This tasty cake is yet another variation of my all time favorite sponge cake recipe (posted HERE). In this version, I substituted half of the orange juice with cranberry juice, which gave it another layer of both acidity and sweetens, and pinkish color.
Instead of baking the cake in two pans, as I usually do, I decided to bake it this time in a Bundt cake pan. But when I started filling the pan with the batter, I realized it was too small for it. So, I quickly filled a mini Bundt cake with the rest of the batter, and baked the two pans side by side. Now, instead of having just one cake, I also had twelve mini ones, that were so perfect for serving as individual desserts. Win-win!
One more change I’ve made was to not coat the cakes with butter cream, but rather, infuse them with a light cranberry–orange syrup. The cakes soaked the syrup beautifully, while keeping their shape, and became moist and fragrant. Try them and enjoy.
Notes:
* For best results, all the ingredients should be at room temperature.
* If you want to end up with a fluffy cake, make sure not to skip the sifting stage.
* Any trace of fat in the egg whites or the bowl will prevent proper whipping. Note that egg yolks are fatty, so separate the eggs carefully.
* Egg whites whip better with a bit of acidity, which is why we add the vinegar. The vinegar will not effect the flavor, so no need to hesitate about using it.
* The cakes can keep, covered in the fridge, for up to 3 days.
Makes: 1 large Bundt cake + 12 mini
Prep time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 40 minutes for the large, 20 minutes for the mini
Ingredients:
For the syrup:
1 cup water
½ cup cranberry juice
½ cup fresh orange juice, strained
¾ cup sugar
1/3 cup smooth strawberry jam
For the cake:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
6 XL eggs
¼ cup oil
½ cup cranberry juice
½ cup fresh orange juice
½ tsp vanilla
1½ cups sugar
½ tsp vinegar
1. The syrup: mix all the ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Let cool and place in the fridge until using.
2. Preheat the oven to 340F (170C). Place the rack in the middle of the oven. Butter and lightly flour a large Bundt cake pan, and a mini Bundt cake pan.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a sifter. Set aside. Separate the eggs: the egg whites into the mixer bowl and the egg yolks into a large mixing bowl.
4. Add the oil and ¼ cup of the sugar to the egg yolks and mix well. Add the cranberry and orange juice and vanilla and whisk together.
5. Add the vinegar to the egg whites and start whipping on medium-low speed. When large bubbles start to form, increase the mixer’s speed to medium and start adding the sugar slowly. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue whipping until a firm and shiny meringue is formed.
6. Add a small amount of the meringue to the bowl with the egg yolks mixture and whisk well. Now add about half of the rest of the meringue, and this time, whisk gently, so that the meringue will not break.
7. Sift the flour mixture over and fold it gently with the whisk. Change the whisk to spatula, add the rest of the meringue and mix gently to form a smooth batter. Do not over mix. Divide the batter between the two pans and place, side by side, in the oven.
8. Bake the cakes: 20 minutes for the mini pan and 40 minutes for the large one. The cakes should be golden and pull from the sides of the pan, and when you press the center of one with your finger, the cake bounces back .
9. Transfer the cakes to a rack and let cool for 3 minutes in the pans. Turn out of the pans and place the cakes in two deep pans. Pour 1/3 of the cold syrup over the mini ones and the rest over the large cake, and cover. Let the cakes soak the syrup and cool completely before serving.
Looks Fantastic! Yum!
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Thank you Angela! The cakes were so tasty, I plan to make them again soon. 🙂
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The cakes look so moist and delicious!
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Thank you Coleen, they really were. I plan on making them again for Thanksgiving. 🙂
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Yum, they sound so good and I love how pretty they look. Win win indeed.
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Thank you Myra, I’m glad you liked the cakes. They were indeed so delicious. I plan on making them again soon. 🙂
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Tempting treats for sure Ronit…looks damn yumm👍
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Thank you Jyo, I’m glad you liked the cakes. They were so tasty! 🙂
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Love the syrup not only with 2 juices but you’ve added strawberry jam to the mixture! I’m surprised I didn’t know that about the vinegar and egg whites! The cake sounds just as good – can’t you put a little strawberry jam in there too 🙂 🙂
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Thank you Judi. I think you’ll notice the difference in whipping egg whites when adding vinegar.
As for the jam, I added it to the syrup in order to thicken it a bit, and enhance the pinkish color. Adding it to the batter would make the cake less fluffy, but there’s always the option of serving the cake with a bit of jam on top. 🙂
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I was just trying to be funny about the jam – strawberry is my favorite and yes that’s a great idea to put it on top and maybe with a little whipping cream. My egg whites always seemed to whip okay so I will be interested in seeing the difference 🙂
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Strawberry jam is my favorite as well. 🙂
I find that the whipped egg whites with the addition of vinegar hold better. It will be interesting to learn if you see any difference.
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Cake looks moist and beautiful.Love the combination of juices used in this recipe.
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Thank you Deepti, I’m glad you liked the cakes. They were indeed so moist and tasty and both juices added such nice flavor. 🙂
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Great idea to infuse them with syrup – they look juicy and tempting!
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Thank you Dolly, I’m glad you liked the cakes. It was fun discovering yet another way of serving this cake. 🙂
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My pleasure, Ronit.
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“Lasts for three days” . . . hahahahaha !!!! Thanks for the reminder to use individual pans. I have two different sets, but they are not with my other pans, and I totally forget about them.
