TWD: Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

Da da da daaaaaaaaaaa! Woo hoo! It's my pick for TWD this week! Yeeee haaaw, y'all! Two years ago (plus one week) I posted my first TWD recipe (rugelach if you're curious). I was in Washington D.C., and I was a newly declared Singleton in the kitchen. At that time I was a little sad and a little nervous to be in the kitchen cooking for myself by myself, but in the past two years I've grown to love my solitary little kitchen. And I've had several people ask, what's going to happen to the Singleton when Dudley and I tie the knot. And as to that, I'm not sure I have it figured out yet. I think there's a happy medium someplace. I just love to be alone in the kitchen now. No one is there to see my mess, to see my mishaps, to stick fingers in the wrong places at the wrong time, or, heaven forbid, move ingredients around. On the other hand, as lovely as it is to cook for yourself (you can have whatever you'd like whenever you'd like to have it), it's even lovlier to share what you've cooked or baked with the people you love.

And this brings me to my TWD pick. As I mentioned, when I started TWD I was all by my lonesome in Washington, DC. I generally baked what I wanted to eat. Then Dudley moved up to DC and I tried to bake things that we could share. Now I'm back in Houston and when I bake I try to think of what Dr. M and Miss A would like to share with me. I had several options for my TWD pick this week; the oatmeal nutmeg scones were calling my name (and don't the toasted almond scones on the previous page look scrumptious, too?), several cookies and bundt cakes, Far Breton, the sour cream pumpkin pie, and I have to say, the "depths-of-fall" butternut squash pie has always intrigued me. I happen to love cranberries, though, and we're just entering the season for this gorgeous red fruit. It seems to me that many recipes that call for cranberries rely on dried cranberries; don't get me wrong, I love a dried cranberry but I liked that this recipe called for fresh cranberries. In the end, I chose the Not-Just-for-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake because it seemed seasonal, sounded yummy and interesting, and people could "play around" with the fillings if cranberries aren't quite their thing.

If you're looking for process pictures you've come to the wrong place. I only have two hands and the one time I attempted process pictures I ended up with flour all over my camera. No way. I love those pictures but I'll leave it to the experts! You can just use your imagination to picture my lovely cranberries, tangerine zest (I didn't have an orange handy) and slices simmering away with a cup of sugar to create a lovely red jam. And then you can picture the butter, sugar, flour, eggs, etc blending together to make a sticky tart dough. Next, you can picture yours truly beating the tart dough into submission -- I just had a few little tears this time. My version of this cake is a little thinner than it should be. I can't bring myself to purchase another springform pan when I'm secure in the knowledge that there are several boxed up, patiently waiting for me, in storage. So, I used the tart pan again. Eeek! But, hey, it works out really well, and you get a pretty fluted edge. So, if you don't mind a thinner, more tart-ish cake, a tart pan works just fine.

I served the cranberry version of this cake to Dr. and Mrs. M, Miss A and her boyfriend, J, for dessert. The results were mixed:  Mrs. M doesn't like "dough or crust" so this would never work for her. Dr. M and I loved the cake. We thought it was practically perfect in every way; we loved the cranberries, the crust, the flavor, it was a big hit in our corner. Dr. M even called this dessert, "sublime" -- seriously high praise. Miss A and J thought the cranberry jam was overwhelmingly, horribly tart. Booo! I have yet to reach the point where I don't care if people like something I bake or not. I always want people to be happy and enjoy their sweets, so I decided I'd try the apple version next. 

I made the apple version by creating a cinnamon apple concoction first (similar to the cranberry jam) because I was worried about all of the liquid in the apples. The rest of the recipe was exactly the same and Dr. M, Miss A, and yours truly all tried this version. The result:  Dr. M and I prefer the cranberry version, Miss A loved the apple version. I liked the apple version quite a bit, but on the heels of the All-American apple pie it doesn't quite cut the mustard for me. I think I just love the contrast of the tart cranberries with the buttery sweet shortbread crust. At any rate, I'm 100% smitten with this recipe because it seems infinitely adaptable. My mind is spinning with different fillings to use for this dessert. Dr. M wants a raspberry version, and I can't get the idea of using a pineapple-vanilla bean filling out of my head. I also think a strawberry-rhubarb filling would be just lovely with this crust, or what about cherry-lime? Apricots are another fruit that seem perfect in this cake, and that leads me to mention peaches and plums, too. If you happen to be in the more-is-more camp, Miss A and J suggested chocolate, but that seems a little tricky to me. If I liked marmalade I'd be dying to try the marmalade version of this cake, but I don't really like marmalade so I'll probably pass on that version for now. I fully expect the pinapple-vanilla bean version to make an appearance around here sometime soon, and I'm definitely trying the strawberry rhubarb version in the spring.

Thanks to everyone who baked along with me this week! It's a such a treat to host, and I can't wait to see the different versions of this cake! 

Not-Just-For-Thanksgiving Cranberry Shortbread Cake

Baking From My Home to Yours pg 208-209

Ingredients

For the Jam Filling:

1 large navel orange

about 1/4 cup of orange juice

1 12-ounce bag cranberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)

About 1 cup sugar

For the Cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 stick plus 5 tablespoons (13 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To Make the Jam Filling:

Grate the zest of an orange into a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Slice off the peel, removing the white, cottony pith that sticks to the fruit, and slice between the membranes to release the orange segments. Cut the segments into 1/4-inch wide pieces and toss these into the pan. Working over a measuring cup, squeeze the juice from the membranes -- if you have 1/4 cup, great; if not, add enough additional orange juice (or water) to make 1/4 cup -- and pour it into the pan. 

Put the cranberries in the pan, stir in 3/4 cup of sugar, set the pan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook, stirring almost constantly, until the cranberries pop and your spoon leaves tracks, about 5 minutes. Scrape the jam into a bowl and taste it -- if it's too tart, add more sugar to taste. Cool to room temperature. (The filling can be made up to 2 weeks ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)

To Make the Cake: 

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and smooth. Add 1 cup of sugar and continue to beat until it dissolves into the butter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the egg and egg yolk and, beating until they too are absorbed. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture, mixing only until it is incorporated; since this is a delicate dough, one that should not be over beaten, you might want to finish mixing in the flour by hand using a sturdy spatula. You'll have a thick dough, one that is quite malleable. 

Turn the dough out onto a smooth surface and gather it together in a ball, then divide in half and pat each half into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic and refrigerate them for 15 to 30 minutes. (At this point, the dough can be refrigerated overnight; set it out at room temperature for about 20 minutes before proceeding.)

Getting Ready to Bake:

While the dough is chilling, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan (preferably nonstick) and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. 

Work with one piece of dough at a time. For the bottom layer, either roll out the dough to size between two pieces of plastic wrap -- it's an easy enough dough to roll -- and lay it in the pan, or put the dough in the pan and press it lightly and evenly across the bottom with your fingertips. Spread the cranberry filling over the dough.

Unwrap the second piece of dough, but leave it on the plastic. Press and/or roll it until it is just the diameter of the pan. Carefully lift the dough and invert it on the filling, lift off the plastic and use your fingers to even it as necessary so that it covers the filling. Brush the top of the cake very lightly with water and sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top of the cake is lightly golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and cool for about 20 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the cake, remove the sides of the pan and let cool to room temperatue.