Cranberry Orange Cake
Cranberry orange cake is a delicious cake recipe for Christmas. The cake is made with tender orange cake layers studded with fresh cranberries and frosted in orange cream cheese frosting. A slice of this cake will make for the perfect November or December dessert!
Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Cake
Cranberry Orange Cake
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature.
- Vegetable oil – Use your favorite neutral baking oil
- Granulated sugar
- Orange zest – Use a citrus zester for fresh orange zest.
- Vanilla extract – A touch of vanilla extract adds a bit of underlying vanilla flavor.
- Eggs – Large eggs, room temperature.
- Buttermilk – Room temperature. You can use my buttermilk substitute for this recipe.
- Orange juice – Freshly squeezed.
- Fresh cranberries – Toss the cranberries in a bit of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake during the baking process.
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- Unsalted butter – Room temperature.
- Cream cheese – Room temperature.
- Powdered sugar – Confectioners’ sugar/icing sugar.
- Orange zest & orange juice – Use fresh orange juice for the brightest orange flavor. Be sure to zest the orange before you juice.
- Salt – To balance the sweetness of the frosting.
Additional Ingredients
- Sugared cranberries – Check out this post on how to make sugared cranberries.
How to Make the Cranberry Orange Cake
- Prep and preheat: Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Prepare three 7-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper circles.
- Make the cake batter: Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Cream the unsalted butter, vegetable oil, and granulated sugar until light and creamy. Add the orange zest, vanilla extract, and eggs, and mix until smooth. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk and orange juice, mixing in between each addition. Then, mix the batter until it is smooth. Toss the fresh cranberries in flour and fold the cranberries into the cake batter.
- Bake the cake layers: Divide the cake batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake the cake layers for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops of the cakes bounce back when gently touched. Cool the cake layers in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: Cream the unsalted butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and salt. Mix on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
Assembling the Cranberry Orange Cake
- Fill and stack the cake: Place one cake layer on a round cake board. Add desired amount of orange cream cheese frosting and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add the second cake layer, more frosting, and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add the final cake layer to the top of the cake. Be sure the bottom of the cake layer is facing up.
- Crumb coat the cake: With an offset spatula, add a crumb coat, a thin layer of frosting to the top and sides of the cake. Use a cake scraper to remove excess frosting to smooth the sides. Chill the cake for 20 minutes to firm the frosting.
- Frost the cake: Add a generous layer of the orange cream cheese frosting to the chilled cake with an offset spatula. Use a cake scraper to smooth the sides of the cake. Use a large offset spatula to create swirls in the frosting around the sides and top of the cake. Decorate the top edge with sugared cranberries.
Recipe Tips
- Check out my baking tips post on 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cakes and 10 Tips for Making Perfect Buttercream to learn simple tips and tricks to make the best cake ever!
- If you want to learn more about my favorite cake baking and decorating supplies, be sure to check out this post for more information.
- To learn how to assemble and decorate the cake, be sure to check out my tutorial on how to frost a layer cake
- Check out my recipe for how to make sugared cranberries to make an easy, elegant, and delicious decoration for the cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store the cake?
- Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Serve at room temperature for the best taste and texture. Cover any exposed cake with plastic wrap to prevent the cake from drying out.
Can I use different sized cake pans?
- Yes! You could also make this recipe with three 8-inch pans or two 9-inch pans. The baking times will vary with the different pan sizes. For 8-inch pans, start checking the cake layers around 25 minutes and for 9-inch cake pans, start checking the cake layers around 30 to 35 minutes.
Other Cranberry Recipes You Will Love
- Cranberry curd
- Cranberry orange cupcakes
- Sugared cranberries
- Cranberry orange linzer cookies
- Cranberry orange shortbread cookies
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Cranberry Orange Cake
Yield: 14 servings
Cranberry orange cake is a delicious cake recipe for Christmas. The cake is made with tender orange cake layers studded with fresh cranberries and frosted in orange cream cheese frosting. A slice of this cake will make for the perfect November or December dessert!
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange Cake
- 2 ½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp (2 tsp) baking powder
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) salt
- ½ cup (114 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup (109 g) vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) orange zest
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) vanilla extract
- 3 (3) large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup (180 g) buttermilk room temperature
- ½ cup (118 ml) orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1 ½ cups (150 g) fresh cranberries
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) all-purpose flour for coating the cranberries
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 cups (454 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 oz (227 g) cream cheese room temperature
- 7 cups (840 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) orange juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) orange zest
- ½ tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
Additional Ingredients
- 1 cup sugared cranberries click here for the recipe
Instructions
Cranberry Orange Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Prepare three 7-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper circles.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the unsalted butter, vegetable oil, and granulated sugar until light and creamy. Add the orange zest, vanilla extract, and eggs and mix until smooth.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk and orange juice, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing in between each addition. (Add ⅓ flour mixture, ½ buttermilk/orange juice, ⅓ flour mixture, ½ buttermilk/orange juice, ⅓ flour mixture). Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix the batter until it is smooth.
- Toss the fresh cranberries in 2 teaspoons of all-purpose flour and fold the cranberries into the cake batter.
- Divide the cake batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake the cake layers for approximately 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops of the cakes bounce back when gently touched. Remove the cake pans from the oven and cool the cake layers for 15 minutes. Remove the cake layers from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter and cream cheese for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add half of the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined. Add the remaining half of the powdered sugar and continue to mix until combined. While mixing on low speed, add in the orange juice, orange zest, and salt.
- Turn the mixer to medium speed and whip for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Whip until the orange cream cheese frosting is light, fluffy, and smooth.
Assembling the Cranberry Orange Cake
- Place one cake layer on a round cake board. Add desired amount of orange cream cheese frosting to the top of the layer and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add the second cake layer, more frosting, and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Add the final cake layer to the top of the cake. Be sure the bottom of the cake layer is facing up.
- With an offset spatula, add a crumb coat, a thin layer of frosting, to the top and sides of the cake. Use a cake scraper to remove excess frosting to smooth the sides. Chill the cake for 20 minutes to firm the frosting.
- Add a generous layer of the cream cheese frosting to the chilled cake with an offset spatula and use a cake scraper to smooth out the frosting. Use a large offset spatula to create swirls in the frosting around the sides and top of the cake. Decorate the top edge of the cake with sugared cranberries.
Notes
- Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Serve at room temperature for the best taste and texture.
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About Courtney
Baker | 80s Lover | Cookbook Author
Courtney is a self-taught home baker and cookbook author of “Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes”. She loves to create new and unique recipes while simultaneously listening to 80s music.
Hi Can you let me know if i can use dried cranberries instead of fresh cranberries in the cake
Hi! For this recipe, I do not recommend using dried cranberries. The fresh cranberries almost melt into the cake and become super soft. Unfortunately, dried cranberries will stay chewy and you won’t get a super soft texture.
Haven’t made this yet but wondering if I can make this into cupcakes. I see that you have a cupcake version that is a bit different but I like the ingredients that goes into the cake.
Hi Stephanie! I haven’t tested this cake recipe as cupcakes, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
What other frosting can be used besides cream cheese frosting ?
I have a delicious orange buttercream frosting recipe that would pair very well with the cake. A regular vanilla buttercream would also be delicious!
Can I make this orange cake without the cranberries?
Hi! Yes you can!
Courtney, Do you have the amounts for an 8 or 9 inch 2 layer cake please?
Hi Donna! You should be able to use the same amount for a 2-layer 9 inch cake. The cake baking time will likely be a bit longer.