Most of the time, I prefer to have desserts done ahead for dinner parties. This is the one exception to my rule, mainly because I can prep the ingredients ahead of time, mix it together in under 5 minutes, and time it so that it comes out of the oven warm and gooey and ready for our waiting guests. If you’d like to get ahead, you can make the cranberries, mix together the dry ingredients, and separate the eggs – all of the tasks through step 3. Simply pick up at step 4 about an hour or so before you’d like to serve it.
Cranberry Friand
Most of the time, I prefer to have desserts done ahead for dinner parties. This is the one exception to my rule, mainly because I can prep the ingredients ahead of time, mix it together in under 5 minutes, and time it so that it comes out of the oven warm and gooey and ready for our waiting guests. If you’d like to get ahead, you can make the cranberries, mix together the dry ingredients, and separate the eggs – all of the tasks through step 3. Simply pick up at step 4 about an hour or so before you’d like to serve it.
Ingredients
For the cranberries:
- 8 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ vanilla bean or use 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the cake:
- ⅓ cup (53 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅔ cup (200 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (120 grams) almond flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5 large egg whites
- 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for buttering the dish
- Vanilla or caramel ice cream for serving optional
Instructions
- Place the cranberries, granulated sugar and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan with 1 tablespoon of water. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, scrape the seeds from each side of the vanilla bean and add them to the pot along with the bean pod. Cook the cranberries over medium heat for 10-15 minutes. About half of the cranberries should be broken down, and the mixture should be thick and syrupy. Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool while you prepare the cake batter. Once cool enough, remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla bean pod.
- Preheat your oven to 400 F. Butter a 12-inch square baking dish, or a 9 x 13” baking dish.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, powdered sugar and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the flour mixture and the melted butter, mixing until just combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish. Spoon the cranberries on top of the batter evenly, then place the dish in your preheated oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, depending on the size of your baking dish. When finished, the cake should be browned on the top and set in the middle. Allow it to cool at least 10 minutes, and up to an hour. Serve warm with ice cream.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
