• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and line a 9X9 round baking pan with parchment paper .
• In a small bowl using your clean fingers,  rub the orange zest and sugar together until fragrant.
•  Then pour the sugar and orange zest into a large bowl with two eggs. Whisk everything together for 2 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Add in the vanilla or almond extract (optional), salt, neutral oil and almond milk and mix well. Now add the sour cream and mix until fully incorporated into the batter.
• Next, sift in the dry ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, almond flour and all purpose flour) and mix until incorporated into the batter.
• In another bowl, add the frozen cranberry ( I allowed it to thaw just for 5 minutes) and add 1&1/2 tablespoons of AP flour and mix well. Doing this will help to prevent the cranberry from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
• Add the flour coated cranberry into the batter and fold gently and until incorporated well. Make sure not to over mix the batter.
• Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan. Gently spread the batter evenly. Top the batter with sliced almonds. Bake on the middle rack at 350F for about 36-39 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before flipping into a wired rack to cool completely. Optional – Drizzle some orange glaze on top. Slice a piece and enjoy with your morning coffee!

Orange Glaze (optional)

• In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, almond milk, and orange zest. Mix well and if the consistency is thin, add additional powdered sugar. If you want the glaze to be thinner, add additional milk. This all depends on your preference.