This Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake is a delicious cake and impressive cake that's great for the holidays as it's easy to make and decorate!
I don't usually make a dessert for Christmas dinner. There's usually so many other treats hanging around and my family just eats those. However, last year was different. It was going to be the first year I was going to celebrate with my parents and my sister and her family in many, many years, so I wanted it to be special.
However, on Christmas Eve, some family members got sick, and it didn't happen. But since it was already too late to change the plans, and I already had all the food, we ended up just cooking it, and sending half over to my sister's house (she lives 5 minutes away), and eating separately.
This Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake with Cranberry Glaze was the dessert I made last year, and it was a huge hit. My whole family loved it! I'm not making it this year (I'm not making an official dessert at all), but my Christmas dinner plans are even bigger. Both my family and Mr. Dreamboat's family plan to come for dinner. Will it be derailed by illness again this year? Only time will tell.
How to make Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake:
The great thing about this cake is that it's relatively easy to make. It doesn't require multiple complicated steps, and it's comprised of only two simple components: the cake, and the cranberry glaze. And if you're not feeling the hot pink glaze, feel free to replace it with regular (white) vanilla glaze, or even simply sprinkle the cake with a layer of powdered sugar.
Prepare your bundt pan:
The first step when you're making any kind of bundt cake is to prepare the pan carefully. Depending on your pan, some bundt cakes are prone to sticking to the pan. To avoid this, grease the pan generously. Then add a small amount (about 1-2 Tablespoons) of flour and spread it around the pan by tipping and shaking the pan in all directions. Once a thin layer of flour has stuck to the grease all over the pan, carefully tap out the excess flour. Your bundt pan is now ready.
Make the cake batter:
Making this cake batter is easy, like making muffins. Start by whisking the dry ingredients together. Zest the oranges with a microplane, then juice the oranges and set the juice aside.
Place the zest into the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl) and add the sugar. Mix these together so the sugar becomes a pale orange color. Beat in the eggs, and then the orange juice and canola oil.
Stir most of the flour mixture (save a little to mix with the cranberries). Reserve ½ cup of the cranberries to use for the glaze. Fold the rest into the batter, and pour the batter into your prepared bundt pan and bake for about an hour.
Once the cake is cool, microwave the reserved ¼ cup cranberries with a little water. Strain through a small fine-mesh strainer, pressing out all of the liquid. Mix the liquid with powdered sugar to make the glaze. Pour the glaze evenly over the cooled cake.
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Naval oranges: or, if using small oranges like mandarins or clementines, use 3 of them for each naval (in this case you will need 6)
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
- Canola oil: or replace with another neutral-flavored oil. It also works with olive oil.
- Cranberries: either fresh or frozen will work. If you plan to use frozen ones, add them to the batter straight from frozen. No need to thaw.
- Water: Use whatever water you normally drink (tap water is fine).
- Powdered sugar
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake Equipment:
- 12-cup Bundt Pan: of course you can't make a bundt cake without a bundt pan. Make sure it's not significantly smaller than a 12-cup pan, or it might overflow.
- Microplane or zester to zest the orange(s).
- Stand Mixer: A hand mixer will also work.
- Small Fine-Mesh Strainer to strain all of the liquid out of the cranberries to make the glaze.
What if I don't have a bundt pan?
If you don't have a 12-cup bundt pan and still want to make this cake, don't worry! You still can! Here are some other sizes you can try:
Two 8" round pans. You could make your favorite buttercream instead of the glaze, and turn it into a layer cake. I think it would be delicious with cream cheese frosting!
One 9x13" pan. Make it a sheet cake! Top with the same glaze or your favorite buttercream.
Two 9x5" loaf pans. This shape also works well with the glaze. Eat one now, and freeze one for later!
Want more Cranberry Recipes?
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake Nutrition Notes:
This recipe is dairy-free as written.
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one piece of cake if you cut the cake into 12 pieces. If you cut your pieces large (or smaller), the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake with Cranberry Glaze
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer (optional - can also use a hand mixer or whisk)
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange Cake
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 naval oranges
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup canola oil
- 12 ounces (3 ½ cups) cranberries (fresh or frozen - if using frozen, do not thaw)
Cranberry Glaze
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Orange Cranberry Cake
- Turn oven on to 350°. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan with oil, then sprinkle lightly with flour, ensuring that the entire cake pan is lightly coated with flour and oil. Gently tap out any excess flour. Set pan aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 ¾ cups (344 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder, ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda, and ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt. Set the bowl aside.
- Zest both naval oranges with a microplane. Measure out 2 Tablespoons of the zest and add it to the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl (discard the rest or reserve for another use).
- Juice both oranges into a measuring cup, straining out any seeds. Add water to the orange juice to total 1 cup of liquid. Set aside.
- Add 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar to the bowl with the orange zest. Mix the orange zest and sugar together with your fingertips, until the sugar is a uniform pale orange color, ensuring to break up any clumps of zest.
- Add 3 large eggs to the mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed (or whisk vigorously) until the mixture becomes a uniform pale orange color. Add the orange juice mixture and 1 cup canola oil and mix at low speed (or whisk) until it reaches a uniform consistency.
- Add most of the flour mixture to the orange mixture, reserving about ¼ - ⅓ cup of the flour mixture in the medium bowl.
- Measure out ½ cup of the12 ounces (3 ½ cups) (340 g) cranberries 12 ounces (3 ½ cups) (340 g) cranberries and set this portion aside (you will be using these for the glaze).
- Add the remaining cranberries (there should be about 3 cups) to the medium bowl with the remaining flour mixture. Toss or stir gently to coat the cranberries in flour. Fold the cranberries (and any remaining flour) into the bowl with the batter gently with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, smoothing the top as needed. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean (note that if your cranberries were frozen, you may need to bake the cake a little longer).
- Place the cake pan on a cooling rack, and let cool completely before removing from the pan.
Cranberry Glaze
- Place the ½ cup of cranberries you reserved earlier into a microwaveable, heatproof measuring cup or bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) water and microwave on high heat for 1 minute. Stir the cranberries, and microwave again for another minute, or until the mixture comes to a boil and all of the berries have burst and released their juices. (Note: you can also do this step on the stove in a small saucepan, but it will take a little longer.)
- Pour the cranberry mixture through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing gently with the back of a spoon to release all of the juice from the cranberries and scraping the bottom of the strainer into the bowl. Stir 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar into the cranberry juice mixture. If you want the glaze to be thicker, add more powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon a a time until you reach your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled cake. Serve immediately, or allow the glaze to harden before serving.
Nutrition
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