Making “really easy” desserts was key to Ina Garten’s success when she worked at her East Hampton store. (And busy moms who have kids to bathe and bedtime stories to read to could do with some easy dessert ideas, too!) “If it took me all day to make a dessert, I wouldn’t have anything to sell!” Garten says in a new video on Food Network’s YouTube, where she shared one of her go-to cake recipes. Her fruity, cobbler-like cake sounds so good, we’re going to have to try it this winter!
The Barefoot Contessa’s Cranberry & Apple Cake recipe begins with a base of cranberries and Granny Smith apples that will create a “sweet and tart” flavor. She starts by chopping the apples and putting them in a bowl, adding fresh cranberries (which she bought in the fall and froze to keep good) in the bowl. From there, Garten adds other ingredients, including brown sugar and grated orange zest. She mixes it all together, then pours it into a 10-inch round pan.
Next, the batter! Using a KitchenAid mixer, Garten whips eggs with melted butter and other ingredients. She slowly adds flour while it mixes in and a bit of salt, and it’s done! She pours the batter on top of the fruit, sprinkling cinnamon and sugar on top to give it “lots of flavor.” It’s sort of like a pie, but without a pie crust at the bottom.
The simple, easy-to-follow-and-recreate-at-home recipe is one of Garten’s favorite kinds to make. “When I say ‘easy recipes,’ I don’t mean like three ingredients you just throw together,” Garten explains. “What I mean is something that’s really no stress, that you can do, and you know it’s going to come out perfectly every time. And that’s what I consider easy. And that’s just what this recipe is.”
We love this explanation, because we are all for time savers and recipe accessibility, but we also want it to tase different from the powdered box cakes at the grocery store. Garten gets the balance perfectly, and we love her for it!
When the dessert is done, Garten scoops up pieces of the cake “informally,” allowing the melty, crumbly concoction to basically fall onto a plate. It looks so good; we can’t wait to try it ourselves!
“I’ve made this many times; it’s absolutely delicious!” one person commented. Someone else suggested, “This looks amazing! It is screaming out for some vanilla ice cream.” That would be amazing too!
Get Garten’s full Cranberry & Apple Cake recipe HERE.
Before you go, check out the gallery below:
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