Bring on the Cranberries

Well I missed the Wisconsin Cranberry Marsh Tour but I was in time for a cranberry sale at the grocery store. You know it's autumn when recipes call for fresh cranberries. Whether it's an old family recipe or a new one you want the freshest cranberries available. You want them as crisp and tangy as can be-like they came straight from the bog.

Cranberries are an American native fruit and a favorite seasonal ingredient found in traditional holiday recipes. They were also a Native American staple. The berry helped Indians and colonists survive.

The nutritional power of the fruit cranberries are extremely high in antioxidants and are thought to help prevent heart disease. Iroquois and Chippewa used cranberries for an assortment of medicinal purposes.

Cranberry Trivia

• There are small pockets of air inside cranberries that cause them to bounce. Air also makes the berries float in water. 
• There are approximately 440 cranberries in one pound.
• Cranberries are 90 % water.
• Fresh cranberries can be frozen up to one year in an airtight container.
• Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries. 
• Cranberries do not grow in water but on low running vines in sandy bogs and marshes.
• Americans consume 5,062,500 gallons of jellied cranberry sauce every holiday season. More than 94% of Thanksgiving dinners include some type of cranberry sauce.
• Fresh cranberries stored in the refrigerator are usually good for up to 2 weeks otherwise freeze them. Cranberries last up to one year in the freezer. Buy cranberries in bulk when stores run specials and freeze for a later use. 

Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
Cook's notes: This moist cake is sure to be a crowd pleaser with bursts of tart cranberries and sweet orange icing. It shines as a brunch side or as a dessert for your holiday gatherings. The original recipe called for it being baked in 2 large loaf pans but I used a 13 x 9 pan. Recipe adapted from chefintraining.com
Cake Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp. Saigon Cinnamon 
• 2-1/2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 TB. orange zest
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla 
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. Saigon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup buttermilk 
• Optional 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Orange Glaze Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 TB. orange juice or fresh juice an orange
• 1 TB. orange zest
• 1 TB. milk
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. softened butter

Cake Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 pan or 2 loaf pans.
• Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp. Saigon cinnamon. Add in cranberries and coat with cinnamon sugar mixture. Set aside. 
• In a large bowl cream butter, sugar, vanilla and orange zest for 3 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Use a mixer on low speed and add dry ingredients alternatively with the buttermilk to the butter/sugar/orange zest/egg mixture. 
• Fold in sugared/cinnamon cranberries.
• If using a 13 x 9 pan bake at 25 minutes or when center comes clean using a wooden skewer and cranberries have popped. If using loaf pans check at 40 minutes. 
• Add glaze after cake is cooled.

Orange Glaze:

• Use a whisk and blend ingredients until smooth.