Spiced Cranberry Bundt Cake

On Christmas morning I decided we needed something besides cookies for dessert after dinner.  You would think I was all baked out, but in between preparing the ham and Alton Brown's macaroni and cheese (yes, that's a keeper) I jumped online to the bon appetit site and perused some of their top dessert recipes and came across this Spiced Cranberry Bundt Cake by Dorie Greenspan.  I wanted something that was not too sweet because between cookies and candy I sort of had enough of that.

This recipe was easy to put together and the end result was very good.  Two ingredients that you may not have on hand are almond flour (aka almond meal or ground almonds) and Chinese five spice powder.  I actually had both so decided to give it a go.  I did substitute walnuts for almonds as I prefer one to the other.  I had never used Chinese five spice powder before this recipe.  Depending upon where you buy the Chinese five spice the ingredients can differ slightly.  The original Chinese five spice ingredients included equal amounts of cassia (cinnamon family), clove, fennel seed, star anise, and Szechuan pepper.  I had purchased McCormick's and the ingredients were anise, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and ginger.

When I opened the spice, the first smell I picked up on was licorice (provided by the star of anise) and then could recognize the cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.  These flavors provide sweetness, but are also pungent.  I was afraid that the cake was going to come out with too much of a licorice taste, but I was completely wrong.  While baking, the cake will fill your kitchen with an aromatic smell of the spices and you will be counting the minutes until it is done so you can try a piece! The cake looks like a typical cranberry nut one, but the taste is much different with the combinations in the Chinese five spice.

In reading the reviews, many stated that this cake truly tastes better as it ages.  I would agree that after sitting for a while and letting the flavors meld together it only gets better.  I would say, though, that is the case for most fruit and nut breads and cakes.

So, if you are looking for a twist on the typical cranberry nut cake I would recommend that you add this recipe to your must try list. 

Spiced Cranberry Bundt Cake

Dorie Greenspan via bon appetit (November 2008 issue)

Printable Recipe

CAKE
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup almond flour or almond meal* (about 2 1/2 ounces)
2 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder**
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain reduced-fat (2%) Greek-style yogurt
1 cup chopped toasted almonds
1 cup halved fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
ICING
1/3 cup powdered sugar
4 teaspoons (about) orange juice

PREPARATION
CAKE
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract, then Greek-style yogurt. Add dry ingredients; beat just until blended. Fold in almonds and all cranberries. Transfer batter to prepared Bundt pan.
Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.  I baked mine for 60 minutes.

ICING (I doubled the icing recipe below.  My cake was still a little bit warm so my frosting ran a little)
Stir powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons orange juice in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Mix in more juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls to reach consistency of heavy cream. Spoon icing over cake, allowing it to drip down sides. Let stand until icing sets, at least 30 minutes.

DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.

*Sometimes labeled "ground almonds"; available at specialty foods stores and natural foods stores.

**A spice blend that usually contains ground fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves; available in the spice section of most supermarkets and online at penzeys.com.