Cranberry-Orange Snacking Cake

Repurpose leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving to create a delicious jam swirl topping for this easy cake. It's an ideal choice for breakfast or a midday treat.

Total Time: 85 minutes
Yield: One 13x9-inch cake

Ingredients:

• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 14-oz. can cranberry sauce (jellied or whole berry)
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1¼ cup (250 g) granulated sugar
• 2½ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. ground cardamom
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ cups (320 g) plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and position an oven rack in the center. Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving some paper hanging over the longer sides for easy removal.

2. In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat, stirring frequently until it becomes foamy and then brown, about 5–8 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

3. In a separate saucepan, add the cranberry sauce and mash it up. Mix in the orange and lemon juices. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the mixture is smooth, about 2–3 minutes. Allow it to cool slightly.

4. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar with the orange zest, rubbing them together with your fingers until the sugar becomes aromatic and orange-tinted. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cardamom to the bowl, and whisk everything together.

5. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. The batter will be thick, similar to cobbler batter. Stir in the browned butter, including any browned bits from the pan.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, spreading it evenly. The batter will be thick, but that’s expected. Spoon the cranberry mixture over the top in dollops and use a knife to swirl it into the batter. The cranberry mixture may cover most of the batter, but it will rise during baking to create swirls.

7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool before lifting it out of the pan using the parchment paper.