Brown Sugar Cranberry Cake with Clementine Glaze

So, it's been a while.  Everyone told me med school would get busy, but the actual experience of coming home every day to study until the moment you fall asleep is a different story.....

But this morning, inspired by the sunny November day and a brunch invitation, I finally found time to bake something. It is an adaptation of French Yogurt Cake from Chocolate and Zucchini.  (I have adapted this recipe once before).

I woke up an hour and a half before the brunch, tiptoeing down to the kitchen so as not to wake anyone. The cake only took 10 minutes to put together, so I went upstairs to crawl back into bed for a little more sleep while the cake was in the oven. "Where'd you go?" my boyfriend asked sleepily. "I was baking a cake...." "But you were gone for only 10 minutes!"(Hence the magic of this simple cake). His face fell when he realized the cake was for the brunch, but he perked up when I promised to bring him home at least one big slice.

The brown sugar, orange zest and yogurt base provides a perfectly sweet and moist balance to the fresh, whole, tart cranberries. The clementine glaze just adds to all of that....

For the cake:

• 1 c plain yogurt
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c canola oil
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• a large pinch salt (maybe even 1/4 tsp)
• 1-2 c cranberries, rinsed

For the glaze:

• Juice of one clementine
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tbs powdered sugar

Mix together the yogurt, brown sugar and oil in a large bowl, then add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the zest.  Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl; add this flour mixture (not all at once, but in 2-3 additions) to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Pour half the batter into a greased cake pan (she calls for a 9" cake pan--all I had was a 10" pie pan and it worked just fine!). Mix in the cranberries. Sprinkle a little brown sugar on top of the cake Bake in a 360º oven for 40-60 minutes (this really varies on oven time and pan shape). While the cake is baking, mix together the juice of one clementine and a little powdered and brown sugar. Pour the glaze over the cake when it is still warm.