| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup orange-flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 orange, zested
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups diced peeled apples (about 2 apples)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
- Ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small saucepan, heat the orange liqueur. Turn off the heat and add the cranberries, making sure all the cranberries are submerged in the liquid. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon and the orange zest. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add the apples, walnuts, and drained cranberries. Spoon the mixture into a lightly greased 8 by 8 by 2-inch glass baking dish or 8-inch cake pan. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
- To serve, while still warm cut into squares or wedges and serve with ice cream.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 477 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 29 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Cholesterol | 152 mg |
| Sodium | 242 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 477 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 29 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Cholesterol | 152 mg |
| Sodium | 242 mg |
Reviews
Very easy to make. My dried cranberries were somewhat fresh, and didn’t absorb much of the liquor so I added all the remaining liquor in the batter. I was worried it would turn out very wet or mushy, but did not! (phew!) In fact, it gave nice fragrance which we loved.
Loved this dessert. It is easy and really delicious. It will be one of my “go to” recipes from now on.
Thanks Giada.
Thanks Giada.
I made this torta this morning. I didn’t have Grand Marnier to soak the dried cranberries in, but I DID have fresh cranberries. I put about 1 cup into my mini chopper and used them instead. I didn’t bother to toast the walnuts. I also used several kinds of apples (picked fresh yesterday! It was quite good.
Mine looked just like the picture on this recipe. I was all out of Grand Marnier and used Congnac to plump the cranberries. I used one large Pink Lady apple to get my 2 cups and had no problem with the amount of batter. Next time however I would use Golden Delicious as I’ve had much better performance with them in this type of recipe. The taste coming out of the oven 24 hours was much different than just 1 hour. The longer it sat the more it tasted and reminded me of fruit cake, perhpas it was the Congnac. I thought it was best shortly out of the oven. It was not very sweet and that’s fine if you follow the recipe and add ice cream. As always, don’t over bake your cakes. I say give it a try.
Soaked cranberries in a mix of warm orange and apple juice, drained it well; used light brown sugar and zest of 1 instead of 1/2 orange – other than that followed the recipe and it came out PERFECT! Delicious and simple cake. Will bake it again.
This recipe was not inspiring at all. As someone else noted, not enough batter to mix in with apples. It was dry and rubbery at the same time. Looks like a lot of reviewers would try different things to improve its appeal. I won’t waste my time, shouldn’t really have to!
There just wasn’t enough batter for 2 cups of apples. It didn’t bake right – I do a lot of baking and know my way around the kitchen. The flavors are nice, but it wasn’t something I could serve to anyone. I may try it again with making more batter.
I watched the video for this cake before making it, and realized that some reviewers must not have drained the Grand Marnier from the cranberries before adding to the batter.
After watching Giada make the cake, I was ready to start. What I really liked about the recipe is that it was fast to make, lower in sugar than many desserts, and featured fresh apples and toasted walnuts to offer at least a little nutrition.
I followed the recipe carefully, and found I needed to bake it the full 40 minutes. The top was crusty in a good way, and the crunch of the walnuts was nice, but I found the flavor a litle lackluster, even with the orange zest. I made some of Ina Garten’s honey vanilla creme fraiche to serve with it to punch it up a bit, and think if I make it again, I may add more spice and more zest. The good news is, this will taste great for breakfast with a cup of coffee!
Lucy,
Giada used Granny Smith aplles when she made this on her show.
Giada used Granny Smith aplles when she made this on her show.
Does anyone know what kind of apples work best in this cake? The recipe itself does not mention the variety of apples used? Thanks!