Grand Marnier Cranberry Pound Cake

December is here and the daycare is in full holiday mode. Tinsel, ornaments, construction paper Christmas trees. My toddlers have been practicing a song for the holiday show that they will perform for families in two weeks. It is a simple song and they are very committed to it and approximately half of them are singing at least one note of it in the correct key at any given time. I consider this a success.

I have been planning the Christmas menu for Gloria's. I am making the Yule log again, the second year now, which has become its own tradition. Also the pecan pie with the bourbon, the collard greens, the roast chicken. I want to add something new this year: a baked brie in puff pastry that I have seen in the holiday magazines and that looks deeply approachable if I do not overthink it. Brie wrapped in thawed puff pastry with a little honey and fresh thyme and walnuts, baked until golden. The sort of thing that sounds fancy and is actually twenty minutes.

I went home and made it on Wednesday as a test. It worked beautifully. The cheese is molten inside the pastry and you pull it apart with a knife and the whole table leans in. Biscuit watched from the floor and was very hopeful. He received a very small corner of pastry as a reward for being excellent company throughout the week.

Gloria said when I described it over the phone: that sounds like something from a magazine. I said it is. She said well, it does not have to be from the box to be good. She is right. It does not have to be from the index cards to be worth making. That is an important lesson and I do not think she knew she was teaching it just then.

Gloria’s lesson stayed with me all week—that something does not have to come from the index cards to be worth making. The baked brie proved that in twenty minutes on a Wednesday night, and this cake proved it the same way: a Grand Marnier cranberry pound cake that looks like it belongs in the same holiday magazine, dense and golden with tart cranberries and a boozy glaze that makes the whole kitchen smell like Christmas. It felt right alongside the Yule log, the pecan pie, the collard greens—one more thing on Gloria’s table that nobody had to ask for a second time.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 65 min | Total Time: 1 hr 25 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup sour cream
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon orange zest (from about 1 large orange)
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (for glaze)
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice (for glaze)

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan thoroughly, making sure to coat all the ridges.
Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with 2 cups of the granulated sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4–5 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract and orange zest.
Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Alternate dry and sour cream. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions, beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until combined—do not overmix.
Fold in cranberries. Toss the chopped cranberries with 1 tablespoon of flour to prevent sinking, then gently fold them into the batter by hand.
Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 60–70 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is deep golden brown.
Make the soaking syrup. While the cake bakes, combine the orange juice, remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/3 cup Grand Marnier in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Soak the cake. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Use a skewer to poke holes all over the warm cake. Slowly brush or spoon the Grand Marnier syrup over the entire surface, allowing it to absorb fully.
Finish with glaze. Once the cake is fully cooled, whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, and 1 tablespoon orange juice until smooth. Drizzle over the top of the cake and let set before slicing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Grand Marnier Cranberry Pound Cake — The Kind of Thing That Sounds Fancy Until You Make It