Cranberry Cherry Apple Sauce

Cranberry sauce is one of my favorite things to make for the holidays.  I love how it fills the house with its sweet aroma.  

I have been making this cranberry sauce for many years.  It reminds me of the one that my mom would make (with apples and orange juice) when I was growing up.  I love the flavor combination and the addition of the extra fruit.  I’ve tried to mix it up over the years and add different things like fresh ginger, cloves, fresh apple juice, more honey, etc. but I always come back to this recipe, it’s my all time favorite. 

Cranberry Cherry Apple Sauce

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Make this sauce the day before your holiday meal.  It keeps well in the refrigerator and tastes even better the next day. 

Equipment: Medium-Size Saucepan w/ Lid, Cutting Board, Microplane Zester or Standing Grater with Zester, Optional Food Processor

·      1 ½ cups fresh organic cranberries (frozen is fine)

·      1 cup frozen organic sweet cherries

·      1 medium-size organic apple (I use Fuji), peeled and finely diced

·      Zest of organic orange

·      1 organic orange (I use Valencia), halved and juiced

·      2 organic cinnamon sticks (I buy cinnamon sticks here)

·      ½ cup honey (I use local raw clover honey)

1.    Wash cranberries, apple and orange.  Peel and finely dice apple.  Zest orange with microplane zester/standing grater zester.  Cut orange in half to juice. 

2.   Place cranberries, frozen cherries, diced apple, orange zest, cinnamon sticks and honey in saucepan.  Squeeze/juice orange halves over fruit, any pulp that falls into the saucepan is fine. 

3.   Cover saucepan and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, remove lid and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer about 30-35 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.  [Note: Sauce will thicken more as cooled/refrigerated.]

4.   If you prefer a chunkier cranberry sauce, remove cinnamon sticks and leave as is.  If you prefer a smoother sauce, remove cinnamon sticks and add contents to a food processor.  Pulse to combine until smooth. 

5.    Transfer to a glass storage dish, cover and refrigerate for later (you can serve immediately if you prefer a warm/hot cranberry sauce).  Store in the refrigerator.    

Yield: Makes about 3 cups.

Note: If you prefer a sweeter sauce, add another ¼ - ½ cup honey.  I use Valencia oranges because they tend to be sweeter than Navel oranges this time of year, they also tend to be juicier – Navel oranges tend to be more tart and have less juice.  I prefer using a sweeter apple, Fuji is usually the least expensive at my local co-op, but any sweet apple would work fine.

Vegan-Option: Coconut palm sugar or organic maple syrup grade B could be substituted instead of honey. 

Amazon and Mountain Rose Herbs links are affiliate links, prices are the same for you.  Should you decide to purchase through my blog, thank you in advance and much gratitude for supporting Recipes to Nourish. 

This post is part of Fat Tuesday @ Real Food Forager, Real Food Wednesday @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Hearth and Soul Hop @ Premeditated Leftovers, Allergy-Free Wednesdays @ Laura's Gluten Free Pantry, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday @ Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Real Food Holiday Recipe Link Up @ Hybrid Rasta Mama, Pennywise Platter Thursday @ The Nourishing Gourmet, and Fresh Bites Friday @ Real Food Whole Health.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

 
So, I was daydreaming about delicious holiday sweets...

and how I could create them in cake form.

(What, you don't do that?)

My mind wandered to chocolate covered cherries...
because I really, really love them...
then inspiration hit me!

I realized if I made my Maraschino Cherry Cake and covered it in chocolate,

it would taste like a giant chocolate covered cherry!

   
Fabulous idea, don't you think??

This cake is full of maraschino cherry chunks, covered with whipped chocolate ganache
and topped with homemade chocolate covered cherries.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake 
by Bird On A Cake

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Maraschino Cherry Cake

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon cherry extract
• 10 oz. bottle of maraschino cherries - reserve the juice and cut the cherries in eighths
• 2 tablespoons flour for sprinkling over diced cherries

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

• 1 (12 oz.) package mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of three 6 inch cake pans (or two 8 inch) with wax paper. Grease the sides.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in the egg whites. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, cherry extract and reserved maraschino cherry juice. Alternate adding the dry and wet mixtures to the butter/sugar/eggs until combined.

In a small bowl, sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of flour over the diced cherries and stir until the flour has been completely absorbed. Stir the cherries into the batter.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Microwave chocolate chips and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl on medium power, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt. Whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Whisk in butter; let stand 20 minutes. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 3 to 4 minutes or until ganache forms soft peaks. Spread on cooled cake.

