BEAUTIFUL CRANBERRY ORANGE BUNDT CAKE
Can you believe, I’ve been baking lately! Me, the non-baker! I made a Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake that I actually loved making. And better yet, it was so delicious! And it was pretty! I’m so excited to share this easy and scrumptious recipe with you too!
I love to cook. Always have. But baking… not so much! It’s too precise, very messy and lots of different steps.
I think I’ve discovered that I actually like to bake. It all started with wanting to make sourdough bread.
I learned how to make a starter and the first loaf of sourdough bread I baked was a taddy bit flat but it was DELICIOUS! And I felt so accomplished!
And this Thanksgiving I made the best pumpkin pie ever!!!!
So when I saw the recipe for Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake I thought I would give it a try!
This cake is so light and infused with orange flavors and the most wonderful tang from fresh cranberries!
I am planning to make it again for Christmas morning! But it would be so yummy to serve anytime!
I also made frosted cranberries. So easy and a huge success. They are heavenly! And the syrup that is left from making them is perfect to put in club soda or sparkling water or a holiday libation!
I’ll share those little sugary gems next week.
But today it’s all about CRANBERRY ORANGE BUNDT CAKE.
TIPS FOR MAKING CRANBERRY ORANGE BUDT CAKE
This is a pretty straight forward bundt cake but here are a few things to help you make it perfect.
Use fresh-squeezed orange juice in the Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake! Since you will zest one orange use it for the liquid in the cake.
Always break the eggs into a separate bowl and add them to the recipe one at a time.
Use fresh, not frozen cranberries.
And gently fold the fresh cranberries into the cake batter by hand!
It’s important to get the glaze right. Too thin and it will sorta melt into the bundt cake and too think and it won’t run down the sides of the cake.
I made mine a bit thin at first and gradually thickened it up until it was just right for pouring the glaze!
LET’S BAKE
I hope you will give this pretty cake a try!
CRANBERRY ORANGE BUNDT CAKE
Print RecipeEquipment
- bundt cake pan
Ingredients
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- zest of an orange (about 1 TBS)
- juice of an orange
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 TBS milk or orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray, or grease with butter.
- Sprinkle 2 tsp of sugar in the bundt pan and distribute.
- Add 1/4 cup of fresh cranberries to the bottom of the pan evenly. Set the bundt pan aside
- Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar with the mixer on medium high until the mixture is very light and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes).
- Add the eggs one at a time. Mix to incorporate
- Mix the orange juice and zest to the mixture. Blend to incorporate.
- Add the sour cream and blend.
- Add the flour to the wet ingredients on third at a time. Mix till it is just incorporated. Don't overmix.
- Fold the remainder of the cranberries by hand to the batter very gently. Being careful not to crush any cranberries.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the cake.
- Let the cake stand for 5 minutes. Then turn the cake over onto a wire rack. Cool completely.
- Mix the powdered sugar and milk or orange juice together to make a glaze. If it is too thin add more sugar. If it is too thick add more liquid.
- Put the cake on a cake plate. Glaze the cake in a back and forth motion from the outside to the inside of the cake.
- Serve with fresh whipped cream.
Notes
Go here to see how to frost cranberries. They are so beautiful and amazing!
Oh, my this looks and sounds fantastic. I, like you, like to cook and I am a very accomplished home chef, but my baking is restricted to some really great homemade cookies. I am treating myself (and my husband’s appetite) to a new set of pans. I do own two beautiful bundt pans that just sit in my pantry. I was going to donate them but now I’ll give this a go. Happy holidays to a super lady and all our Stonegablers!
HiLyn! I’m so glad you are giving this recipe a try! And I love the name “StoneGablelers”!!!!
Beautiful presentation. A new addition to my cake collection. I thoroughly enjoy your blog. Many thanks for all the time and effort required to produce such an informative blog. Merry Christmas to you and all the other Stonegablers.
So sweet Dawn, thanks so much! It’s really a labor of love.
I noticed your recipe not state what size pan to use.
I guess because I’m not a baker I did not think of that. I used a regular old bundt pan.
Looks delicious and beautiful. I made your Raw Apple Cake today for gifts it is a favorite go to for me.
Lorraine, how nice! I hope you enjoy the Cranberry Orange Bundt cake too!
Beautiful cake! Thank you for this lovely recipe. I sure miss your weekly recipes and hope you will consider doing them again because I almost always find a recipe to add to my collections. Be well.
In the New Year I think I’ll be adding back ON THE MENU
This is similar to a cranberry quick bread that I love. It has chopped nuts in it which I think would go well in this recipe too, don’t you? It’s a very pretty presentation and begs for a cup of coffee. Think I will give it a go!
Yummy, adding nuts would taste wonderful too!
Oh, this is gorgeous! It looks like a pastel wreath. I’ll just have to try this recipe for Christmas.
Yvonne, I bet you are enjoying your new kitchen.
We both are. This kitchen is so light and bright.
Good Morning Yvonne: I cannot wait to bake your Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake, I have made something like it before, but I am sure this will be wonderful. Thank you again for all of your special ideas.
Sincerely.
Marilyn
I’m sure you will love it Marilyn!
Have you ever frozen this to make ahead for Christmas?
FYI, you are one of the first blogs I followed and still am. So much inspiration! Thank you for doing it!
Hi Chris! I’m so thrilled you are such a faithful StoneGable reader! Thanks so much! I think freezing this would be fine. Put the glaze on after it is thawed. Merry Christmas!
This cake is such a beauty! I’m wondering how one makes “frosted berries?”
I’ll share that next week.
Today is Dec 22, did I miss the post for the frosted cranberries.??
Here is the post Susan:
https://www.stonegableblog.com/beautiful-sugared-cranberries-diy/
You must have missed it.
