Full of festive flavours, my chocolate cinnamon cranberry cake will bring a lovely cinnamon fragrance to your kitchen. Smelling cinnamon always makes me think of Christmas and other holidays and celebrations! This cake reminds me of a very good brownie however it is light and fluffy, and the tartness of cranberries compliments the chocolate perfectly.
Just like me, cranberries are native to North America and are grown in abundance in Canada and northern USA. Their bright red colour indicates their abundance of antioxidants, and being somewhat sour they are high in vitamin C. Many folks drink a daily small glass of cranberry juice to support their health, and when I was a midwife many years ago cranberry juice was often recommended by the health service in England.
I like to serve a slice of this delicious cake with a really good homemade vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped double cream. You could also offer a glass of mulled wine or mulled cranberry apple juice for even more Christmas or Thanksgiving spirit.
This recipe is suitable for Thermomix TM6, TM5 and TM31.
Method
- Grease base and sides of a round springform or loose bottom cake tin (4-5 cm deep x 20 cm diameter) with 1 tsp butter, then line base with a circle of baking paper; set prepared tin aside.
- Grind almonds 15 sec/speed 10.
- Add 180 g butter, cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, eggs and whey then mix 30 sec/speed 5, transfer batter to prepared cake tin, cover tin with a plate and set aside to rest 6 hours (3-4 hours in a hot climate). At the point at which the cake is ready to bake you will see little bubbles forming on the surface – this resting time improves flavour and digestibility; see 8th tip for a quick version.
- Preheat oven to 180°C without fan/160°C with fan/350°F/gas 4/Aga baking oven – see 7th tip for an Aga without baking oven.
- Remove plate from top of cake tin and carefully stir in cranberries (see 5th tip if using dried), then bake 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Set aside on a wire rack to cool completely, then remove from tin and place on a lovely plate or cake stand to serve.