Save Room for Dessert...Easy Cranberry & Apple Cake

My friend Melinda knows my love of all things cranberry, so when she saw this recipe in Ina Garten's How Easy is That? cookbook, she called my attention to it immediately. I was smitten and couldn't wait to make it. Since my mother & sister were coming over to bake cuccidati on Sunday, I decided to bake it for them. Both live an hour away, so they rarely get to sample all of the goodies I bake.

The recipe says to bake it in a pie pan, but I just used a 13x9, and it worked great. I loved this cake! Tart cranberries with the delicious essence of range and cinnamon along with buttery cake, it's just a perfectly deliciously cake! Now's the time to make this, as cranberries are in abundance and so good for you, too!

Easy Cranberry & Apple Cake
1 12-oz bag cranberries, picked over and rinsed
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled & diced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
3 large eggs (The recipe called for 2 extra-large, but I only had large, so I used 3)
1 cup +1 tablespoon sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream (I used Greek yogurt)
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Place cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and cinnamon in a 13x9 casserole dish or a 10" pie plate. Mix together and set aside.
Using a mixer, beat eggs for 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup sugar, mleted butter, vanilla, and sour cream. Beat until combined
Add flour and salt.
Pour batter over fruit, covering fruit entirely.
Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon together; sprinkle cinnamon sugar over batter.
Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Serve warm or at room temp.

Recipe adapated from Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? by Ina Garten

Linked to Cookbook Sundays at Brenda's Canadian Kitchen, Save Room for Dessert at Our Krazzy Kitchen, and Meet Me Monday Blog Hop.