Thursday, November 1, 2012

Cranberry Squares









Looking for something sweet and seasonal that comes together quickly and tastes great? This cranberry cake fits the bill. My neighbor Polly gave me a slice of this a while back and I could have sworn it had almond paste in the recipe. But no, it's almond extract and the rich taste comes from the butter - 1 1/2 sticks of butter. I served it in small pieces at a reception recently, but you can throw cholesterol caution to the wind and make them true squares if you like, as the title suggests. You might be skeptical when you see that it's made without any baking powder, but as you can see from the photo, it rises enough from the eggs in the recipe.  The top is crunchy and breaks apart easily, so make sure you wait until the cake is cool before cutting - preferably with a serrated knife.




The sugared cranberries make a nice accompaniment and are a snap to make. The recipe is below.







Cranberry Squares






1 1/2 cups sugar


2 large eggs


3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly


1 tsp. almond extract


1 1/2 cups all purpose flour


2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries


1/2 cup chopped pecans (I toasted these lightly first to bring out the flavor.)




  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  • Butter a 9-inch square baking pan

  • Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in a large bowl until slightly thickened -- about two minutes.

  • Beat in melted butter and almond extract

  • Add flour and stir until well blended.

  • Stir in cranberries and pecans.

  • Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean - about one hour (I baked it for one hour and 15 minutes.)

  • Cool completely before cutting into squares or smaller pieces.



Sugared Cranberries


1 1/2 cups water


1 1/2 cups sugar


1 1/2 cups cranberries


sugar, or superfine sugar to coat





Bring the water and sugar to a simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Don't boil it or the cranberries will pop when you put them in. Remove the sugar syrup from the heat and dump in the cranberries. Pour it all into a shallow container and place in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. The next day, drain the cranberries (reserve the syrup for another use if you like), then roll in sugar. Use superfine sugar if you like, but I used regular sugar in the photos above. Spread them out on a sheet of waxed paper and let them dry. If you like, you can roll them a second time in more sugar.


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8 comments:

  1. Those look extremely delicious! I love the tartness of cranberries.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Yum! Looks really tasty and what nice photos. Thanks for sharing.
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  3. Made a torta from apples with a very similar dough, which I love. So moist and dense! I love cranberries, so I know I'd love these. My new weekend project!

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  4. Ooh, what great looking treats. This is Bart's kind of snack! Thanks!

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  5. Belli e buoni , segno subito la ricetta. Buona serata Daniela.

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  6. Hi LInda,
    Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to normal to read my favorite blogs and comment. Cranberries have a special place in my heart simply because of our family tradition of making cranberry bread every Thanksgiving and Christmas. This cake sounds even BETTER! Almond is wonderful flavor enhancer!!! Thank you for all of your comments while I was on my trip!

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  7. Love the idea of these. I love to use cranberries and these little squares look like an easy way to make something special quickly. (I won't tell Mr. Rosemary about the butter; he'll think I'm trying to collect the life insurance!)

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  8. Great dessert!. I took the drained cranberry sugar water, added some raspberries and blackberries. I then cooked it down and blended it and passed through fine sieve. Placed in a plastic squeeze bottle and applied to the dish and squares. Oh my! It is a tremendous holiday hit.

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