This cake just screams Christmas season; chocolate, cranberries and orange. Perfect with a cup of coffee! And…you can make it ahead and tuck into the freezer.
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. grated orange rind (a micro-plane is an excellent tool for this)
2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
6 oz. good quality white chocolate, chopped into ¼” pieces
Glaze:
3 oz. good quality white chocolate
2 Tbsp. orange juice
Make The Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease & flour the cake pan (or use non-stick cooking spray).
Beat the butter & sugars on medium-low speed, with an electric mixer until fluffy; beat in the eggs, orange juice & rind. Beat in the flour & baking powder. Fold in the cranberries & chopped chocolate. Place the batter into the prepared pan & bake for 60 – 70 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes then turn onto a cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.
Make The Glaze:
Melt the white chocolate & orange juice over low heat or in a microwave on medium for approximately 1 ½ minutes. Whisk until smooth; allow the glaze to cool for 5 minutes or so, then drizzle over the cake.