October calls for a cookbook with a little history, a little drama, and something very good cooling on the counter.
This month, The Foyer Cookbook Club is cooking from Cuisine To Kill For, a collection that serves up recipes with stories attached. Our latest pick from the book: Cranberry Cake, adapted from a 1961 community cookbook and exactly the kind of recipe we want in rotation once the air turns crisp.
Tart cranberries. Orange zest. Pecans and dates. A glossy citrus glaze.
It’s cozy, old-school, and just mysterious enough for October.
Why Cuisine To Kill For Is Our October Pick
The best cookbooks give you more than instructions. Cuisine To Kill For gives you context, character, and recipes that feel like they’ve lived a few lives before reaching your kitchen.
That makes it a natural October choice: comforting, curious, and made for nights when dinner deserves a better backstory.
And this cranberry cake has one.
Cranberry Cake
This recipe comes from Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and is adapted from Cookin’ in the 80s, a cookbook published by the West Virginia Federation of Women’s Clubs.
The recipe note in the book explains that community support played a major role in Trans-Allegheny, with local women’s clubs contributing food and other goods. It also notes that patients were fed three meals a day for 47 cents per person in 1961, according to a Raleigh Register item quoted in the cookbook.
As the headnote puts it, there’s no way to know for certain, but perhaps someone once baked this cake for a patient in the hospital.
Either way, it brings a little bit of deliciousness.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Zest and juice of 2 oranges, separated
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup chopped dates
- 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a tube pan or Bundt pan.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and grated orange zest. Add the pecans, dates, and cranberries and stir to combine. Set aside.
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In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture just until moistened, then transfer the batter to the cake pan.
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Bake for 1 hour, until a knife comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 1 hour before removing.
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When the cake is cool enough, turn out onto a platter, then prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the orange juice and water. Stir in the remaining ¼ cup sugar, and cook until the sugar is dissolved, about 3–4 minutes. Let the topping cool slightly, then pour over the cake.
Why We’re Making This One
This is the kind of cake that knows exactly what season it belongs to.
The cranberries bring tartness. The dates add richness. Pecans give it crunch, and the orange glaze keeps everything bright instead of heavy.
Basically: autumn, but with better manners.
Serve it with coffee, put it out for brunch, or slice it after dinner while the candles are still burning. It feels festive without trying too hard.
Cook Along With The Foyer
If your October kitchen could use a little intrigue, Cuisine To Kill For is a very good place to start.
Make the cranberry cake. Read the story behind it. Then keep turning pages.
Because a cookbook this good deserves more than one victim. 👻
CTA: Get Cuisine To Kill For