Cranberry Christmas cake is a lightly sweet treat perfect for breakfasts, desserts or snack. This cranberry cake features a buttery cake laced with the festive flavors of orange and cranberries. It will warm up any winter day with its cheerful taste of the holidays.

Cranberry and orange is such an overlooked holiday flavor combination.

Everyone goes gaga over pumpkin spice and mint while cranberry orange gets left out of all of the hubbub.

And it’s such a shame.

This flavor combination is bright and a little tart. It’s the refreshing star of the holiday season in my opinion.

That’s exactly what this cake is.

Lightly sweet, a touch tart but such a palate cleanser compared to the other sweets this time of year.

And it can be on your table with just a few basic ingredients and a tiny bit of work.

Ingredients

To make this cake you need:

Eggs– Let them come to room temperature.
Granulated sugar
Butter– Use softened, unsalted butter.
Vanilla extract
Flour– All purpose works best in this recipe.
Orange flavorings– A drop of orange extract and some freshly grated orange zest give this cake the bright citrus background.
Cranberries– Use fresh or frozen cranberries here. Don’t substitute craisins in this.

How to Make

Making this cake is very easy.

To do it start by cracking the eggs into the bowl of your stand mixer.

Then add the sugar to the bowl and whip the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is thickened, fluffy and doubled in size.

This takes between 5 and 7 minutes.

Then, add the butter, extracts and zest to the bowl.

Beat again until they are evenly combined.

Next mix in the flour until just combined.

Then, finish the batter by folding in the cranberries.

Now, scrape the batter into a very well greased 9×13 baking dish.

Make sure you spread the batter evenly with a spatula.

Bake the cake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until the top has a golden brown, crackling crust and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Once the cake is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.

Then slice and enjoy!

Storing

Store this cake covered on your counter for 3 to 4 days.

You can also store it covered in the fridge for up to a week.

How to use frozen cranberries in this cake

Since fresh cranberries aren’t readily available for much of the year, I often use frozen cranberries.

I either buy extra bags and freeze them or I pick them up in the frozen fruit section in the grocery store.

Either way, if I plan to bake this cake and want to use frozen cranberries in it, I let them thaw on the counter first.

If you don’t the batter thickens even more when you add them.

Tips and tricks

Some people find this cake tart, and some swear it’s the perfect sweetness when left to settle and flavors meld for 24 hours. If you choose to make it ahead of time, it won’t be dry as the cranberries will moisten the cake while it sits.
The batter will be very thick and resemble cookie dough more than cake batter. That’s ok!
Don’t use a fancy cake pan to make this. Stick to a 9×13 baking dish so you get the nice crust.
The cranberries get added whole and uncooked- they cook in the cake while baking
You cannot sub dried cranberries. part of the cake’s perfect moist texture after baking is from soaking up the juices as the cranberries burst during baking. you can however sub frozen cranberries.

Other Cranberry Orange Sweets You’ll Love

This cranberry Christmas cake is perfect paired with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast, dessert or a mid afternoon snack.

Make it this holiday season and enjoy!

Looking for other cranberry sweets?

Try these:

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