Kids and adults both love this—be prepared for lots of requests for the recipe! Serve it with coffee, of course, but also as a snack or dessert. One family we know has happily settled on this as the centerpiece of their traditional Christmas morning breakfast. If you don’t have a big sweet tooth, try using just half of the glaze recipe.
Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch tube pan.
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs while beating on medium speed of a mixer. Add the sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and beat until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt and mix just until combined. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Evenly distribute half the cranberry sauce by the spoonful around the pan. Spread the sauce over the batter with a knife. Pour in the remaining batter. Distribute the remaining cranberry sauce by the spoonful around the pan. Sprinkle with the nuts. Spread the sauce and nuts over the batter.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack. Mix together the glaze ingredients (see below) and pour over the still-warm cake. Let cool completely.