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Well, at least in theory! 😀
It was such a great thing to have enough batter for the mini pan. I love using it, but somehow don’t do it often enough.
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These look so delicious, especially love the minis, so cute! The syrup sounds lovely!😋
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Thank you Ursula, I’m glad you liked the cakes. I too loved the mini ones, and now plan on making more of them next time. 🙂
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Yummy! I must try. 😜
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Thank you, I”m glad to know! 🙂
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These look so tempting ! Love this spongy succulent cake.
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Thank you Megala, I’m glad you liked the cakes. They were so tasty. 🙂
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Looks delicious😋😋😋😋
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Thank you! 🙂
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You’re welcome
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I love your mini-bundt cake pan. What a perfect size one-serve cake. Sponge cake is popular here, but I’ve never tried it with a syrup poured over. But, I will soon.
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Thank you Ron, I’m glad you liked the recipe. This was the first time I poured syrup over sponge cakes, and baked individual ones, but definitely not the last!
I hope you’ll enjoy it too. It will be interesting to see your take on it. 🙂
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They look like delicious Baba au rum 🙂 I cooked cranberries with honey for the first time last week! What a delicious recipe, do you Fedex? 😀
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Thank you Franck, I’m glad you liked the recipe. The inspiration for the syrup indeed came from Baba au rum, with the difference these are much quicker to make.
Fedex delivery is on its way! 😀
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Looks like another delicious recipe!
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Thank you Ingrid. The cakes were indeed delicious. I plan on making them again for Thanksgiving dinner. 🙂
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Wow! Look at how moist it is!!
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Thank you! 🙂
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what a wonderful recipe , The cake looks porous and has well absorbed the juices!
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Thank you Nisha, I’m glad you liked the cakes. They were indeed very moist and tasty. 🙂
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Oh, isn’t this lovely! A beautiful bite for the end of the meal!
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Thank you Mollie! The cakes were indeed such a nice dessert. On my list to make again soon. 🙂
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Oh my ! 😍 Juicy little cakes!!
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Thank you Lahari, I’m glad you liked the cakes. They were very tasty. 🙂
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Some of my favourite flavours and they look like a cake I have been trying to find a recipe for…Rum babas and there are so many different recipes and none quite as I remember them …I soldier on but these look lovely, Ronit 🙂
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Thank you Carol, I’m glad you liked the cakes. I can see why it reminded you of Baba au rum cake. However, the difference is that Baba is made with yeast dough, so it has different texture and takes longer to make.
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Yes I know I remember eating them a few years ago and loved them…I will find what I am looking for for sure 😀
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Good luck! 🙂
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Lovely indeed. What awesome cakes.
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Thank you Conor, I”m glad you liked the cakes. This version is definitely a keeper! 🙂
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Oooo how lovely, I can almost imagine what your kitchen smelled like as you were baking these. I’m having a Moroccan inspired dinner for about 10 friends next week and I was kinda looking for a dessert that might have something Moroccan. A lot of the cakes came up with oranges and orange juice. I’m tempted to try this one, but don’t have a mini bundt pan, just the large one. Did you think that quantity was not enough for the large one?
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Thank you Loretta, I’m glad you liked the recipe. There was indeed wonderful smell in the kitchen while preparing the cakes.
My large Bundt cake pan holds 12 cups, and it was actually too small to contain all the batter, which is why I had to use the mini pan as well. If you don’t have the mini pan, you can bake the extra batter in any small pan, or muffin pan, you have.
If you’re looking for more cakes with orange, you can also check the following links:
https://ronitpenso.wordpress.com/2017/03/26/citrus-sponge-cake/
https://ronitpenso.wordpress.com/2018/03/04/semolina-orange-and-saffron-cake/
https://ronitpenso.wordpress.com/2016/02/21/upside-down-orange-almond-and-anise-cake/
Looking forward to reading about your Moroccan dinner! 🙂
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Brilliant idea to add some cranberry juice. They’re very pretty. Reminds me a lot of individual savarins I used to make when I catered. A lot of work, but I’d make them in different flavors and they were always a sweet hit!
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Thank you Mimi, I’m glad you liked the cakes. The cranberry juice added such nice flavor and color. Savarins indeed require more time and effort. Love the idea of different flavors. No wonder they were a hit! 🙂
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Looks yummy and fantastic. 🍮
Nidhi Trivedi
https://mylifeexperiences648467241.com
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Thank you Nidhi, I’m glad you liked the cakes. They were very tasty. 🙂
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I love cakes🙋👍
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What a delightful looking treat. How wonderful this would be to serve to friends! Thank you kindly for sharing this. I’ve got to give this a try. 🙂
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Thank you Koko, I’m glad you liked the cakes. They are indeed very suitable for entertaining with friends. I hope you’ll enjoy them as well. 🙂
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I can almost taste it! The photos are wonderful!
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Thank you LeRena, I’m glad to know you’ve enjoyed the post. 🙂
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Ummmh, love it.
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Thank you! 🙂
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Wow! This is truly gourmet!😋🎨
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Thank you, for such a lovely compliment. 🙂
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Whenever I see this picture on reader I feel hungry!!!
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Thank you, that’s a lovely compliment! 🙂
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You are welcome!
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Reblogged this on Crackling Pork Rinds.
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