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.

How to Make the Cranberry Orange Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 7-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper circles.
2. Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. 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.
4. Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk and orange juice, mixing in between each addition. Then, mix the batter until it is smooth.
5. Toss the fresh cranberries in flour and fold the cranberries into the cake batter.
6. 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.
7. Remove the cake pans from the oven and cool the cake layers for 15 minutes. Remove the cake layers from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

How to Make Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add in the orange zest, orange juice, and salt. 
3. Switch to a whisk attachment and turn the mixer to medium speed and whip for 2 to 3 minutes until the frosting is light, fluffy, and smooth.

Assembling the Cranberry Orange Cake

1. Place one cake layer on a round cake board. Scoop on your desired amount of orange cream cheese frosting to the top of the layer and spread evenly with an offset spatula.
2. Add the second cake layer, more frosting, and spread evenly with an offset spatula.
3. Add the final cake layer to the top of the cake. Be sure the bottom of the cake layer is facing up.
4. 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 to trap in the crumbs.
5. Add a generous layer of the orange cream cheese frosting to the chilled cake with an offset spatula and smooth with a cake scraper.
6. Use a large offset spatula to create swirls in the frosting around the sides and top of the cake. If desired, decorate with sugared cranberries.