ORANGE CRANBERRY BUTTER LOAF CAKE

Ingredienti

5 g (2 tablespoons) freshly grated orange zest (from one large navel orange)

200 g (1 cup) white granulated sugar

118 g (½ cup) freshly squeezed orange juice (from the zested orange)

270 g (2 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour, bleached or unbleached

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

113 g (½ cup) unsalted butter*, softened

50 g (¼ cup) white granulated sugar

2 large (100 g) eggs, room temperature

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon kosher salt

86 g (6 tablespoons) sour cream, room temperature

110 g (⅔ cup) dried cranberries

1 additional orange for candied orange slices, optional**

Istruzioni

Preheat oven and prepare pan(s). (Use a 1 lb loaf pan or 6 pans of 4 X 2 X 2 or 3 pans of 6 X 3.5 X 2.)

Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.

For the large loaf, prepare an 8-inch (also called a 1-lb) loaf pan by creating a parchment sling and apply a liberal coat of baking spray.

For mini loaves, spray 4 mini loaf pans with baking oil and place them on a sheet pan for easy handling.

Prep components of loaf cake.

Add the orange zest and 200 g (1 cup) white granulated sugar to a small bowl—massage with your fingers to release the fragrant citrus oils. Set the bowl aside for now.

Squeeze all the juice from the zested orange. You need ½ cup of total liquid for the cake but if your orange doesn’t have enough juice, just add water to the juice until you get ½ cup of total liquid. Set that aside for now. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.

Make the loaf batter with the prepped components.

Add the softened butter to a large mixing bowl. Add the 50 g (¼ cup) of sugar and mix on medium-high speed for one minute. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, salt, and orange zest-sugar mixture and mix for another minute. Stir in the sour cream.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and orange juice in this order: ⅓ of the flour, ½ of the orange juice, another ⅓ of the flour, the remaining orange juice, and finish with the last ⅓ of the flour.

Fold in the dried cranberries (and feel free to add a bit more if you want more cranberries) and pour the batter into the prepared pans. The mini pans I've linked will hold around 250-260 grams of batter each.

Bake until the tops are golden brown.

Bake the 1-lb loaf pan for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or the mini loaves for 45-55 minutes.

You’ll know they’re done when they have domed and deep golden brown tops. They should have a large crack on the surface. A skewer inserted in the middle will come out greasy with no crumbs. Using a thermometer, aim for centers around 190-200 °F/89-93 °C.

While the cake is still warm and in the pan, soak the cake(s) with syrup if desired. See the footnotes below.

Allow the loaves to cool completely before removing them from their pans. The large loaf pan has a sling that can be lifted to remove the large cake. The mini loaves sometimes stick to the paper, so I tend to rip them open on the sides and peel them off the cakes.

Note

Adriana's Notes

*I love cultured butter like Kerrygold Unsalted Butter for this cake. The acidity of the butter enhances that coming from the sour cream to create an intensely buttery and tangy cake.

**While baking cakes, I like to make candied orange slices. Place 50 grams (¼ cup) of sugar and 120 grams (½ cup) of water in a small pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add sliced oranges, peel and all. You can do as thick as you like, but I aim for ⅛-¼ inch slices. Allow the oranges to simmer in the syrup for about 30-45 minutes or until the cake is done baking. If during this process you see the water level is too low, you can add more. When the cakes are done baking and are slightly warm, you can poke holes along the top (using a toothpick) and brush on some of that orange-scented syrup. Once the cakes are done cooling, you can arrange the slices along the top however you like.

https://www.sugarologie.com/recipes/orange-cranberry-butter-loaf-cake