Cranberry Orange Vanilla Christmas Cake
The idea was a citrus cranberry Christmas cake. The mission was accomplished. However, the process was a bit messy. If you're a seasoned baker, you know, there is a certain time frame to which we must adhere after removing the cake pans from the oven and then inverting to release from the cake pan. With proper timing (about 15 minutes), the cake releases beautifully. However, if you're in a time crunch to leave the house and must leave the cakes in the pan for several hours (this was my situation on the baking day), the cake does NOT release easily. In fact, my two layers became crumb cakes. Brian said to me, "You're going to have to make a pile of crumbs." I was not going to accept this fate. Thus, the cake crumbs are sealed together with gorgeous frosting, buttercream glue, and a filling of homemade cranberry sauce and clementine-apricot preserves. After several hours in the fridge, a full layer of buttercream sealed the deal. The decor consists of candied cran...
