Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cake

It has been a few weeks since I last blogged. The holidays were crazy busy and left me feeling a bit blue. Usually each New Year inspires me to plan my "To Do List" for the coming year. Not resolutions, but "To Do's". But that didn't happen this year...at least not yet. 
My holiday blues made it really hard for me to blog, let alone think about what I wanted to accomplish in 2015. Writing on the blog was hard especially since I'd done very little blog cooking since Thanksgiving. The few dishes I'd cooked, needed more work. They were not quite good enough. This recipe for Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cake was one of the successful recipes throughout this time but I just couldn't put any words down. 

Today, I decided that I needed a better attitude. I needed to tackle the things I could change...like I used to do, before I started feeling bad. 
I got up today determined to get my head back in gear by carving out some time to do the things I like to do. 

First things, first. Take care of my physical self. 
I love to exercise and I love to read but hadn't done much of either since last summer. So this morning, I worked out and I resumed reading a book I started reading over 6 months ago. Yay for me!  
Next up...Cooking. I love to cook. It grounds me. So after my workout and shower, I worked on a new recipe. It's not quite there. The flavor is all there but I have to work on the presentation a bit...but at least I know how I'm going to change it up and make it blog worthy. :) 
And now, I'm tackling this blog...this deliciously moist cake that left me unable to write all these weeks. Not only is this cake super easy to make but it's versatile. The basic buttermilk cake recipe can be used with just about any other ingredients. Swap out the cranberries and orange and add lemon zest and blueberries, or add nuts or a cinnamon struesel topping! It's delicious and a snap to make. Enjoy!

Looks like I'm on my way to start my "To Do List" after all. Happy New Year!

Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Cake

Makes 1 loaf

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 T orange zest
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla extract
1/3 cup cranberries
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.

Mix flour, salt, baking powder and sugar in a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, add buttermilk, orange zest, oil, eggs and vanilla extract and mix well. Add this to the flour mixture and whisk until incorporated. Add cranberries and mix until just combined. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Note: The cranberries will float to the top. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and Enjoy!