Buttermilk/Cranberry Holiday Cake

I do a few different things with this recipe...it's very nice just left without any of the fillings and yet very good with the extra's.  So I will just list what I have written in my recipes book.

Preheat Oven 350 / Grease and Flour a bundt pan or two loaf pans...about 8X4 or larger if using fillings.  Test for doneness with a spagetti noodle pushed in and comes out dry...watch out for wet cranberries!!  This cake takes a while to bake depending on what you have in it...so don't rush it...get it good and brown watch for the sides of the cake coming away from the pan...is a good sign it's done.  I like lining my loaf pans with parchment...makes the cake easy to lift out and cool.

1 3/4 cups sugar

2/3 cup soft unsalted Butter

2 Eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

3 cups All Purpose Flour

1 3/4 cups Buttermilk ( or I also use powdered Buttermilk sometimes with water) works very good.

2 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

3/4 tsp. salt

In a Medium bowl I shake my dry ingredients..flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda into the bowl through a seive...or use a wisk.  If using buttermilk powder wisk that in to.

Measure  1 1/3 cups water if using powdered buttermilk...Or measure 1 1/3 cups Buttermilk

In large bowl..'KitchenAide' Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add lightly beaten eggs one at a time until completely incorporated.

 Mix Adding Buttermilk and Dry Ingredients alternately.

Now you can gently fold in 1 bag of frozen cranberries.

Or you can add a filling of:

2 cups Brown Sugar

1/3 cup soft unsalted Butter\

2 tsp. cinnamon, 4 Tbsp. Flour, nuts optional,  Mix all together

Pour a little more than half the batter in pan add streusel and top with the rest of the batter.  I recommend this more than placing it on top of the cake as I did in the photo..it tends to burn and takes the cake a very, very long time to cook...so if doing the streusel filling I would recommend that without the cranberries...instead you can use a buttermilk glaze...I have listed recipe...or just leave it plain...

 This is Very Good:  Buttermilk Glaze:  1/2 Cup unsalted Butter, 1 cup Granulated Sugar, 1/2 Cup Buttermilk, 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract...Mix to pour over warm cake.

This is a nice recipe plain or use your imagination...Lemon zest, cranberries, blueberries...just plain is great!

Sylvia

delete double post