1 cup chopped pecans
1½ cups fresh or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
5 large eggs
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup orange liqueur or orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
½ teaspoon salt
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans. Place pecans on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool. Coarsely chop cranberries and set aside. With electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add sour cream, liqueur, vanilla, and orange peel. Sift both flours together with salt. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients to egg mixture and stop when all flour has been added. Using a spoon, gently fold in pecans and cranberries. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool cake in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a rack and cool completely. Dust cakes with confectioners’ sugar.
Yield: 2 cakes