Cranberries – Chica Andaluza

Cranberry, Orange and Raisin Cake

December 5, 2014December 8, 2014 Chica Andaluza76 Comments

Cranberries are not just for cranberry sauce and cranberry juice! And we all know they’re good for us, don’t we?! I love that sour taste of Cranberries, Big Man…less so. Oh dear. But he loves cake, so a perfect compromise is to make cake with cranberries in it. I do love a Win/Win cooking situation.

This is a cake for people who are not very good with measuring ingredients as they can find the scales but not the old fashioned weights that go with it. It’s good for folk who have trouble finding the mixer or the electric whisk, who then accidentally turn the oven off for 5 minutes while baking a cake thinking they’ve turned the hob off, then open the oven door to see why the light in the oven seems to have stopped working. Yes, that was me, but this cake is like the hardiest Marine in the Cake Corps – nothing can defeat it, it WILL turn out fine no matter how badly you treat it. You can even half drop the tin as you’re turning the cake out – oh yes, I did that too – but it’s probably going to be prettier if you leave that bit out.

Ingredients for one large cake (serves about 12 – 14 slices)

2 ¼ cups of self raising flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
The grated zest of one orange and the juice from the orange made up to 1/3 cup with water if there is not enough
2 eggs
1 cup yogurt
¾ cup of oil (I used a mix of vegetable oil and olive oil)
1 cup fresh cranberries
½ cup raisins (or any other dried fruit you fancy)

Grease and flour a large baking tin. I used an 11” bundt tin, but a 9” square tin would also work well. Set the oven to 175 degrees C.

Mix together the sugar, orange juice, eggs, yogurt and oil. If you can find your electric whisk, go ahead. If not, use a hand whisk with a bit of fury until all the ingredients are well blended.

Add the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon, then stir in the fruit and zest. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45-50 minutes until the cake is pulling away from the sides of the tin, is browned on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

If you want to top it, mix 8 heaped teaspoons of sifted icing sugar with about 2-3 teaspoons of orange juice (add gradually) until you have a thick pouring paste, and drizzle over.

Make a pot of coffee, cut yourself a good slice of cake, put your feet up and relax…

For another olive oil cake recipe, take a look at my orange and raisin cake.

Cranberry and Citrus Confit

December 30, 2011December 30, 2011 Chica Andaluza32 Comments

I am till trying to squeeze in a few festive recipes before we leave the celebrations behind, I thought I would share this favourite with you. It´s another Delia Smith recipe, tweaked as ever, but enjoyed not only at Christmas. As it is reduced to a jam like consistency, it keeps in the fridge for about a month and can also be made later in the year using sour cherries or even dried (and reconstituted) apricots. Wonderful with cold meats and pickles, or bangers and mash (if you know what that is!).

Ingredients

500g red onions finely sliced (you can use white if red not available)
2 gloves crushed garlic
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of red or white wine vinegar
150g (approx) of cranberries or other sour fruit
Grated zest and juice or an orange plus the zest of a lemon
Optional – ¼ teaspoon of crushed cardamom seeds
Salt & Pepper to season

Cook the onion, garlic and sugar slowly in the oil for about 10-15 minutes- Allow to soften but not to brown. Then add the rest of the ingredients, cover and simmer for 10-15 mins. Remove the lid and reduce for a further 30 mins (approx) until the mixture is thick and jam like in texture. Cool and place in a plastic container. Serve at room temperature.

PS. This morning we planted our garlic. Tradition round here says it should be done around Christmas Eve, preferably when the moon is waning. We´re a bit out of sorts what with Christmas, so they only went in today. About 100 cloves, so fingers crossed that in about 4-5 months we´ll be harvesting!

Boozy Christmas Fruit

December 13, 2011December 13, 2011 Chica Andaluza45 Comments

One of my “go to” books at Christmas is Delia Smith´s Christmas. Sometimes I follow the recipes with just a few tweaks, and other times the book just inspires me to try something new.

My parents are coming out to Spain this year to celebrate Christmas with me and Big Man. To say I´m excited would be a huge understatement. When I was growing up, and ever since to be honest, they always made Christmas a very special and magical time for me and my brother. My grandparents lived with us (my mum´s parents) and next door was my godmother, Zia Luciana, and her two daughters who were all part of our extended family. I have very happy and treasured memories.

Although I have entertained my parents before at Christmas, it´s been a while, so this year I really want to make it extra special. Of course, one of the ways I can do this is through the food I prepare for us to share.

My dad requested a Light Christmas Pudding, which features in the Delia Smith book that I have made previously. I´ll post that soon. I´m also going to make an ice cream inspired by another recipe and I´ve just made some Boozy Christmas Fruit. The recipe in the book uses mainly glacé fruit, but it´s a recipe that is flexible.

Here´s what I used (quantities are up to you)

Dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried apricots (chopped), chopped mixed peel, glacé cherries and ginger

All these are put into a jar and covered in a sweet dessert wine (I used a local wine which is very much like Vin Santo). The recipe calls for Madeira. I took the shot before it was mixed up to show you the different fruits. This will now sit quietly in a cool dark place until Christmas Day when it will be spooned over the ice cream and any other desserts we fancy eating it with. I may have to do a few quality control spot checks beforehand though…just to be sure its maturing nicely you understand.