Cranberry Christmas Cake

This recipe is from Barefeet in the Kitchen, 

Cranberry Christmas Cake

This Cranberry Christmas Cake is one of those recipes that is an instant favorite every single time someone new tastes it.

Tart cranberries, sweet buttery cake, and a fantastic texture all combined to basically beg me to eat another piece.

I recommend stocking up on plenty of fresh cranberries so that you can enjoy these recipes all year long.

Cranberry Christmas Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 12 oz fresh cranberries

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   2. With a mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar until slightly thickened and light in color, about 5-7 minutes. The mixture should almost double in size. The eggs work as your leavening agent in this recipe, so do not skip this step.
   3. The sugar and egg mixture should form a ribbon when you lift the beaters out of the bowl.
   4. Add the butter and vanilla; mix two more minutes. Stir in the flour until just combined.
   5. Add the cranberries and stir to mix throughout.
   6. Spread in a buttered 9×13 pan. 
   7. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until very lightly browned and a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. (I baked mine for 43 minutes.) Let cool completely before cutting into small slices.
   8. I cut mine into fairly small pieces, about 1″ x 2″ so that they could be easily eaten at a party.
   9. Store this cake at room temperature, either uncovered or very loosely covered. This is a moist cake and the crust will soften a great deal if it is stored airtight. It will still be tasty, but it won’t be the same the next day if it’s kept airtight.

   Options: 
2. I like sprinkle the top with sugar for an extra sweet crust.
3. I would really recommend adding walnuts. The cake is so much better with the walnut crunch.
4. Substitute the cranberries for blueberries or rhubarb or pie cherries... use your imagination!
5.