Recipe: Cranberry-Pecan Loaf tastes delicious and keeps well

I’m a cranberry fan. Their bold sourness adds color and welcome perkiness to dishes. Piles of see-through bags jammed with the tasty orbs appear this time of year in the marketplace. I use them fresh and put some in the freezer to use throughout the year. Freezing doesn’t seem to have any negative effects.

Teamed them with pecans, they are delicious in this loaf-style cake made using a recipe from cookbook author Dorie Greenspan. Cut it in thick slices and serve it for breakfast or brunch. Greenspan writes that it’s a good keeper, a good packer, a good traveler, and a good go-along with jam or marmalade.

Cranberry-Pecan Loaf

Yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

Butter and flour for pan, or baker’s spray

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup granulated sugar

Finely grated zest of one orange or tangerine

1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk (well shaken before measuring), room temperature

1/2 cup flavorless oil, such as canola oil

2/3 cup finely chopped lightly toasted pecans

1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped (don’t thaw if frozen)

PROCEDURE

1. Center rack in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2-inch loaf pan and dust with flour or use baker’s spray.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, coriander, baking soda and salt.

3. In large bowl, rub the granulated sugar and zest together with your hands until sugar is moist and fragrant. Add brown sugar and stir to blend. One by one whisk in the eggs, beating for a minute after each goes in. Whisk in buttermilk.

4. Switch to a flexible spatula, add half of flour mixture, stir in and fold until it’s almost combined, then mix in the remainder. Gradually fold in the oil, mixing until you have a smooth batter. Stir in nuts and cranberries. Scrape batter into pan.

5. Bake for 58 to 65 minutes, or until top rises and cracks and, most important, a tester inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer pan to cooling rack and wait for 5 minutes, then unmold it and turn it right side up and let cool until it is just a little warm before slicing, or let it reach room temperature.

Source: “Baking with Dorie” by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, $35)

Cooking question? Contact Cathy Thomas at [email protected]