CRANBERRY CAKE WITH ALMOND GLAZE

Cranberry Cake with Almond Glaze image

I love anything cranberry, so when I saw this recipe on goodhousepeeking.com I knew I had to try it. It is as good as it looked in the picture.

Provided by Jolayne Cooper

Categories Cakes

Time 1h35m

Number Of Ingredients 17

Ingredients

1 lemon
2 c fresh or frozen cranberries
2 1/4 c sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
3 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened, no substitutions
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp almond extract
1 c confectioners' sugar
1 Tbsp water
sliced almonds, for garnish

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. From lemon, grate 1/4 teaspoon peel and squeeze 2 teaspoons juice; set aside separately.
2. In a 2-quart saucepan, combine 1 cup cranberries, 1/4 cup sugar, grated lemon peel, and cinnamon. Cook on medium-low for 10 minutes or until some cranberries have burst, stirring frequently. Cool completely. Stir in remaining cup of cranberries. (Can be prepared up to 3 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.)
3. Meanwhile, grease 12-cup Bundt pan; dust lightly with flour. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. With mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy and smooth. With mixer running, add 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat 1 minute longer. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating in between additions, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
5. Spoon three-quarters of batter into prepared pan. Spread cooled cranberry mixture in even layer over batter. Top with remaining batter. Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto rack; remove pan. Cool completely. Cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature up to 1 day.
6. To serve, in medium bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, reserved lemon juice, water, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract until smooth; drizzle over cake. Garnish with almonds, if desired.