl beat the shortening with the sugar until creamed together. Add the eggs, vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt & cinnamon.

Add the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, a little at a time, alternating dry with wet.

Set batter aside. Cover the bottom of a 9″ cake pan with the melted butter. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter and then add the cranberries in an even layer. Pour the batter on top and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Allow cake to cool about 10-20 minutes and then turn out onto a cake pan or plate. Allow to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like and serve.