Dessert: Cranberry Spice Cake

Recipe by /contributors/karen-demasco If you manage to have any leftovers, this moist spice cake makes a nice afternoon treat with a cup of tea. For an extra-tart garnish, serve with Citrus-Cranberry Compote .

This recipe includes fertility superfoods such as:

Cinnamon, Lemon, Cranberries

Health and fertility benefits of Cranberry Spice Cake

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060). Lemons can help to prevent oxidative damage to the body, which women with PCOS are often susceptible to. Researchers believe that cranberries contain substances that prevent infection-causing bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract walls. However, store-bought cranberry juice is typically all sugar - so make sure to stick with straight cranberries.

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups (8 ounces) fresh (or frozen, thawed) cranberries
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup grapeseed oil or other neutral vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup apple cider

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Coat bottom and sides of cake pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom with parchment paper; coat paper with spray. Whisk flour and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Pulse cranberries in a food processor until finely chopped but not puréed; set aside.
Stir sugar, brown sugar, and oil in another medium bowl to blend. Add eggs one at a time, stirring to blend between additions. Whisk in sour cream, orange zest, lemon zest, and vanilla.
Whisk in dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with cider in 2 additions and whisking to blend. Fold in chopped cranberries. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top.
Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a tester inserted into center of cake comes out almost clean,1 hour—1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around inside of pan to release cake; turn out cake onto rack. Peel off parchment paper, then flip cake and let cool for 20 minutes.

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