by Homemade Cranberry Sauce
No Christmas feast is complete without some cranberry sauce, and considering how easy it is to make cranberry sauce from scratch, I would highly recommend doing so instead of reaching for the shop-bought kind.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe
This cranberry sauce recipe comes from Nigella Lawson, an author I turn to frequently throughout the year, but even more so at Christmas time. Her recipe for Redder Than Red Cranberry Sauce forms part of my Christmas ritual, especially since I find it hard to resist buying fresh cranberries at this time of the year to use in desserts and cakes.
Making this cranberry sauce is also an excuse for me to use my bottle of Swiss cherry brandy called Röteli. I’m not much of a drinker, but I do love the taste of strong alcohol in cooking and baking!
We were once in Davos for a weekend of skiing and I brought back a bottle of this cherry liquor as a souvenir. I love to use it in most desserts with cherries, but it also works well with cranberries.
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 400 g (12 oz) cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 200 g (1 cup) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 45 ml (3 tablespoons) Röteli, or other cherry brandy, Cointreau, Grand Marnier or ruby port, alcohol optional
- 75 ml (â…“ cup) water
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Let the mixture simmer gently for about 10 minutes, stirring the sauce occasionally to squash the cranberries.
- Once most of the cranberries have broken down, the sauce should have thickened. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken considerably upon cooling.
- Pour the sauce into a serving bowl and allow to cool.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Kitchen Notes
- MAKE AHEAD TIPS
Cranberry Sauce is like a jam, so you can make it well ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until needed. Store it in a sterilised jar to keep it for longer, up to a few weeks in the fridge. - ALCOHOL SUBSTITUTE
If you don’t like the taste of alcohol in your cranberry sauce, you could also substitute the alcohol for orange juice, but you will have to add more sugar to sweeten the sauce – just keep tasting until you reach the desired sweetness. - RECIPE CREDIT
This recipe is adapted from Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson. - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
This is absolutely fantastic! Sounds worth a try!