I'm excited to share this recipe that I found in my 1993 Betty Crocker Holidays mini cookbook. These are the kind of cookbooks you can get in the check-out lane at your local supermarket, or subscribe to and get once a month in the mail, or buy in little sets on ebay just for fun. It's kind of embarassing to admit to, but I'm among friends, right? I can't be the only one who has purchased sets of old cookbooks on ebay hoping for a gem or a book, or gem of a recipe from days gone by, right? Anyway, maybe I am. Oh-well. These cookbooks take me way back, back to childhood, and doing the grocery shopping every week with my mom. As we were at the checkout we would look through these little cookbooks while waiting in line, no self check-outs in those days, and if we found something fun to try we would buy the book and cook or bake and then critique the recipes. Now I get to do that with my kids and it is a great 'tradition' to pass on, it's always the little things, isn't it?
This book in particular I got on ebay in a set of random older cookbooks. This is the time of year where I like to page through the holiday eidtions of cookbooks I own, and get ideas for the upcoming parties or dinners and find fun recipes to make with the kiddos. I was flipping through this edition and noting the adorable gingerbread village, too cute candy choo choo trains, and a peachy spiced cider that you brew in your coffee maker, when I noticed Cranberry Cardamom Cake! The title caught my eye since I love cranberry anything and also recently purchased cardamom, for Dorie's Dimply Plum Cake. Above the recipe in the little editor notes area it said, We baked this irresistible Scandinavian cake in a kugelhopf pan. This special fluted pan in available in specialty cookware stores. Ah, the days before amazon and ebay, when you had to drive to the 'big city' to get anything specialty. What a cooincidence that I just purchased a silicone kugelhopf pan on amazon, and it arrived last week! (Did I mention that along with cookbooks and kitchen gadgets, I also love specialty bakeware?) I wasn't even planning to use my new pan until Christmas and here was this recipe, after I read through the ingredients and saw that I had everything on hand I just had to make it!
Cranberry Cardamom Cake
from Betty Crocker Holidays, 1993, No. 87
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk (I used buttermilk, I'm a huge fan)
3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) margarine or butter, melted
3 eggs
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (I used frozen)
Powdered sugar
Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 12 cup bundt cake or kugelhopf pan. Mix flour, sugar, cardamom, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add milk, margarine/butter, and eggs; beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in cranberries.
Spoon into pan.
Bake 50 to 60 minutes (I had to bake for 70) or until tooth-pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
How easy is that? Super easy! And delicious! And pretty! This was such a wonderful recipe. The cardamom gave the cake a nice warm flavor with a touch of spice, but not overpowering at all, just a nice back-up note. All of that sugar didn't make the cake overly sweet, a concern I did have going into this recipe, but went just right with the tart juicy cranberries. The buttermilk kept it extra moist, and it had a nice tender crumb. I would make this cake again for sure, it would be great at a holiday breakfast buffet, it's more of a breakfasty tea time type cake than a dessert cake.
I was really impressed with my silicone pan, I was so nervous about the release, I didn't really prepare the pan, just sprayed it with cooking spray and hoped for the best, apparently that was enough :)
