Cranberry Crackle Tart - Tuesdays with Dorie - Baking Chez Moi

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Cranberry Crackle Tart
Cranberry Crackle Tart

This tart is the reason I love Tuesdays with Dorie.

It has meringue.

You might think I'm excited about the recipe because I love meringue.

But it's quite the opposite. I hate meringue. (It's this sweet, sticky cloud that gets in the way of the lemon filling in a lemon meringue pie). And that's why this group is awesomesauce.

Tuesdays with Dorie makes you bake things outside your taste and comfort zone. If you know me, you know my comfort zone is Bundt cakes, scones, muffins, and Jello. Never, ever meringue. But since this is Recipe #2 of Tuesdays with Dorie/Baking Chez Moi edition, it was time to settle in and get those eggs to room temperature to whisk, whisk, whisk!

By the way, I'm so excited to see so many friendly faces from the first round of Tuesdays with Dorie!! This is a fun baker's reunion! And I'm looking forward to meeting the new faces too! :)

Cranberry Crackle Tart
First, you make sweet tart dough and put it into the tart shell or pie tin. Um, I seem to have moved my rolling pin someplace very very safe and secret...and can't seem to find it. So, garbanzo beans to the rescue! Yes, I was even too lazy to get out the step stool to grab the bottle of vodka on the top shelf of the cabinet!

Dorie reveals her new technique - that I LOVE. Instead of making the dough, forming into a disc and chilling it for a couple hours, THEN rolling it out (which is a pain because it is hard and cold).... Dorie now makes the dough, forms it into a disc and rolls it out between sheets of parchment paper while still soft! Brilliant! She does chill the dough in the pie or tart shell before baking or using it.

Cranberry Crackle Tart
I made a 4" tart and a few mini tarts (I used 1/2 a recipe of sweet tart dough). I did make a two egg white meringue and tossed some of it because I know it is difficult to whip up just one egg white - at least two eggs work better.

A layer of jam is placed at the bottom of the shell and the meringue with cranberries it layered on top.

My tart shells got a little too brown, but they were tasty!

Cranberry Crackle Tart
The tart bakes at 300 degrees for an hour (mine baked for less time because they were smaller).

Cranberry Crackle Tart
I'm not sure if this is how the meringue is supposed to turn out. The crackle top was tasty, but, as I said before, not a fan of the meringue so I didn't care for the eggy middle. I did enjoy the added cranberries - that was a tart treat amid all that meringue.

Cranberry Crackle Tart
The mini minis had very little eggy meringue inside and were mostly crackle crunch (so I liked them best!).

We aren't publishing the recipes on Tuesdays with Dorie...but this recipe happens to be online at The Splendid Table and on Dorie's website.

Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers and their creations here!

Happy Thanksgiving! - mary the food librarian
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Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 7 with Snapware Giveaway!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
I Like Big Bundts 2013 - Day 7 

It's Day 7 of I Like Big Bundts 2013 and I cannot lie, I'm happy to be almost half-way there! National Bundt Day is November 15th and I hope you'll bake a Bundt to celebrate the best food holiday ever.

Today, we have a special Bundt and a very special giveaway too! Fun times people. Fun times.

In 2010, cookbook author Christie Matheson emailed me about Bundt cakes, and I ended up in her book Cake Simple. (It was sooo cool - see the page here!) For Day 7 of my little Bundt celebration, I made a delicious bundt from the book that uses a favorite holiday leftover: cranberry sauce!

What's the best part of Thanksgiving? Of course, the leftovers! Snapware has a line of leak-proof food storage containers that are pretty awesome. The bowls are Pyrex with BPA-free leak-proof lids that are color coded and have a Write n' Erase space.

Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
I'm really into noting the prep date of my food and sometimes throw a piece of blue painters tape on it. However, these lids make it so much easier and the writing washes off when you do the dishes!

Snapware gave me their Total Solution 8-piece Glass Food Storage set (two 4-cup medium squares, one 1-cup small round, one 4-cup medium round) for me to try out. They are easy to use, leak-proof (I held one upside down with cranberry sauce in it). I love that they are Pyrex because that makes microwaving easy as pie. And, let's get to your benefit, the cool thing is that they are giving one set to a reader!

** UPDATED: GIVEAWAY IS OVER. Congrats to Sara D who won! **

Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
This cake is easy to make. It involves two layers of whole cranberry sauce and batter. I used a 10-cup Bavaria Bundt Pan (isn't it pretty?!)

Be sure to make a double batch of cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving - you have to have some on your turkey sandwiches, yogurt, and this cake! I'm including the recipe from the book that uses both brown and white sugar.

Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
The cake is topped with a cranberry, almond extract, powdered sugar glaze. The cranberry juice provides a lovely pink color.

Cranberry Crème Fraîche BundtThis is my first time baking with crème fraîche. Oh my goodness, where have you been all my life? This is just great stuff. It's so smooth.

The book has instructions to make your own crème fraîche, but I didn't have time to make it myself so I picked up this carton for $4.99 (next time, I should definitely make it myself as it will be less expensive).

Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Make some extra cranberry sauce and go to town with this Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt!
Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Recipe adapted from Cake Simple: Recipes for Bundt-Style Cakes from Classic Dark Chocolate to Luscious Lemon Basil

Find the book in your library or on Amazon!

