Cranberry Spice Bundt Cake

Mr. E. and I will be spending our Day of Thanks with my family and with his grandmother. In the same day. Therefore I decided to make a cake as my contribution that could double as a breakfast treat. This recipe came along in the November issue of my Bon Appetit magazine and sounded unlike anything I usually bake (i.e. no chocolate and/or lacks a creamy filling) so I thought it would be nice to try something different. It smelled divine baking in the house (when Mr. E. returned from work he walked in and said it smelled just like Thanksgiving in our home). I have not tasted the deliciousness yet but from comments online it sounds like the cake gets better with age so I will let it sit out on the counter for two days before serving it at the home of Grandma E.! One sidenote... the almond flour/meal can be found at most grocery stores in the organic aisle but it was $12 for the bag so I am going to share some with my mom.

CRANBERRY SPICE BUNDT CAKE

* 2 cups all purpose flour
* 3/4 cup almond flour or almond meal* (about 2 1/2 ounces)
* 2 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder**
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup plain reduced-fat (2%) Greek-style yogurt
* 1 cup chopped toasted almonds
* 1 cup halved fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
* 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries

ICING

* 2/3 cup powdered sugar
* 4 teaspoons (about) orange juice

How to Prepare Cake:

*
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Whisk first 8 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add both sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract, then Greek-style yogurt. Add dry ingredients; beat just until blended. Fold in almonds and all cranberries. Transfer batter to prepared Bundt pan.
*
Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.

ICING

*
Stir powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons orange juice in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Mix in more juice by 1/2 teaspoonfuls to reach consistency of heavy cream. Spoon icing over cake, allowing it to drip down sides. Let stand until icing sets, at least 30 minutes. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with cake dome and store at room temperature.
*
*Sometimes labeled "ground almonds"; available at specialty foods stores and natural foods stores.
*
**A spice blend that usually contains ground fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves; available in the spice section of most supermarkets and online at penzeys.com.
*
MORE INFO: Greek-style yogurt is especially thick and rich, even the reduced-fat variety.

Recipe from Bon Appetit, November 2008.