One Last Dessert

A quick pound cake as an excuse to use up those last cranberries in the freezer. Working from a recipe a magazine reported to be Jacques Pépin's favorite (I am a sucker for him) creamed 2 1/2 sticks of butter with a tsp of vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 1/4 cup sugar then added in 6 eggs two at a time. I finished up the wet ingredients with 1/4 cup of milk mixed into the batter. I sifted 2 1/2 cups of cake flour over the batter and folded it in along with a handful of candied Buddha's hand citrus I found at the farmer's market. The recipe called for no baking powder or soda. Even now after eating the cake -- which is dense and flavorful I'm not sure if that was a mistake.

For the topping I simmered cranberries, brown sugar, a bit of honey, segments of blood orange (along with the juice), a cinnamon stick and a bit more of the candied chopped Buddha's hand into a thick sauce I served topping the cake with a dollop of whole milk yogurt.