Cointreau Pudding Cake with Cranberry Syrup

Cointreau Pudding Cake

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 Tbsp Cointreau (or Grand Marnier)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• ¼ tsp teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup sugar for whipping egg whites
• freshly whipped heavy cream for serving

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Put full kettle of water on to boil.
2. Butter an 8x8 inch glass baking dish. Get a larger pan ready that can fit the dish inside of it easily. You’ll have to take the smaller dish out later when the pan is full of hot water!
3. Separate eggs. Put yolks in a blender and whites in a mixer bowl. Add buttermilk, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, Cointreau, flour, butter, and salt to blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
4. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Then add 1/4 cup sugar slowly and beat until stiff but not dry. Pour 1/3 of buttermilk mixture into whites and fold until uniform. Repeat with two more additions. You want to keep the whites fluffy so fold very gently.
5. Pour batter into prepared dish then place in large rectangular roasting pan. Fill pan with hot water to halfway up dish. Bake 40-45 minutes. The top should be lightly browned but the batter should still jiggle in the center only. If you cook it on the shorter end, the custardly bottom will be more liquid-like. If you cook it longer, you will have more cake. I like mine more custardy so I begin checking even at 35 minutes. Very carefully remove from water-filled pan and let cool completely.
6. You can serve this while still slightly warm or you can cool it and refrigerate to serve it chilled. Serve it a top a shallow pool of cranberry syrup and crowned with freshly whipped cream.
7. Note: This can instead be prepared in ramekins and baked for 20-25 minutes.

Cranberry Syrup

• 1 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup water

1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and enjoy the popping sound. Reduce heat to medium and cook until cranberries have turned quite mushy and the sauce has thickened slightly. Add some water if you need to. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and push through the cranberry mush as best you can. Scrape the bottom outside of the strainer occasionally to get some of the thick gel to thicken the syrup.