It’s been all about sweets lately. Cakes, biscuits, ice-cream, bliss balls and some more sweets. I’m trying hard not to overdose on the sugary treats, but it’s a mission impossible when I’m the one making them all sweet goodies and the one tasting them all!
This Cranberry Pound Cake is one of the latest creations born in our new kitchen. It has a loveliest soft texture with plenty of fluffiness to it and a good zing to its taste.
I used frozen cranberries in the batter, but I’m sure fresh cranberries will be fine, if not better, to use as well. Lemon juice and zest added the extra tang to compliment the cranberries and mask any slight bitterness they may have.
It’s a gorgeous tasting and looking little cake and I believe it will make a perfect Christmas foodie gift for any cake lover out there.
I hope you are all enjoying the festive season and all the perks that happen to come with it. Have a wonderful Christmas folk and enjoy the festivities!
Ingredients
150g butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
200ml sour cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1 cup frozen cranberries
For the icing
1 cup icing ( confectioners sugar )
2 tsp milk
1 tsp lemon juice ( see notes )
Method
Preheat oven to 180C
Prepare 21cm diameter bundt cake pan. Butter it well ensuring every nook and cranny is greased.
- In a bowl of a mixer cream butter and sugar until white and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating for up to a minute between each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- In a separate bowl mix sour cream, 1 tbsp lemon juice and lemon zest.
- In another separate bowl mix both self-raising and plain flour together.
- Mix 1/4 of the flour into the butter, egg and sugar mixture.
- Add 1/2 of the sour cream mix and mix well.
- Add rest of the flour and sour cream mix and mix well to combine.
- Fold frozen cranberries through the batter, then spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan spreading it evenly.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake and rotate it if one side is browning more than the other.
- Once cake is removed from the oven, leave it to cool for 5 minutes before turning upside down onto a cooling rack. To help the cake to pop out of the pan easily, gently run a sharp knife around the edges of pan and cake. Let cake cool completely before icing it.
- To make the frosting, mix icing sugar milk and lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk well to ensure there are no lumps, or best of all sieve the icing sugar prior mixing it with the liquid ingredients.
- Pour the icing on top of the cooled cake in a circular motion letting it drop down naturally.
Notes
Getting the thickness of the frosting right can be a little tricky since it is very easy to make it a bit too runny. To prevent that, I recommend starting with making a frosting a little thicker to begin with and add more liquid to it if required so or until it reaches desired consistency.
My very patient little assistant has his eyes on the slice.