Cake:
1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, room temp
2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (300 grams) sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (240 ml) crème fraîche (the book has a recipe for homemade crème fraîche, but I didn't have time to make it and purchased it)
2 cups whole berry cranberry sauce (fresh or canned)
1/2 cup (45 grams) chopped toasted almonds (I omitted the almonds)

Directions for cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 10-cup Bundt pan (This is a smaller cake so the 10-cup Bundt pan is fine to use. I used the Bavaria Bundt) with Pam with Flour, Baker's Joy or by greasing and flouring the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
3. In a standing mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Add vanilla and mix to combine.
4. On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture (3 increments) with the creme fraiche (2 increments) , beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
5. Pour half the batter into the pan. Swirl half the cranberry sauce on top. Add the rest of the batter on top, then the rest of the cranberry sauce (I used about 1 1/2 cups of cranberry sauce instead of 2 cups). Sprinkle the almonds on top (I omitted the almonds in my Bundt).
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and the cake springs back when touched.
7. Let the cake cool in the pan on a cake rack for 15 minutes, then invert onto rack to cool completely.
8. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake. Enjoy!

Cranberry Glaze:
1 cup (93 grams) powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 Tablespoon cranberry juice

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. To get the cranberry juice, remove 1 Tablespoon of juice while making the whole berry cranberry sauce - about 10 minutes into the simmering of the sauce. If you use canned sauce, remove some from the can. If glaze is too thick, thin with water or milk.

Cranberry Crème Fraîche Bundt
Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce:
12 ounces  fresh cranberries
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup (147 grams) brown sugar
1/3 cup (70 grams) white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the all the sauce ingredients. Cook for 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Let cool completely before using it in the cake.



Disclosure: World Kitchen LLC gave me a Snapware Total Solution Storage Set and a gift card to reimburse the cost of ingredients. The opinions and ideas expressed are my own. World Kitchen LLC is providing this prize for one reader who will be selected at random and contacted by email. Giveaway ends November 13, 2013 at 12am PST. Giveaway is only open to residents of the United States.
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Spiced Cranberry Bundt Cake - Day #13 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Spice Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2011
Spiced Cranberry Bundt
I Like Big Bundts - Day #13

Happy Saturday! It's Day #13 of I Like Big Bundts...my crazy marathon of 30 Bundts in 30 days! I hope you celebrate National Bundt Day on November 15th!

Today's Bundt is really special! It's Dorie Greenspan's Spiced Cranberry Bundt. I made it with Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet when I visited her earlier this month in Connecticut (see my BlogMary post here). It's fitting that we made a Dorie Greenspan recipe because Dorie, without knowing it, brought Mary and I together!

In 2008, Mary and I were both in the online group Tuesdays with Dorie...baking our way through Dorie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. Mary wrote me an email starting with "I'm in Tuesdays with Dorie too..." asking for Los Angeles restaurant recommendations...and a friendship was born. Thanks Dorie for not only your delicious recipes and wonderful cookbooks, but for helping two people named Mary meet!

I Like Big Bundts 3
The submission info can be found here! Just submit by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a button for baking along with me!

Spiced Cranberry Bundt collage
We made our cake by pulverizing some slivered almonds for the almond flour, and toasted some almonds for the batter. East Coast Mary had a bag of cranberries in the freezer (something I must do this year) so we had frozen cranberries and dried cranberries. This bundt has a delicious combo of spices: Chinese five-spice powder, ground ginger and ground cinnamon.

Spice Cranberry Bundt - I Like Big Bundts 2011

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze

Recipe: Click here for recipe on Bon Appetite site

Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan
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Martha Stewart's Zucchini and Cranberry Muffins

Friday, January 23, 2009

Martha Stewart's Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins
Martha Stewart's Zucchini and Cranberry Muffins

The other morning, in my sleep deprived, inaugural euphoria, I pulled out Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook and flipped through a few pages. Since I only had about an hour before I had to leave for work, I skipped the twelve-tier cake and yeast breads...and went directly for the muffins and quick breads.

There it was! Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins on page 37! I have some cranberries in the freezer and a few zucchini in the refrig! Score!

By the way, if you don’t have Martha’s book in your collection, you should really consider adding it. The photos are great and Martha’s crazy OCD attention to details makes for good instructions.

Martha Stewart's Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins
Flecks of zucchini green and pops of red cranberry...yum!

Martha Stewart's Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins Martha Stewart's Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins
Dry: 1 3/4 c flour, 1/2 t baking powder, 1/2 t baking soda, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t salt
Wet: 2 eggs, 1 c sugar, 1/2 c vegetable oil, 1/2 t vanilla, 1 c finely shredded zucchini
Combine dry and wet then add 1/2 cup cranberries (Martha says to keep them whole but I quartered mine). As with all muffins, don't overmix!! I topped mine with some sanding sugar too.
I baked them at 375 for 25-30 minutes, and I got 11 muffins (Martha says you should get 10). I always tip my muffins shortly after they come out of the oven so the bottoms don't get soggy.

Martha Stewart's Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins
Finally, these are muffins.
M-U-F-F-I-N-S.
No, not little cakes pretending to be muffins that you can find at Starbucks and Costco.
These are light and a bit tangy with the cranberries. And I must admit...if they were mini-muffins I could probably polish off ten of them. Or, perhaps a cool dozen!

Do you have some frozen cranberries stashed in your freezer? You should try this recipe! (hint, hint Mary Ann! :)
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