Grandma Grace’s Cranberry Orange Cake
Amy’s Grandma Grace made this a part of her holiday tradition for probably 40 years and I’m sure it’ll become a part of yours. The addition of orange juice makes the cake incredibly moist, and the cake is best if you make it a few days in advance. The trick is keeping yourself from eating it before the holidays, so I advise you make two: one for you, and one for your family.
2 ¼ cups sifted all purpose flour
2 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup diced dates
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
grated rind of two oranges
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 cup orange juice
Preheat oven to 350° F. Sift together flour, 1 cup of sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir in nuts, dates cranberries, and orange rind. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, and oil, then add to the flour and fruit mixture. Pour into a well-greased bundt pan and bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool until lukewarm. Remove the cake and place it on a rack over a wide dish. Combine orange juice and remaining 1 cup sugar and pour it over the cake. Take the collected drippings and pour over again until most of the juice has been absorbed. The cake will keep in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks if wrapped in foil, but I
doubt it’ll last that long!
