Can I use frozen cranberries in this pound cake?

Yes. Add them straight from the freezer, still frozen, tossed in the same tablespoon of flour. Thawed cranberries bleed their juice into the batter and turn it pink, and they sink more easily. Frozen berries stay in place and keep their tart pop.

I only have a loaf pan, not a bundt. Does the recipe still work?

It does. Divide the batter between two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans and bake at 325°F for 45 to 55 minutes. The crumb stays the same; you simply trade the bundt ridges for two giftable loaves. Watch the skewer test, since loaf pans bake a little faster at the edges.

Why did my glaze slide off the cake and pool on the plate?

The cake was still warm, or the glaze was too thin. Glaze only a completely cold cake, and check the ribbon: it should hold its shape on the surface for about five seconds. Two thin passes, ten minutes apart, grip far better than one thick pour.

The top of my pound cake cracked. Did I do something wrong?

No, a crack along the crown is the signature of a pound cake, not a flaw. The crust sets while the center is still rising, and it splits along the middle. Once the glaze goes on in two passes, the crack disappears under the white cap.

How do I keep the cranberries from sinking to the bottom?

Three things together: chop the berries so they are light, toss them in flour, and layer the batter into the pan in two additions. Big whole berries in a single pour are the usual cause of the soggy line at the base of the cake.

Cranberry Orange Pound Cake With A Thick Orange Glaze

Ingredients

Scale

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon for the cranberries
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 large oranges, about 2 tablespoons
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
For the glaze: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice, 1 teaspoon orange zest, plus a few chopped cranberries to scatter

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Instructions

Heat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan with butter, dust with flour and tap out the excess, coating the center tube and every ridge.
Rub the granulated sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips for about a minute, until the sugar looks damp and smells intensely of orange.
Add the butter to the orange sugar and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
Whisk the 3 cups of flour, the baking powder and the salt in a second bowl.
Add the flour mixture to the butter bowl in three parts, alternating with the sour cream mixed with the orange juice, beginning and ending with flour. Mix on low only until each addition disappears.
Toss the chopped cranberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour and fold them through the batter.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and smooth it, then add the rest. Rap the pan on the counter twice to settle the batter.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until deep golden and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out clean.
Rest in the pan for 15 minutes, turn out onto a rack over a tray, and cool completely, at least 1 hour.
Whisk the glaze ingredients into a thick glaze that falls in a slow ribbon. Spoon half over the cold cake, wait 10 minutes, then spoon on the rest and scatter the chopped cranberries over the wet glaze.

Author: Chef Rita
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour

Nutrition

Calories: 465
Sugar: 44
Sodium: 210
Fat: 21
Carbohydrates: 66
Fiber: 2
Protein: 6
Cholesterol: 120