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How to make Chocolate Covered Cherries

• Drain maraschino cherries with stems and pat them dry with a paper towel.
• Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or microwave.
• Dip the cherries in the melted chocolate, then place on wax paper to harden.
• Arrange on top of your cake immediately after spreading the whipped ganache.

This cake would be a showstopper at any holiday party or family gathering!

Enjoy!

I share my recipes & tutorials at these fun link parties.

This post was featured!

Thanksgiving Pilgrim & Indian Cupcake Toppers

Poor Thanksgiving.

It seems to get forgotten in the mad rush to Christmas!

And Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday...

I love that we Americans dedicate a day to being thankful!

We gather our families together and focus on what is really important in life.

Remember the people who started it all?

To celebrate them, I used candy melts to make some cute
Pilgrim & Indian Cupcake Toppers.
 (I know we say "Native Americans" now. You may call these whatever you like!)

These toppers would be fun to make with your kids.

You can use my template to make the heads,

and let your little ones draw on some faces with frosting.

Then you can enjoy eating them together!

Start by copying or downloading this template:

• Tape the template to a cookie sheet or piece of cardboard. Tape a sheet of wax paper over the template.
• Heat your candy melts on 50% power in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until melted and smooth.
• To make the Indians skin color, I used peanut butter candy melts.
• To make the Pilgrim skin color, I used white candy melts mixed with a tiny drop of yellow and a tiny drop of orange food coloring gel.
• I used decorating bags fitted with Wilton #3 (small round) tips.

Want to know my secret weapon for getting straight lines and smooth edges

when working with candy melts?

Toothpicks!

First I fill in the outline without trying to reach the edge.

Then I use a toothpick to push the melted candy to the edge

and fill in any empty space or corners.

See before and after in the pics below:

 When your toppers are done, put them in the refrigerator to harden.

Then carefully peel them off the wax paper and turn them over.

Time to pipe on some faces!

You can use more candy melts or frosting.

Tip: A ziploc bag with the corner snipped off works well for little hands.

I want to say how thankful I am for all of you, my wonderful readers!

I love hearing from you and getting to share my cake obsession with you. :0)

You make this blog SO much fun for me!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Would you like to see another fun tutorial using candy melts?
Check out my Autumn Leaves Cake!

I share my recipes & tutorials at these fun link parties.

This post was featured!

Probiotic Raspberry Smoothie

I’ve been trying to find lots of extra ways to get probiotics into my diet during this pregnancy.  I want to make sure I build a healthy gut for our baby.  I’ve been drinking lots of water kefir, eating sauerkraut, and taking my probiotics daily.  But, I wanted some other options too.  I don’t care for the taste of plain yogurt, but it’s loaded with probiotics and it’s good for your gut, so I wanted to find a way to consume it daily.  I’ve been adding it to smoothies – fruit smoothies, green smoothies, pumpkin pie smoothies … you get the picture. 

I know raspberries are not in season right now, but they are a low sugar fruit and I’ve been craving their tangy flavor.  Some of you are lucky enough to have harvested them during the summer and have freezers loaded with frozen berries.  If you do, this is a great way to use some of them.  For others like me, check your local natural foods store for frozen organic raspberries, my local co-op has sales on them regularly, so I like to stock up on them then.   

I hope you enjoy this tangy smoothie as much as I do. 

Probiotic Raspberry Smoothie

Equipment: Blender

·      2 ½ cups frozen organic raspberries

·      1 medium organic banana – fresh or frozen

·      1 – 1 ½ cups raw whole milk or full fat coconut milk

·      1 cup organic whole plain yogurt, such as St. Benoit or Straus Family Creamery 

·      1 tablespoon raw honey or sweetener of choice

·      1 probiotic capsule, empty probiotic, discard capsule (optional, See Note)

1.    Add frozen raspberries, banana (broken into pieces), milk, yogurt, honey, and empty probiotic powder into blender. 

2.   Blend until smooth and combined, about 1 minute. 

3.   Serve immediately or freeze for later.  

Note: I used Bio-Kult Probiotic.  It can be emptied from the capsule, which makes it great for kids – you can put it in drinks, smoothies, food etc.   

Yield: Makes about 5 cups.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Hearth and Soul Hop @ Premeditated Leftovers, Allergy-Free Wednesdays Blog Hop @ Laura's Gluten Free Pantry, Pennywise Platter Thursday @ The Nourishing Gourmet, Simple Lives Thursday @ A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa, and Fresh Bites Friday @ Real Food Whole Health.