Cranberry Swirl Cake

I promise, I made cranberry sauce to go with some kind of meat. I have no idea how it ended up in cake:-) This was the first time I made a cranberry sauce at home. In fact, this was my first time cooking with cranberries. Until now I did not even know that we could buy frozen cranberries in Australia. We are always using the dried cranberries for everything. So, when I discovered it in the freezer section of my local supermarket, I wanted to jump. It was nice to see them outside the Internet, in my hands. Oh hello, Cranberries!

Making the sauce was easy, just like any other jam or chutney. The problem happened when I was looking up protein combinations to go with the sauce. I came across pages that talked about ‘using up leftover cranberry sauce’. Some mentioned Cake. Distraction!

Now I only wanted to make cake. Maybe the leftover sauce could go into savory food. The definition of leftover still remains the same? Anyway, I was glad that I made the cake because it was delicious. The tangy sweet sauce made it a delight to eat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a frosted bundt cake. Why not…I thought to myself! Well, I need to tell you the real inspiration behind the look of this cake. A few weeks ago, I watched the movie Burnt at a theater. I was literally waiting for the movie release as you can imagine…it was all about food, passion and restaurants. Beautifully plated and styled food. I did not enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed glimpses of the food. And I just could not forget the cake, Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) served to the little girl on her birthday. That cake was far, far more beautiful than this one but I had no idea what and how it was made. When I saw the shape of my cake as I turned it out on the wire rack, I thought I might get it to look a bit like the cake in the movie.

You could make your’s in a bundt pan or a normal 7 inch pan. I’ve used whipped cream frosting to keep things easy and the sauce went into the frosting as well. The consistency of my cranberry sauce was quite thick, like jam so it blended well with the cream. You could use store bought cranberry sauce as well.

Here’s a little dialogue from the movie
‘Cooking should be consistent in experience, but not consistent in taste. I want people to sit at the table and be sick with longing.’ -Chef Adam Jones

I can’t agree more with you Chef!

Cranberry Swirl Cake
Makes an 8 inch bundt cake

120 g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups plain flour
220 g Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla essence
11/4 cup cranberry sauce (home-made or store bought)

Cranberry Sauce
3 cups frozen cranberries, thawed
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp grated orange or lemon zest

Cranberry Whipped Cream (makes about 2 cups of frosting)
1 cup heavy cream/double cream/thickened cream, cold
11/2 tbsp castor sugar (more as per sweetness desired)
1/3 cup chilled cranberry sauce
few drops pink food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (16 degrees C for fan forced)
Beat butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Add  eggs, one at a time until bleneded. Mix together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture alternately greek yogurt. Add vanilla. Grease well, an 8-inch Bundt pan. Spread a layer of batter in the bottom of the pan, then scatter 1/3 of the cranberry sauce. Swirl with a knife. Repeat layers of batter, then cranberry sauce, swirling each layer with a knife. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until fully cooked (a skewer inserted into the pan should come out clean).

Leave in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack. Once cooled, frost with whipped cream or enjoy plain. I’ve used a large star tip to make the pattern

To make the Cranberry Sauce : Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue boiling for 5-10 minutes or until the cranberries become a soft mush and sauce has thickened. Cool to room temperature. Por into a clean jar and refrigerate until needed.

To make the cranberry whipped cream , Place the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 15 minutes before whisking the cream. Place the cream and sugar in the bowl and whisk only until very soft peaks form. Then add the cranberry sauce, food colour and beat just until stiff peaks form. Add more sugar or puree as needed. Refrigerate until needed.