Cranberry Coffee Pound Cake

Friday morning came around as usual with the sound of the kids playing in their bedroom...and then the alarm going off. I don't even know why we still set our second alarm. :p  Soon after my husband's alarm went off, he received a text saying that he had the day off of work. Say wha? Such a fun surprise. He turned off the alarm and we snuggled back under the blankets and slept until noon. Riiiiight. Did I mention I have two sons...one of whom likes to wake up super early? Yeah. Instead of sleeping until noon, I being the good wife that I am, crept out of bed and wrangled my boys up, allowing my husband to get some more shuteye. I was excited about what the day held and wanted to make it extra special by making something yummy for breakfast. Cranberry coffee cake came to mind and so I googled a recipe. I found a recipe that looked promising and with a few tweaks here and there, I found my newest addiction. Be prepared to be blown away by this AMAZING "coffee cake". I had to give some of it away because I was afraid I was going to eat the whole thing. Oh, the temptation of it all!

 

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Cranberry Coffee Pound Cake

Yield: About 16 Servings
Prep: 10 Minutes, Baking Time: 55-70 Minutes, + 5 Minutes Cooling Time 

It's a coffee cake...it's a pound cake. It's delicious and the most amazing breakfast treat. This also makes for a good midnight snack. Word of advice: Share, or risk eating it all when no one is looking.

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 Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12oz bag of fresh or frozen cranberries*, patted dry
• Frosting OR Powdered Sugar.

(*can also substitute frozen or fresh blueberries or frozen or fresh cut rhubarb, sprinkled lightly with sugar) 

Directions  

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan. 
• In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to butter mixture. Mix remaining flour (1/4 cup) with cranberries; fold the floured cranberries into batter (discard the leftover flour). Batter will be very thick. Spoon into prepared pan.
• Bake at 350° for 55-70 minutes or until cake tests done (check at 55 minutes, and if it still looks raw in the cracks, continue to cook until done). Let stand 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool on a wire rack. Before serving, drizzle with frosting or dust with powdered sugar.

• Recipe Slightly Adapted From Taste of Home

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 1/2 oz. Softened Cream Cheese
3 T. soft butter
1/2 t. Vanilla
1/2 t. Milk
1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and milk until combined. Slowly add the Powdered Sugar until well combined.

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I recently cut the recipe in half, using frozen rhubarb (lightly sugared and then combined with the flour). Instead of using a fluted pan, I put the batter in a loaf pan. I baked it at 350⁰ for 45-50 minutes. It turned out great!