Ingredients

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons; 142 grams) unsalted butter

1 cup (115 grams) cranberries, fresh or frozen

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, or any nut of your choosing

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar, divided

1 1/4 cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour

2 large eggs, room temperature

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) kosher salt

Demerara sugar for sprinkling, optional

Preparation

  1. Position the baking rack in the middle and heat the oven to 350oF (click here for Celcius/Gas Mark). In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and cook it until the solids become milk chocolate brown. This can take anywhere between 5 and 10 minutes, so use your sense of smell to rely on when the butter has browned. When you smell the nuttiness and the foaming and bubbling generally ceases-your butter should be ready. Remove from heat and set aside.

  2. Line a 9-inch square cake pan with a strip of parchment paper in both directions so that all four sides of the pan have a little extra paper peeking out, and brush the bottom and sides with 1 tablespoon of the melted, browned butter. In a medium bowl, toss together the cranberries, walnuts, and 1/2 cup sugar until combined. Transfer the mixture to your baking dish and set aside.

  3. Check the brown butter and make sure it’s cooled slightly. Into a large bowl add the flour, remaining sugar, remaining butter, eggs, zest, vanilla, and salt and mix until well combined. Pour the batter over the cranberry-nut mixture and sprinkle with a little demerara sugar on top, if you like. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 55 to 60 minutes (add a few extra minutes if using frozen cranberries - mine took 65 minutes), or until a cake tester comes out without batter or crumbs. You want it to be a consistency of a slightly more baked than a chewy cookie. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before slicing.