Orange-Glazed Cranberry Pound Cake

I made this for my husbands Christmas get together. It was such a hit. He brought me home a piece since I didn't think it was fair to sneak a piece. The taste is so good.....butter, sweet moist cake scattered with fresh cranberries.....the tartness meets the sweetness in your mouth and makes for  taste explosion! I used last years frozen bags of berries so you can bet I have bought and frozen more for more bakings of this fabulous cake. I followed the directions exactly and it was perfect. I used a Wilton  bundt pan which measures like 9.5 x 3.5 and it did not bake over. It did go right to the rim & had thought I would cut the very edge just for perfection, however my husband talked me out of it and glad he did. When I turned it over, it really made a nice little edge @ the bottom. Great cake and very impressive. 

This is a delicious and versatile cake, that would work equally well for an everyday dessert, a special brunch, or an informal holiday dinner. I will certainly make it again. I used a castle Bundt pan for mine. I made no changes in the cake recipe, but I did alter the glaze recipe. Since the presentation was beautiful in the castle pan, and I didn't want to cover it up with icing, I just doubled the glaze recipe, and used a 50/50 mixture of orange juice and Grand Marnier, plus a little orange zest, in place of the plain orange juice. I also threw a few fresh cranberries into the glaze mixture while heating it, to decorate the castle's towers. Then I painted the glaze over the entire cake surface. Beautiful, festive and just sweet enough! The recipe does make a little more batter than needed (leave 1/2-2/3 inch at the rim for rising), so I'd recommend using the extra batter in a muffin or cupcake pan. That way, you get to test out the finished product, and decide how much glaze and/or frosting you want to add.