Glazed Cranberry, Lemon & Dried Ginger Loaf

Hands up if you still have a bag of cranberries in your refrigerator. I may have more than one.  And a few in the freezer.  And maybe a few of the bags are in the freezer are from last year.  What can I say?  I panic that I will run out of cranberries throughout the year so I always stock up.  Anyway I saw this recipe from PassThe Sushi and knew that I had to make it straight away as it has three of my favorite ingredients - cranberries, lemon, and ginger.

I'm pretty sure my need to make sure I don't run out of something manifested itself when I moved to Guam.  For those unfamiliar with Guam, it is a US territory in the north-west Pacific Ocean, a tiny island that is only 50km (30 miles) long and at its widest 19km (12 miles) wide.  Most food and goods are imported, and if you did not stock up when the container ships came in and the stores were stocked, it may be three months or more before the item was back in stock.  I remember one time asking a store why they didn't buy more stock, and when a particular item would be back in stock, and their answer was that they were no longer stocking the item because they could never keep it on their shelves. I also don't remember drinking fresh milk the entire time I lived there as it was $10 - $12 a gallon at the time. Even though it was sometimes difficult - like the power outages, earthquakes, and typhoons - we did enjoy our time there and the people of Guam are some of the nicest and most generous people you will ever meet. However, when we did eventually move to Hawaii, it was like moving to the big city.

I was amazed at how quickly this cake came together.  Once all the ingredients are measured out it is in the oven in no time, and smells divine as it is cooking. It is a little torturous to wait for it to cool so you can glaze it, but I promise it is worth it.  In each bite you get the tang from the lemon, the spiciness of the ginger, and the tartness of the cranberries all blended with the sweetness and delicate crumb of cake. The lemon glaze adds just the perfect finishing touch.

Makes me really glad that I am a hoarder when it comes to cranberries :)

Glazed Cranberry, Lemon & Dried Ginger Loaf

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients
Bread ~ 

• 235g all-purpose flour
• 3g (½ teaspoon) baking powder
• 2g (1 teaspoon) ground ginger
• 115g butter, softened
• 165g granulated sugar
• 6g (1 tablespoon) grated lemon zest
• 3 large eggs
• 70ml milk
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
• 115g fresh or frozen cranberries, picked over
• 40g finely chopped dried ginger

Glaze ~

• 90g powdered sugar, sifted
• 20ml teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 3g (½ teaspoon) grated lemon zest

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 160℉. 
2. Line a 21cm x 11cm inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Spray the sides of the pan with baking spray.
3. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger and set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. Add the lemon zest and eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. 
6. Lower the speed on the mixer and add the flour mixture and milk in three additions, starting and ending with the flour, beating until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and chopped ginger with a spatula.
7. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
8. Let the bread sit in the pan for 10 minutes then remove and cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
9. While cake is baking make the glaze by whisking all glaze ingredients in a bowl to until fully combined and smooth.
10. Once cake is cool, drizzle the glaze over the top allowing it to spill over the sides of the cake.

Cake inspired by Pass the Sushi and Cookin' Canuk

For US measurements please click here