Cranberries - Orange Pound Cake

Spring is just around the corner. We got a nice glimpse of it last week-end when temperatures climbed up to the mid-60s (15C) for two days: everybody was out, students had already traded their down-jackets for t-shirts, their winter boots for flip-flops (??? don't ask!!) It felt that everybody was coming out of their house, fully alive and ready to dance! People were crowding public parks again (we once counted two benches with people in Rittenhouse Square one Sunday in February... last week-end, if two benches were inoccuppied, we were lucky!!)
It was unfortunately short-lived.  We are now back to wearing our down-jackets again (some students are still in T-shirts but because they are hot from celebrating Saint Patrick's Day today!!) .... and I have to say that I have a hard time dealing with this grey-dump-cold weather!

On those days, I only want to stay inside, eat some nice hearty soups, read a good book and/or watch a good movie or play a nice game with our children. Unfortunately, with two children in need of energy-burning exercises, this Sunday-inside is not an option for us (we were homebound for 36 hours when Hurricane Sandy hit last Fall and it did not do us any good. By Tuesday morning, we were already outside for a walk in the neighborhood....)

Nice or not-so-nice weather,  off we go!  Our children bundle up, take their scooters and we go out for at least 2 hours...  If we are lucky, they will take a good nap, which is when I have a few minutes to read a book (or take a nap myself!); my husband taking advantage of this quiet time to work...

One thing that I always do on these gloomy days is make some soups for dinner and, if I feel zealous, a nice pound cake for our afternoon goûter. With a nice cup of tea to warm us up, it helps us deal with the grey weather outside. Until it is nice enough again to be able to enjoy a more fruity (ie, no more citrus) pound cake on our roof terrasse. Allez, encore quelques semaines! Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:

- 1.5  (200g) cups all purpose flour

-  2 ts baking powder

- 1/2 ts salt

- 1 cup (250 ml) plain yogurt

- 1 cup (200g) sugar

- 3 eggs

- zest of 2 organic oranges

- 1/2 cup (125ml) canola oil 

- 1/3 cup (80ml)  orange juice

- Dried cranberries

- 2 ts Grand Marnier

• Pre-heat oven to 375 F (185C)
• In bowl, combine al the dry ingredients and the orange zest
• In another bowl, combine the eggs and yogurt and mix well. 
• Add the orange juice and Grand-Marnier and mix gently
• Incorporate the oil gently.
• Combine the wet ingredients in the wet ingredients
• Add the cranberries at the last minute - stirr
• Pour into a mold and bake in the oven for 45mns - 50mns or until a knife inserted comes out clean