Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Snack Cake

"Marmalade in the morning has the same effect on taste buds as that a cold shower has on the body."

~Noel Coward (1899-1973)

You can thank the Mister for this post.  Even though the cake came out delicious, the pic didn't, so I was going to skip it.  Trying to snap the shot before the sun set was behind the decision to cut the cake while it was still warm, leading to a messy cut and a sloppy shot.  

But then a funny thing happened.  Scott had a piece after dinner and went on and on about how good it was.  This led to quickly dismissed professions of guilt before diving into a second and almost a third piece, all the while proclaiming it's merits. 

"It's friggin delicious!" 

"It reminds me of pineapple-upside down cake, with the chewy topping and moist cake." 

"The cross-hatched icing is perfect and the tang of the berries makes it."

"What is that crunch?  Is that white chocolate? OMG."

"You gotta blog it...it's that good."  

Okay, so he talked me into it.  Here's how it came about.  Despite the fact that I had cranberry muffins on the brain, I was looking for recipes to use some of the orange marmalade I made back in March. I came across this recipe for white chocolate orange cake on About.com and decided to throw cranberries in it.  

There you have it.  And since you were nice enough to stop by, I'll give you this little bonus gem.  A great little appetizer that takes seconds to put together.  Might be nice at Thanksgiving, 'eh?

Marmalade-Almond Baked Brie.  Slice the rind off one flat of an 8-ounce round of brie.  Place in small baking dish.  Top with 1/3 cup of orange marmalade and sprinkle with 1/3 cup of sliced almonds.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  Serve with crackers. 

My Sister-in-Law, Joy Murphy, made this last Easter

Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Snack Cake

1 large navel orange

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup orange juice

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 tablespoon orange zest

Glaze:

1/4 cup orange marmalade

2 tablespoons butter

Icing:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

orange juice

orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13x9 inch pan.  

Using a microplane, remove zest from the orange and set aside.  Juice the orange and set aside, reserving for use in the recipe.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.  Beat in 1/4 cup of the juice (if there's any left, reserve it for icing) and buttermilk.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  Add 1/2 the orange zest (save the rest for icing) and beat for 2 minutes.

Pour into prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle white chocolate chips and then cranberries evenly over the batter.  Tap pan gently on the counter once or twice to settle them in a little.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tests done in center.

Glaze:

While cake is baking, melt orange marmalade and butter together, either on stove or in microwave.  Stir to combine.  Brush glaze over the top of the warm cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.  Let cake cool to room temperature before adding the icing.

Icing:

Combine confectioner's sugar with cream cheese, remaining orange zest and about 1 teaspoon of orange juice until smooth.  Add a little more orange juice or milk if too stiff.  Scrape into a zip-top bag.  Cut a small corner from the bottom of the bag and squeeze glaze over the cooled cake in a zig-zag pattern one way and then back the opposite way to form a cross-hatch pattern.