I was looking for a recipe exactly like this for Christmas baking. I have already bought the cranberries. But, I love baking much more than cooking and it is much more precise. Oranges are all sizes and different levels of juiciness. How much juice is the juice of an orange? I don’t want to risk ruining this expensive gorgeous cake!!!
I have the same question. Thank you & Merry Christmas!
I’m sorry I don’t have a more precise measurement.
What a beautiful presentation! It’s a gorgeous display all in itself – no other decorations are needed this Christmas!? And it sounds so yummy. I wonder how many homes will have this bundt cake on their Christmas brunch menus. It’s now on mine! Thank you for sharing this beautiful cake and recipe with us. Cannot wait to make and display it. And then dive in!
Beautiful cake!! But, I’m gonna change your baking life! Pan grease!!! I make cakes to benefit an orphanage and school in Kenya, so I follow a couple of cake FB pages for suggestions, ideas and help. One of the bakers shared her recipe for pan grease a couple of years ago. Seriously, you will never use spray or butter again for baked goods, including muffins. It’s really simple: with a hand mixer blend together completely 1 cup flour, 1 cup vegetable or canola oil, 1 stick Crisco shortening. That’s it! Use a brush to apply to your pans. You don’t have to use a parchment circle until you get to a 10″ cake layer. Keep this in an airtight container in your pantry–no need to refrigerate. Your baked goods will fall out of the pan with even, golden sides. You’re welcome. 🙂 Have a Merry Christmas!!!
I made this cake today. I only had mandarin oranges, so I googled how much juice is in an orange. The article I read said 1/3 cup. It took three of the small oranges to get this amount. After nearly an hour of baking, the toothpick was coming out clean, so I removed it, cooled it in the pan 5 minutes, then turned it out on a wired rack. It fell! After it cooled, I cut into it, and the inside was wet after an hour of baking – like the inside of bread pudding. My guess is, 1/3 c of the juice was too much. Does anyone who’s had success with the cake know how much orange juice you used?
Hi Kim, I used just what the recipe called for and it worked out just perfectly. Not sure how much juice is in an orange. But if you googled it I bet that is pretty close. My guess is the cake did not cook long enough. You might need to check your oven. Maybe it needs to be calibrated. Just a guess.
Why can’t I print your recipes? Is there something I’m missing.
I don’t think so. Go to the recipe. Find the little image on the top right of the recipe. Under that is the word “print”. Click on that and you should be able to print it out. Merry Christmas!
Yvonne, I am wanting to make this beautiful cake this week, and was waiting for your recipe to make the sugared cranberries. Did I miss your followup post? I’m having trouble getting to your website/blog now, getting warning of dangerous website. But I will try getting through this way. I know you’re very busy this week but hoping I can get through. Thank you so much for the time you spend sharing with us.
Hi Susan, not sure why you got this message. Yes, you must have missed the post but here it is: https://www.stonegableblog.com/beautiful-sugared-cranberries-diy/
Hi Kim, I just made the cake and mine came out perfect. I used the juice of a pretty big orange and I even added a little orange juice. My batter was quite thick. I’m pretty sure I used more than 1/3 cup. I used a non stick bundt pan that’s pretty thin so it baked a little faster.
I made this cake for Christmas day. It did not disappoint. I had never made a bundt cake before. It turned out perfect. So moist and delicious. I made the glaze with orange juice. It was yummy! I will be making it every year now.
So thrilled to hear you and your family enjoyed the cake, Kim! I made maple pecan sticky buns for the first time for Christmas morning. They were a hit too!
Yvonne, this is the second cake recipe of yours I made and it was even more scrumptious than the first! It was gone in a hurry and everyone said it was the best one they ever had!! That includes favorite family recipes! Thank you!!
Yay! Thanks for letting me know!
Reading the questions about how much orange juice to use, I put four T. and it was more than enough. My hunch is that oranges might have a stronger flavor than mandarins, but I’m not sure. I hope this helps.
PS I made this yesterday and wanted to save half in vain for my son’s family. I’ll have to make it again today!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this beautiful cake! And you are a good mom for making it again!
I want to make this cake. Does it freeze well?
Yes! Don’t glaze it until it thaws.
I have to go to an event and take a cake – this is the one I will take and garnish with the sugared cranberries and holly leaves
This cake is the most beautiful bundt cake I have ever seen. Seriously, gorgeous!! Good enough to eat ? Pinning
Not only is this cake to beautiful to eat, I can hardly wait to make this cake. It will be as fast as I can get to the grocery store, and pickup all the ingredients I need. Thanks for sharing. Happy holidays
Could I make loaf came type cakes with this recipe?
This cake is delicious. I used too much orange juice so the cake was very moist, still delicious but not appealing. Because I CANNOT waste food I cut the cake into cubes and dried in the toaster oven. Delicious but too brown. So for the last batch I turned on the dehydrator in the oven. Talk about making the proverbial lemon aid out of lemons!!! They tasted like the BEST biscotti ever. Next time I will again put too much orange juice but toast slices and call them biscotti.
I’m invited to a Friendsgiving party and was asked to bring a dessert. This is going to be perfect.
I just love all your recipes. Thank you so much. Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Thanks, Peg!
Hi Yvonne
We host all the holidays and sometimes it’s hard to think of a dessert that I haven’t made before. I was so happy to see this cake. It is definitely fit for a holiday. I know it will be as delicious as beautiful.
I’m planning on making this for one of my Christmas desserts. Thank you for sharing.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
I
You will love this beautiful cake, Karen! Enjoy making it! Merry Christmas!
Lovely recipe which I’ll be making this Christmas. I was wondering if it’s a cake that one can freeze? It’s better fresh, I’m sure!