Cranberry Cake w/ Vanilla Sauce

This is a simple cake that contains fresh cranberries. The tartness of the cake is balanced by the sweetness of the vanilla sauce.

Cranberry Cake
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp melted butter
3 cups (1 bag) fresh cranberries

Mix above ingredients together, then fold in cranberries.
Bake in a greased 10" round pan for 8x8 square pan at 390 for 40 minutes.

Vanilla Sauce
Melt in a sauce pan:
1 1/2 cups butter (3 cubes)
Add and bring to boil for 2 minutes:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup cream
Remove from heat and add:
1/2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla

Cranberry Orange Walnut Muffins

I am LOVING fresh cranberry season. Below is a simple and yummy recipe for muffins.

CRANBERRY ORANGE WALNUT MUFFINS

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

zest of 1 orange

1 egg, beaten

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup cranberries

3/4 cup walnuts

Chop cranberries and walnuts and set aside.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.

In a small bowl, beat egg. Whisk in orange juice and oil.

Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring until combined. Fold in walnuts and cranberries.

Portion into lined cupcake tin (I made 16 muffins).

Bake at 350 for 22 - 24 minutes.

Cool on wire rack.

Cranberries!

nature's perfect treat!

I can't get enough of these little sweet tarts and they are SOOOOO easy to make.

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 egg white
1 cup sugar

Place cranberries in a medium sized bowl.

In a small bowl, beat the egg white until light and fluffy (but not to stiff peaks).

Add the egg white to the cranberries one spoonful at a time, just until coated (you won't need all of it - I used two spoonfuls).

Pour one cup of sugar over the berries and combine until coated.

Place berries onto a cookie sheet and let dry/harden for a few hours or overnight. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

eat.

make another batch.

Ricotta Vanilla Bean Pudding

This is a Giada recipe I discovered in December. It turned out to be the perfect dessert for a Christmas dinner! I modified it a bit by making it in ramekins, rather than trying to carefully line a muffin tin with parchment and removing the puddings without breaking them. I also added pomegranate seeds. It turned out great.

It may look overwhelming, but is quite simple, as you just toss all of the pudding ingredients into a blender for a minute, then bake. Seriously, about 5 - 10 minutes to make. And the sauce comes together very quickly also (while you're waiting for the puddings to bake, anyway). One of the best things about this recipe is that you can make it a day ahead of time.


Ricotta Vanilla Bean Pudding

1 (15-ounce) container whole ricotta cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, at toom temperature
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp fine salt
1 vanilla bean (or 2 tsp extract)

In a blender, combine ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese, eggs, heavy cream, maple syrup, sugar and salt. Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds into the blender. (Reserve the vanilla bean pod for the sauce.) [I didn't have a vanilla bean and just used extract in both the pudding and the sauce.]

Blend the mixture until smooth. Pour the batter into 8 - 10 ramekins. Bake ramekins in a water bath for 35 to 40 minutes until puffed and light brown. [The water bath is not required, but gives the pudding a more creamy, cheesecake-like texture.] Move ramekins from the oven to a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes (puddings will deflate during cooling, providing the perfect litle space to put your sauce). Refrigerate puddings for 2 hours (or overnight).

For the sauce:

2 cups fresh (or frozen and thawed) cranberries
1/2 cup water
1 large orange, zested and juiced
1/2 cup sugar, plus extra, as needed
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)


In a medium sauce pan, combine the reserved vanilla bean pod, cranberries, water, orange juice, orange zest and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occassionally. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture has thickened and the liquid has reduced by half, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod and sweeten with extra sugar, to taste, if necessary.


To serve: Top the puddings with cranberry sauce and sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top.