I love cranberry sauce and I make it every year. I like to enjoy mine tart and sweet with a huge pop of citrus and flavor dimension. I thought it would be fun this year to incorporate my classic Cranberry Citrus Relish into nostalgic jello salad molds. This formed fancy little Marie Antoinette-style bundt cakes so everyone could have their own little, “cake” for a serving.
I used these darling silicone molds on amazon but you can use any individual silicone molds you have- even a muffin mold! these fancy cranberry sauce mini bundts were designed for thanksgiving plates but can go much further in the entertaining realm- holiday tea, christmas brunch, baby showers and more!
the inspiration:
although homemade cranberry sauce is gorgeous on its own, I thought adding a little fancy flair would be fun for a new twist. my goal was to thicken my traditional cranberry citrus relish with gelatin- the flavor would remain the same with a thicker jello-like consistency. I needed it to thicken, but not too much. the process took me two trials to find the proportion that worked perfectly.
- trial #1: I only added a half packet of gelatin with water, (in an effort not to thicken them too much). Although the cranberry sauce thickened naturally, the half packet was not nearly enough to help the cranberry sauce solidify and gelatinize in the mini silicone molds.
- trial #2: after researching less panna cotta renditions, I researched more classic jello salad renditions and found the gelatin percentage needed was much more than I anticipated. After testing again with two whole gelatin packets, the molds set perfectly. the texture was firm, but still soft and supple to cut in to.
mini bundt ingredients:
- fresh cranberries: the star of the show.
- citrus: fresh orange, plenty of orange rind and grand mariner orange liqueur add a fresh pop of in-season orange to our fancy cranberry sauce mini bundts.
- holiday flair: festive fresh pomegranates seeds and finely minced crystallized ginger add flavor, texture and sweetness.
- natural sweeteners: to keep our mini bundts refined sugar-free, I use coconut sugar to emulate a brown sugar texture and molasses-type flavor as well as pure maple syrup for a classic thanksgiving flavor.
- spices: ground cinnamon and salt to enhance the flavors.
- silicone molds: I found these mini decorative bundt cake silicone molds on amazon.
entertaining ideas:
my first inclination was to serve these fancy cranberry sauce mini Bundts alongside a classic Thanksgiving plate but I also explored several more fabulous entertaining options in the process.
- classic thanksgiving: serve mini cranberry Bundts on individual plates alongside turkey, gravy, stuffing and vegetables.
- holiday tea: serve mini cranberry Bundts on a tiered pedestal alongside my maple sage-spiced macadamias, savory tea sandwiches and pastries.
- Christmas brunch: serve cranberry mini bundts on a platter with warm sourdough bread and salted pastured butter alongside egg casserole and breakfast meats.
- winter baby shower: serve cranberry mini bundts on a large platter garnished with rosemary sprigs and fresh cranberries alongside family-style chicken salad on croissants, deli turkey with white cheddar and dijonaise sliders and petit fours.
Fancy Cranberry Sauce Mini Bundts
Equipment
- 3 silicone mini bundt pans (6-count each) I purchased these on Amazon linked in blog post above.
Ingredients
- 48 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- ¼ cup orange rind peeled, julienned and cut into thirds
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 T Grand Marnier orange liqueur
- ½ c crystallized ginger minced
- ½ c pomegranate seeds
- 2 packets unflavored gelatin
- 1/2 cup very cold water
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, add in cranberries, orange juice, orange rind, coconut sugar, maple, cinnamon, salt and orange liqueur. Let simmer over medium heat, stirring often, for about 15 minutes until cranberries are bursting and mixture is turning more jam-like.
- With a potato masher, mash mixture about 20 times, popping the majority of unopened cranberries. Stir in crystallized ginger and pomegranate seeds and let simmer on low another 10 minutes until completely thickened.
- Meanwhile, bloom your gelatin with cold water. In a small bowl, add your chilled water and slowly whisk in your two gelatin packets, whisking until incorporated. Immediately pour gelatin into your cranberry mixture, whisking often until completely incorporated. Remove pot from heat to assemble your mini molds.
- On two sheet pans, arrange your mini molds. With a spoon, transfer cranberry sauce to mini molds, working quickly, until all are filled and even.
- Transfer sheet pans to a refrigerator and chill overnight or at least 8 hours.
- To serve, carefully remove mini bundts from silicone molds and transfer to a serving platter garnished with fresh rosemary sprigs and a sprinkling of fresh cranberries. Serve chilled.
