Bake Someone Happy

Woo hoo! It was my turn to bring a snack to a group event this week. Since we have an empty nest at our house we don't need the temptation of a whole cake sitting around, begging to be eaten, so I'm happy when I have the opportunity to make something special to share with a group. I love the combination of cranberry and orange flavors and when I saw the recipe for this pretty coffee cake I knew I had to try it.

Candied Orange Cranberry Swirl Breakfast Bread

Makes 12 servings. 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel

1 cup sour cream

1 cup canned whole cranberry sauce, stirred

1/3 cup Candied Orange Peel

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons orange juice

1/4 cup chopped craisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch fluted tube pan or an 8-ince tube pan. Stir together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, sale and nutmeg. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with mixer on medium to high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the 1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

In a small bowl, stir together cranberry sauce and 1/4 cup of the Candied Orange Peel. Spread one-third of the batter into the prepared pan. Carefully spread half the cranberry mixture over batter. Repeat layers. Spread remaining batter evenly over top. Using a knife, gently swirl batter and cranberry mixture. Do not over mix. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Remove cake from pan; cool thoroughly on wire rack.

For icing, in a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and orange juice. Stir in additional orange juice until icing reaches drizzling consistency. Drizzle icing over cake. Sprinkle with the remaining Candied Orange Peel and the dried cranberries.

Do you have a zester?

For years I used a box grater to zest citrus fruit for recipes but I find it so much easier with this handy little tool. An added plus is that it's inexpensive and small enough to be easy to store. Happy zesting!