Christmas Cranberry Pound Cake

Okay, so I might not be the best food and/or dessert photographer, but I promise you that this is one of the best cakes I've ever made!  Even my fiance said it was the best cake he's ever eaten!  I had some leftover cranberries to use so naturally I searched Pinterest for dessert ideas and behold, OMG Chocolate Desserts' recipe for Christmas Cranberry Pound Cake fell into my lap.  She has much better pictures of this scrumptious dessert than I do, so check out her blog for a more photogenic cake.

As many of you know, cranberries are tart on their own, but this recipe sweetens them right up!  Also, as usual, I made a few modifications to her original recipe to suit my preferences.  I used all-purpose flour because it's what I had on hand (just make sure to sift it well!); less granulated sugar than was originally called for; and heavy cream and cream cheese instead of mascarpone cheese, which I couldn't immediately find in my local grocery store.

Christmas Cranberry Pound Cake

Cake Ingredients: 187 grams all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 cup cranberries (fresh or thawed) 5 oz. white chocolate chunk 1/2 cup butter (room temperature) 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream 3.5 oz. cream cheese 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp browned butter Icing Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter (room temperature) 4 oz. cream cheese 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Garnish Ingredients: handful dried cranberries 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 cup white chocolate chips Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350F.  Prep an 8.5x4.5x3 inches loaf pan by coating it thinly with vegetable oil or butter and flour. Combine the flour and baking powder and sift three times.  Set aside. In a small sauce pan over medium heat brown 2.5 tbsp of butter.  Once it's amber in color, remove from the heat, scoop off the foam, and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract, then set aside. In a large bowl, mix the butter on medium speed until it's creamy.  Then add the sugar and continue mixing until creamy. Add the 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp of heavy cream and 3.5 oz of cream cheese and mix on medium speed. Alternate adding the eggs and vanilla and dry ingredients to the mixture while mixing on low speed. In another bowl, combine the cranberries and chocolate chunks.  Throw a small handful of flour into the bowl so that it coats the ingredients.  Sift out the loose flour and then stir in the cranberries and chocolate chunks into the batter. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.  Gently tap the pan onto the counter to shake loose any trapped air bubbles. With a knife, cut a shallow line down the center of the cake.  Pour the browned butter into the line. Bake 55-65 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let the cake cool for 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. After the cake is cool, prepare the frosting.  Mix the butter and cream cheese until smooth, then slowly mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  Frost the cake and then put it in the fridge until the icing is set. Prepare the white chocolate glaze while the icing sets.  On medium heat, melt the white chocolate chips with the vegetable oil, stirring to make sure it doesn't burn.  Once smooth, remove the glaze from the heat and let it cool a couple minutes. Sprinkle dried cranberries onto the frosted cake.  Transfer the glaze into an icing bag (or zip lock bag with a corner cut off) and drizzle it onto the cake.  And voila, ready to eat!