I remember being shocked and awed when I learned how cranberries were harvested. The mental image of a bunch of people in waders sloshing around in an artificial bog with millions of cranberries floating around was delightful – undoubtedly a lot more time consuming and tricky than I’m making it out to be but what a way to gather bucket loads (boatloads, if you will) of these deep crimson gems. Cranberries are strange, if you think about it. An entire bag of them weighs less than anything else you can pick up in the produce section, and they hard and dry until you toss them in with sugar and water and suddenly they’re popping like mad and simmering away into the best (hands down) Thanksgiving side dish (open to argument but cranberry sauce is AMAZING). The color alone is worth doing something with, which is what I tried to do with this gluten free cranberry bundt cake!
Bundt cakes have become a bit of an obsession for fall desserts for me; they’re versatile, gorgeously-shaped cakes are not only WAY easier than making a layer cake every week (even though that is a fantastic challenge), they’re also the perfect canvas for pouring tiny pitcher-fulls of multi-colored glazes, which, as a food photographer, is always a huge plus. Thank goodness for remote capture apps that connect to my actual camera so that I can pursue my side-career in hand-modeling around baked goods! But in all seriousness, I never used to be a big fan of bundts, but this year is the year of the bundt, folks, and I’m always on the lookout for a new shape or style that will mold the perfect cranberry cake or other delightful fall flavors. This one, at least, is the perfect addition to the Thanksgiving table, or any fall micro-dinner party you happen to host.
If you’re already a fan of cranberries, check out our cranberry clafoutis or cranberry yogurt bread or even this cranberry apple crisp that’s the perfect mix of tart bright cranberries and cozy apples tucked under a brown sugar, pecan, and oat crumble. Get your fall baking on!
Gluten Free Cranberry Bundt Cake with Cranberry Glaze
Equipment
- 10-cup bundt pan
- Small saucepan
- Sieve
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
For the cranberry sauce (goes into the bundt cake):
- 1 1/2 Cups fresh whole cranberries
- 1/2 Cup water
- 1/2 Cup white sugar
For the cranberry bundt cake:
- 3/4 Cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 Cup white sugar
- 1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 Cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 Cup cranberry sauce recipe above, instructions below
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum included (if your mix doesn't contain xanthan gum, add 3/4 tsp now)
- 1 1/2 Cups packed blanched almond flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp each: ground nutmeg, ground cardamom
- 2 3/4 Cups fresh whole cranberries
For the cranberry glaze:
- 2 Tbsp sieved pureed cranberry sauce
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/4 Cup powdered sugar
Instructions
To make the cranberry sauce:
- First, make the cranberry sauce! In a small saucepan, combine the water and the sugar and bring to a low boil until sugar dissolves. Pour in the cranberries and cook on a low simmer for 10 minutes until cranberries have popped and softened and a sauce has formed. Then remove from heat and let cool completely.
To make the cranberry bundt:
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and generously grease a 10-cup bundt pan with butter, then set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and white and brown sugars until lighter and fluffy. Add in the eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and orange zest and continue to beat.
- Then, scoop 1/2 cup of the cranberry sauce you made into a blender or nutribullet and blend with the orange juice until smooth. Pour into your cake batter and beat to combine. Then add in the flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt, and spices and stir together using a spatula or wooden spoon. Finally, add in the remaining whole cranberries and stir to combine. Scoop batter into your prepared bundt pan, give it a shake to make the batter settle into the crevices, then bake for 70-80 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of one of the sides of the bundt comes out clean. Let cool completely before turning out of bundt pan (this will take an hour or two if you're using a heavy-weight bundt pan).
To make the glaze:
- While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. Puree about 1/2 cup of the remaining cranberry sauce with the additional orange juice until smooth. Then strain the mixture through a sieve (you might need to strain it 2-3 times) until you have a completely smooth, thin juice left. If it's still thick, add more orange juice directly to it until it's liquidy. Pour 3 Tbsp of the resulting juice into a bowl and add in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir with a spoon or whisk until totally smooth and all lumps have dissolved. If you like your glaze thicker, add more powdered sugar, or add more orange juice if you want it thinner.
- Once cake is cool, turn it out onto a plate or serving platter, and pour glaze over the top. Then serve!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your mini bundt cake!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
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