cranberries dried or fresh?

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corazon

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I found a great recipe for cranberry streusel pound cake but in the recipe it calls for dried crans. I'd prefer to make it with fresh but I don't know if that will do anything wierd to the texture of the pound cake or not. Any advice? Thanks!
 
I'd be concerned that the added moisture could cause a problem. Also, the texture is very different and the dry ones are sweeter (though not really sweet at all).
 
I've made pound cake with fresh blueberries before and it turned out fantstically! If you're concerned about moisture two thoughts would be 1.) reduce the quanity of the berries slightly (so use less fresh than dried) or 2.) Freeze them first and add them to your batter while they are frozen - sometimes this helps to cut down on "berry bleeding" (ie, the juice turning the whole thing light pink). I'd say go for it with the fresh berries - I bet it'll taste great :)
 
The fresh berries, especially if you use them whole, will make the cake much more tart. I love using fresh cranberries but always chop them or at least cut them in half. I've found a whole berry bursting in your mouth can be a little too sour!

Unless the recipe called for soaking the dried cranberries first, your cake will be a little more moist. Probably not to the point it's a problem, though.

If you decide to use fresh and cut them, be sure to do it frozen--it's SO much easier! You can mix in frozen berries just as you would thawed.
 
I prefer dried cranberries (Craisins) over the fresh ones simply because they are sweeter and not as tart as the fresh ones. I've used Craisins in cookies, muffins and turkey dressing and once hydrated during baking, they plump back to its original shape. Good luck and let us know how your pound cake turned out.

Dina
 

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