This Cranberry Cake is delicious served at Christmas or Thanksgiving, although once you taste it you will want to bake it year-round!
An easy cranberry cake recipe with a tender moist crumb studded with fresh cranberries throughout – simply delicious served plain or with a simple buttery sauce.
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I love baking with fresh cranberries! The tart taste and vibrant red color turn even the simplest cake into a festive holiday cake… and you can’t ask for more than that.
This is such an easy cake – simply beat all the ingredients together, fold in the cranberries and bake! I also added some cranberry sauce on top since I had some going spare that needed to be used up.
Basically this is a heavenly cake that requires no icing or frosting – it’s that delicious on its own. If you wanted to push the boat out just a little then a simple buttery creamy sauce will make it even more irresistible!
Trust me, once you have a bite you will want to come back for seconds. I guarantee it will become a favorite Christmas dessert – or a Thanksgiving one of course 😉
Cranberry Christmas Cake
This cake uses simple everyday pantry staple ingredients and fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries. The sweetness of the cake will balance out the tartness of the cranberries!
I always stock up when cranberries are in season and keep some in my freezer to add to holiday bakes such as this Winter Wonderland cake or even in casseroles like this rich venison stew!
A little orange zest and vanilla extract round off the flavor nicely or you can use almond extract if you prefer.
This cake is nut-free but you can easily fold in some chopped pecans or almonds to add a bit more texture if you like. White chocolate chips are also delicious in this cake 😉
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY CAKE
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and mist a rectangular pan (this NordicWare one is a favorite) with cake release and line with baking paper, letting the paper slightly overhang.
Put the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Add the softened butter, eggs, milk and orange zest and beat with an electric hand mixer. Start on a low speed setting, increasing the speed as the ingredients combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
Toss the cranberries in sugar and fold into the cake batter. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and level. Dot with the cranberry sauce – this is totally optional by the way – and swirl it into the batter.
Bake for 45-40 minutes, or until the cake is golden, springy to the touch and coming away from the edges of the tin. Lift the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely and slice. I cut my cranberry cake into 24 fairly small squares – you can cut into bigger and more generous servings if you like!
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves – do not allow it to boil! Stir in the cream and almond extract until you have a velvety golden sauce. Pour the warm sauce over the cake just before serving.
Frequent Questions
Can I use any other fruit in this cake? You can use blueberries if you like but the taste will be quite different. Fresh berries are best as frozen blueberries tend to “bleed” into the batter.
Can I use dried cranberries instead? If you want to use dried cranberries then rehydrate them first by soaking in warm tea or orange juice until they become plump. Place in a bowl and cover with the liquid then leave overnight. The cranberries should absorb the liquid but if any remains then drain it.
Can I bake this as a Bundt cake? You can bake this cake in a 10-cup bundt cake tin but make sure you grease it with shortening and dust it with flour so that the cake will be easy to release from the tin in one piece.
Storing and freezing
This cranberry cake needs to be stored in the fridge as the fresh fruit can spoil if stored at room temperature.
You can also freeze it, wrapped well, for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
Have you made my Cranberry Cake recipe? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!
More Festive Bakes
I LOVE baking for the holidays and have many recipes I think you will also enjoy. Take a look at some of my favorites below.
Cranberry Cake
Ingredients
- 350 g ( 2¾ cups) plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 330 g (1 ⅔ cups) sugar caster or granulated
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tbsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200 g (⅞ cup) butter softened
- 3 medium eggs
- 180 ml (¾ cup) milk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or almond extract
- 1 orange zest only
- 200 g ( 2 cups) fresh cranberries
- 5 tbsp cranberry sauce (optional!!)
Sauce
- 55 g (¼ cup) butter
- 100 g (½ cup) sugar
- 60 ml (¼ cup) heavy cream
- ½ tsp almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and mist a 9×13 inch rectangular pan with cake release and line with baking paper.
- Put the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the softened butter, eggs, milk and orange zest and beat with an electric hand mixer. Start on a low speed setting, increasing the speed as the ingredients combine. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Toss the cranberries in sugar and fold into the cake batter. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and level. Dot with the cranberry sauce – this is totally optional by the way – and swirl it into the batter.
- Bake for 45-40 minutes, or until the cake is golden, springy to the touch and coming away from the edges of the tin.
- Lift the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely and slice. I cut my cranberry cake into 24 fairly small squares – you can cut into bigger and more generous servings if you like!
- Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, add the sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves – do not allow it to boil! Stir in the cream and almond extract until you have a velvety golden sauce. Pour the warm sauce over the cake just before serving.
Notes
- Unless specified otherwise all your ingredients including butter eggs and milk should be at room temperature in order to achieve a smooth batter. If one or more of the ingredients are cold they will cause your batter to split or look curdled.
- If your milk is cold from the fridge then heat briefly in the microwave or saucepan until just tepid. Make sure the milk is body temperature – not too hot!
- Place cold eggs into warm water for five minutes to bring them back to room temperature.
- Cut cold butter into cubes and leave for an hour on your counter to warm up or use margarine (Stork).
- This is a great cake for bake sales and parties as it serves a big crowd. It keeps well in an airtight container for 2-3 days if you want to keep it all to yourself!
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