Orange Cranberry Brunch Cake

I've been meaning to post this cake for the past several days, but the Target toy clearance derailed me. As much as I love a good sweet, I love the Target toy clearance even more.

But this cake is certainly worth writing about. If losing weight is one of your New Year's resolutions, skip this post. It is rich, decadent even, and perfect for a beautiful Sunday brunch.

 If your resolution for this year is to savor every good morsel that touches your lips, keep on reading.

This recipe is the marriage of pound cake, cheesecake, and a blast of sunshine. The pound cake layer is flecked with orange zest and studded with cranberries. The cheesecake layer is also flavored with orange zest, with a boost of orange juice to give it even more orangey goodness.

In total, the zest of six oranges is in this cake. And while that might sound like a lot, it really is just perfect. Bright, zingy, sweet and reminiscent of Florida sunshine. I felt like I should've had a tan by the time I was done making this.

Once it's done baking, you could stop and just dig right in. It's perfectly lovely naked and unadorned.

But it gets better. An orange glaze made of orange juice, zest and powdered sugar, which takes this cake from great to splendid.

The normal person would wait for the glaze to set before slicing. I am not normal. I'm certainly not patient. Once allowed to dry, the glaze produces a light tangy crust and is so picture perfect. Too bad it didn't last long enough to get a picture of in that state. Four kids, two adults, and six forks would not allow that to happen.

Orange Cranberry Brunch Cake 

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temp
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup orange zest
3 large eggs, room temp
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla paste)

Cheesecake Layer

1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
8 oz cream cheese softened
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract ( I used vanilla paste)

Orange Glaze

1 cup confectioner sugar
1 Tbsp orange zest
orange juice (enough to make the glaze as thick as pancake syrup)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter the heck out of a loaf pan. Set aside. For the pound cake batter, cream together the butter and sugar. Add sour cream. Once mixed together, add one egg at a time. Add vanilla and zest. In separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add by the heaping spoonful to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix just until incorporated. Add cranberries.

For the cheese cake layer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add egg. Mix until incorporated. Add sour cream, orange juice and zest. Lastly, add vanilla. Mix until incorporated. Just a few moments.

Pour 1/2 of the pound cake batter into buttered loaf pan. Spread an even layer into pan. Pour all of the cheese cake mixture on top. Even it off. Pour the remaining pound cake batter on top. Even it off once again.

Bake for one hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool. Prepare glaze.

Mix together confectioner sugar, orange juice, and zest. You want this to have the consistency of pancake syrup. NOT thin like true maple syrup. More like Log Cabin consistency.

Once cake has cooled, pour glaze on top. You can patiently wait for it to crust over or say to hell with it and eat it while it's drippy. Either way, it's perfect. Enjoy!