German for cake, this kuchen has a thick batter much like the consistency of cookie dough. I had extra cranberries left over from Christmas Eve dinner, and kuchen gave me a good way to use up this tart and tasty (and Wisconsin grown) fruit.

Thanks to Michelle at Scribbit for this recipe; she has great taste and and a great blog, too.

Cranberry Kuchen

For cranberry sauce:
2 ½ cups fresh cranberries
½ cup maple syrup

For cake:
2 ¼ cups flour
½ cup sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 egg
½ cup milk

For topping:
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ cup butter
1/3 cup sliced almonds

To make sauce, in a saucepan cook berries in maple syrup over medium heat until berries just beginning to pop.

To make cake, mix all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) then add wet ingredients (butter, egg and milk) and mix until well combined.

Spread half of batter in 9×9 greased pan. Top with berry sauce then drop remaining batter by spoonfuls onto top. Combine the sugar, flour and ginger for the topping then cut in butter and add sliced almonds. Sprinkle on top of cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and top is golden.

Just because I could, I tried out my new zest file (a Christmas gift) and the peelings from La Petite’s orange, and sprinkled orange zest on top of the cake. Cranberry and orange are two great tastes that taste great together. Delicious!