TWD: Cranberry Shortbread Cake

Yesterday afternoon, as I was spoiling my husband's dinner by force-feeding him cranberry cake and whipped cream, he looked me in the eyes and said, with great feeling, "Miy WOUFF Troiusdapes miff Rorfty!"

Fortunately, we have been married long enough that I'm able to translate Full Mouth into English, and knew that he was saying that he loved Tuesdays with Dorie. I have to agree! I have so many wonderful cookbooks that I only consult when I'm baking for a special occasion. I'm sure Baking: From My Home to Yours would be one of those without a weekly obligation to make and blog about a recipe. I'm not sure I ever would have made this Cranberry Shortbread Cake without the prodding of a baking group, but I'm so glad I did.



First, we must discuss this dessert's identity crisis. Shortbread...cake...? Que? To me it tasted most like a double-crusted tart, which is definitely not a bad thing. The crust was similar to a sugar cookie dough, with a great mix of a crackling sugary crust and a tender crumb inside.



Inside is a simple cranberry-orange jam, with enough sugar to round out the tart edges but enough bite to balance the sweet dough. I chickened out a little with the filling, and didn't use all of it because it seemed like it might overwhelm the thin crust. In retrospect I could have used the full amount, but it didn't seem to be lacking for flavor, either.



The real kicker, for me, was the softly whipped cream on top. I added lots of vanilla and a little cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg to the cream, and the combination of spices, aromatic vanilla, and sweet cream on the tart cranberry cake was fantastic. I'm not usually much of a whipped cream fan, but I wanted to put this in a Big Gulp cup and drink it with a straw.

Not that that actually happened.

Ahem.



The final touch was a few of these glazed cranberries. The recipe couldn't be easier--fresh cranberries dunked in whisked egg whites, then rolled in granulated sugar. After an hour or two the sugar crust gets hard, so they almost explode in your mouth when you bite into them. The berries are juicy and fairly sour, but the sugar keeps them from being too lip-puckering. These were the perfect finishing touch to an already perfect dessert. I'm looking forward to experimenting with this recipe and using sauteed apples for the filling, and maybe a strawberry/rhubarb combination come spring.