Cranberry Christmas Cake

This is my favorite baked good of my mother's around the holidays.

Christmas Cake

1 cup sugar
2 cup flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 c cranberries, whole and fresh

Directions

Mix dry ingredients together first. Mix milk, melted butter, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. Stir dry and wet ingredients together. Gently stir in cranberries and make sure they do not break. Grease a 8 x 8 pan and pour the mixture in. Bake at 350 until it is golden brown on the top. You should be able to put a fork through the middle cleanly, but make sure the cake is not too done. This will take approximately 25 minutes.

Sauce:
1 c sugar
1/2 c cream
1/4 lb butter
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt

While the cake is baking, the sauce should be made. Stir all ingredients together. Over medium heat, stir the mixture until the sugar disintegrates and it is clear.

Final Directions

Cut each piece individually and then spoon frosting on top. Should be served warm. The "frosting" will seep into the top layer of the cake and create a nice contrast between the cake and the tart cranberries.

The frosting can be stored in the fridge separately from the cake and reheated for future consumption.