olive oil cranberry bundt cake

harvesting cranberries | photo: jkb

I love the tasty tartness of cranberries and every year I look forward to the fresh ones available in the grocery store.  I confess to being somewhat jealous of my brother and sister-in-law who live in Massachusetts near a cranberry bog.  Not only is it picturesque, it produces loads of these lovely berries, one of the few native fruits we have in this country.

Most people tend to eat cranberries either as canned jelly or as craisins.  But they're so much more versatile than that.  During the holiday season I make my own cranberry orange relish and love a dollop of it in my morning oatmeal in the winter.  Even more than that I love it in this bundt cake.  I've lost the original source for this recipe over the years but I remember learning about olive oil bundt cakes years ago and being amazed at the thought of olive oil in a cake.  When I discovered how moist the cake was, even days later, I was hooked.  Tinkering with the recipe over the years this is the final version that I came up with.  It's a tasty recipe and I always look forward to making it when fresh cranberries are in season.*

Olive Oil Cranberry Bundt Cake

6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups evaporated cane juice crystals
3/4 cup extra virgin cold pressed olive oil
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup organic buttermilk
2 cups chopped fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Butter a 9 inch bundt pan and dust with flour
In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff
Beat in the cane juice crystals until fluffy
Mix in the olive oil
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
Alternately mix the egg white mixture and the buttermilk into the flour mixture until smooth
Fold in the cranberries and orange zest
Transfer the mixture to the prepared Bundt pan
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean

Note:  this cake can also be made with blueberries instead of cranberries, simply omit the cinnamon 
          and nutmeg.

If desired make a simple orange juice glaze:

1 cup evaporated cane juice crystals
1/4 cup orange juice

blend the cane juice crystals in a blender until finer and more powdery
whisk together with orange juice


*don't forget to buy extra bags of cranberries, they freeze very well