how east cranberry & apple cake

this time for cooking club, i got to choose our recipe. and this last trimester has me craving sweets, so i chose ina's "easy cranberry & apple cake."

it's not much of a cake -- more like some kind of cobbler hybrid. but let's not get hung up with the name, because it's delicious so matter what it's called. the two keys to this deliciousness -- orange zest and the yummy cake/muffin batter.

this recipe sealed the deal for me -- i am in love with orange zest. it is so flavorful. a small amount has a most infinite impact. it's amazing. ina has you mix some zest and fresh squeezed orange juice with the granny smith apples and cranberries. it provides a perfect balance to all that tartness -- that a some brown sugar.

second, this delicious batter. if you've ever made ina's blueberry sour cream muffins, this batter tastes so much like that batter. if you have any doubts about how good a batter could taste, please ask little girl. she was my sous chef.

and i had the hardest time keeping her out of the batter -- whether it was in the bowl or already spread over the fruit. i had to smooth out a few holes in my cake several times before getting it into the oven. and every time i moved the pie plate to another location in the kitchen, little girl started moving her chair. (it was really difficult to grab a picture of the process with her determination!) and please -- don't mention to mr. pike that little girl was eating the batter. he doesn't like the thought of eating raw eggs.

when it came out of the oven, little girl and i shared a bowl with vanilla ice cream. we devoured it. and little girl kept signing and saying, "more." (always a good sign of a delicious culinary creation.)

we even saved some for mr. pike when he came home. i got a rushing of praise on a job well done.


a few other thoughts on the recipe . . . my cranberries were frozen. and i didn't defrost them. so, my cake ended up cooking longer. about an hour and 10 minutes. (i think the frozen cranberries were the culprit.)

my cake also dripped over the sides. i don't know if my pie plate was too small -- it's the biggest one i have. so, i recommend placing a piece of tin foil under the plate to catch any spills. (better than cleaning up the mess in your oven, which i have to do now.)

ps- sorry about the pics. maybe one day i'll have a kitchen with good lighting or learn how to take better shots.