Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake

Experiment number I-don’t-know, but with a jar still more than half full of my Cranberry Lolly needing use and a container of frozen cinnamon crumble topping and a chilly morning, it’s off to the kitchen to warm up and scent the apartment and maybe have a lovely small cake to share.

I began with the assumption that the experiment will work, that the Lolly will not “sink” the cake because the cranberry bits are small and that the use of orange juice and zest with the milk, thus souring the milk, will operate the same as it does with baking powder biscuits. Chemistry, you know. It took a bit longer to bake than a plain coffee cake.

Warm & pleasantly fragrant slice of successful cake.

(Sorry, I put recipes in one place and clicked reblog, so it was a learning experience for which readers please forbear.)

It was tasty, especially to a lady friend who’s not fond of cranberry but very fond of orange. I’ve decided to share my recipe upon discovering that slices of it freeze beautifully and a request. Since it’s not something I’d offer in an artisan cookie shop and another baker could finely chop dried cranberries to replace the Cranberry Lolly which I use and have a close second of this cake, here it is.

First, make the crumble. My recipe makes twice as much as needed for this cake. Readers may recall the other half being used for my original Coffee Cake Biscuits.* I defrosted the other half for this experiment. Readers could do the same exercise in reverse!

Cinnamon Crumble: combine 1/4 cup soft butter, 3/4 cup sugars (I used all brown sugar for this one, but sometimes a blend is good or all white is okay), 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon salt. (Reserve half for another use or do your own fractions!)

Cranberry Orange Cake: two bowls, no mixer! 8″ x 8″ square pan, greased, parchment, buttered and floured on top the parchment. You’ll be glad you took the trouble.

Chop a cup of dried cranberries finely. Zest an orange and squeeze 1/4 c. of the juice.

In small bowl, whisk 1 egg and 4 Tablespoons of oil until you can’t see egg whites, a few seconds. Add 1/4 cup fresh orange juice, 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Large bowl for dry ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix those with a whisk, then add zest of an orange and 1 cup finely chopped dried cranberries to the dry and whisk them together.

Then add the wet to the dry. Stir just until everything is blended and pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle half that crumble on the top. Bake for 30-35 (or a few more if necessary) until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove and wait a few minutes before slicing. Makes 9 pieces. Serve warm.

*https://mschefinseattle.com/2019/04/10/oh-yes-i-did-new-coffee-cake-biscuits/