Cherry Cranberry Muffin Cake

Cherry Cranberry Muffin Cake is just what it sounds like: muffins that have become cake.

Credit for the muffin cake concept goes to Dorie Greenspan. Writing in Baking From My Home to Yours, describes having readied the ingredients for apple nut muffins only to have her brunch guests show up. A rushed Greenspan poured the batter into a baking pan instead, and the muffin cake was born.

Greenspan’s recipe differs significantly from mine, but the credit is hers nonetheless.

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My reasons for baking a cherry cranberry muffin cake did not spring from brunch guests, early or otherwise.

My husband’s recent diverticulosis diagnosis (say that ten times) left me casting about for high-fiber breakfast options he would actually eat. Diverticulosis is incurable: the sole treatment is a high fiber diet. Prior to John’s recent hospital stay, I thought we were consuming a high-fiber diet, full of fruits and vegetables, but evidently it wasn’t enough.

Inadequate fiber.

As if life weren’t complicated enough, John is neither a morning person nor a fan of breakfast. After years of trial and error, I’d found success with muffins. By muffins, do not visualize the enormous, sugar-laden confections found at coffee shops across the land. Think smallish, barely sweetened baked goods loaded with quality dried and seasonal fruits.

One example of many.

While I still consider my tenderly home-baked muffins pretty healthy–I mean, how can you go wrong with minimal sugar and tons of fresh fruit?–I went one better with this muffin cake by adding nuts.

A momentary digression about nuts in my cooking, or lack thereof.

Laurie Colwin fans may recall the opinionated Holly Sturgis, of Happy All the Time. The elegant if idiosyncratic Holly eschews ice in drinks and dislikes foods with orange flavoring. Oranges themselves, however, are just fine.

I share Holly’s feelings about nuts, albeit in reverse, particularly where almonds are concerned. I’ll explain.

Neither Amaretto nor Nocino.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome has ruined my teeth. Soon I will require full dentures. I actually look forward to this, as dentures will restore my ability to smile confidently and chew hard foods. Like nuts. Until then, I prefer nut-flavored items, like Amaretto and Nocino.

Hence the lack of nuts in my cooking. Until now.

Of course, tossing whole nuts into cake batter is never a great idea. Nuts require prep: toasting, blanching, breaking down.

Then again, we are talking muffins. Inherent in muffin making, be it in a muffin tin or baking pan, is the notion of quick bread. Meaning nobody wants to spend time cleaning a mini-processor or coffee grinder afterward.

Toasting nuts warms their oils and improves flavor. You can skip this step; it won’t ruin the recipe. (that was the sound of a thousand professional bakers, shrieking.) My advice, if you want to avoid toasting nuts, is to treat them like spices: ensure they are fresh by purchasing them in small amounts, from a store with rapid turnover. Store nuts in a cool spot. I keep mine in the freezer.

You will notice my almonds are not skinned. Despite multiple efforts, the skins stubbornly refused to come off. After multiple attempts, I moved on. Life is too short.

Those of us wishing to avoid mechanized nut grinding–and subsequent washing up–have a few manual options:

–bashing with a heavy implement

This is effective, provided you have an unbreakable surface and something to bash the nuts with. Cover the nuts with a towel and bash carefully, or the nuts will fly. A metal meat mallet or rolling pin make good implements. Some cookbooks suggest empty wine bottles, but there’s a risk of breakage, so take care.

–chopping with a mezzaluna or other heavy, sharp knife

Use the side of the knife, aiming the sharp edge AWAY from you. Again, proceed with utmost caution.

–mortar and pestle

I used this method, and found it most effective. It’s also the safest.

The cherry pitter is that rare kitchen item that does one thing, is useful three weeks a year, and is worth the $15 bucks I spent on it.

Dried cranberries and almond extract were the final additions to the muffin cake. I scattered an extra handful of sugar over the cake just before baking.

Not sugar. But you get the idea, right?

The cherry cranberry muffin cake takes 40-50 minutes to bake. If the top starts browning too much, cover it lightly with foil. A tester should come out clean.

Cherry cranberry muffin cake isn’t especially sweet, making it nice breakfast or midafternoon snack. Serve alongside fruit, with coffee, tea, or milk. It keeps well at room temperature for a few days. Refrigerate after that. The cherry cranberry muffin cake also freezes well, a useful trait in these unpredictable times.