Orange Cranberry Cake

Comfort food to me is oranges and cranberries. I love the way the whole cranberries pop in your mouth when you bite into them. It's a burst of tartness in the middle of this moist cake.

Here's a fun fact, this is a cake mix that has been shown some love. No one says you have to follow the directions on the box, I take them as suggestions and always do my own thing.

Let's get started you'll need:

1 box of vanilla (or yellow) cake mix

1 cup orange juice

1 tsp orange extract

1 cup fresh cranberries

3 eggs

Oil

2 tbsp orange zest

Powdered sugar

Prepare the cake mix according to the box except replace the water with the orange juice. Mix well and add the orange extract and the whole cranberries. Stir in the orange zest. Reserve some of the zest to sprinkle on top of the batter before baking.

You can use 3/4 cup of orange juice and 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier Orange Liqueur but I didn't have it in the house. Did I mention that New Jersey is in a "stay in place/don't leave your house" order? We have a pandemic on our hands and I need to get creative with what's in my pantry. This is a live version of Food Network's Chopped and I'm thankful that I keep a well stocked pantry.

Bake the cake according to the directions on the box. Allow it to cool completely and dust with powdered sugar. You can put an orange glaze on top (powdered sugar and orange juice) but I like to keep this cake on the tart side.

Nothing makes me happier then a piece of orange cranberry cake and a BIG cup of coffee.

Other additions to cake mixes can be pudding, different extracts, citrus, fruit, replace the tasteless oil (veg/canola oil) with butter for a richer taste or fun things like my favorite....SPRINKLES.

Make the cake your own and get creative!

Enjoy!