Cranberry Crumb Cake

I have to say, I think this is my most favorite cranberry dessert I’ve ever made.  While not terribly photogenic, it was very delicious.  A dense, moist cake, almost pound-cake like full of tart cranberries that perfectly balance out the sweetness of the cake.  I topped it with a delicious oatmeal walnut crumble.

Completely delicious.  I found the original recipe on Bob Vivant and altered it a bit, adding the crumble and a tiny bit of baking powder.  I didn’t have any amaretto, so I subbed some almond extract and brandy in it’s place.  I think it would have been a lot prettier to photograph without the crumble on the top, but to me, the crumble made the cake!

Ingredients

3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
11 T unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tspn. vanilla
1 tspn. almond extract
1 1/2 T Brandy or Rum
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups cranberries (1 bag), fresh or frozen

Crumble:
1/2 C room temperature butter
3/4 C flour
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/2 C quick cooking oats
1 tspn. cinnamon
1/2 C chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Lightly grease a 9 or 10” springform pan.

3. Beat eggs and sugar together on medium speed until the mixture is pale yellow and silky looking, about 3-5 minutes.

4. Add soft butter, vanilla, almond extract and liqour and continue mixing for 2 minutes.

5. Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour.

6. Fold in the cranberries.

7. In a separate bowl combine all crumble ingredients with your clean hands until “crumbly”

8. Evenly spread the batter into the pan and sprinkle with the crumble topping.

8.Bake for 70 minutes or more depending on the pan size. Cake is done when firm to touch. (If the top gets too brown, lightly cover the pan with foil.)

9.Allow to cool several hours before serving.