Cranberry Orange Spice Cake with Citrus Cream Cheese

Step 1

Grease a 9 inch spring form cake pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Step 3

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter together with an electric mixture until light and creamy. Scrape down the sides and add in 2 eggs and the vanilla. Beat for 1 minute. Stir in the molasses with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Step 4

Add in half of the flour mixture, stirring until just combined, followed by half of the orange juice, stirring again until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour and juice. Pour cake batter in prepared pan and set aside.

Step 5

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining egg, softened cream cheese, 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and citrus zest. Mix until completely smooth then spread evenly and gently over the top of the cake batter.

Step 6

Place the frozen cranberries in a food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times until the cranberries are coarsely chopped, but not too fine (see pictures above). Sprinkle the cranberries over the top of the cake. Lay the clementine rounds over the top of the cake as well.

Step 7

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until cake is set. When the cake is done the center may still be slightly jiggly (not too jiggly) because of the cream cheese, however, if you insert a long pick into the center of the cake it should only come out with cream cheese on it and not any cake batter.

Step 8

Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes before releasing spring form. Let it cool for another 25 minutes before cutting. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.