My husband and I are big fans of the Great British Baking Show (if you haven’t seen it, power up Netflix right now!) and the other night we were watching a contestant bake a cranberry orange flavored dessert. While I’ve never really been all that intrigued to use those flavors before, my husband leaned over and said, “A cranberry orange cake would be delicious. You should make it.” It’s because of him that I found myself in the kitchen zesting oranges and rolling cranberries in sugar, wide-eyed at the Holiday scents filling the air. I ended up with a delicious orange flavored cake dotted with fresh, juicy cranberries, topped with zesty orange buttercream and tons of Christmas cheer! Thanks for the suggestion, husband. You were right.
Cranberry and orange are a classic Holiday pairing, making this cake ideal for any festive gathering. It’s got a moist, light crumb and is so pleasantly aromatic (your kitchen will smell amazing). The sweetness of it all is balanced perfectly with the tartness of the cranberries, giving it just the right amount of zing. Much like any citrus cake, the orange flavoring comes mostly from the zest. You’ll want to zest one super large orange (or two smaller ones) before you get started with this recipe, and keep in mind that you’ll be dividing the zest between the cake batter and buttercream.
I used fresh, whole cranberries in this cake recipe, but word on the street is that you can use frozen whole cranberries as a substitute. If you do, just make sure you don’t thaw them before adding them to the cake batter. And a pro tip for making sure they don’t sink to the bottom of your cake pan in the baking process: toss them in some flour before folding them in! The coating of flour keeps them suspended, and this trick also works with things like chocolate chips, sprinkles, and pretty much anything you would want to fold into cake batter. Life changing!
This cake tastes incredible with orange buttercream (recipe below), which is what I used to fill and frost it. As an alternative, you could also pair this cranberry orange cake with vanilla buttercream or cream cheese buttercream and either choice would be delicious. I love how the orange buttercream enhances the flavor of this cake and if you look real close, you can see tiny flecks of orange zest! Flecked buttercream always makes me swoon.
In all honesty, my first attempt at decorating this cake was almost disastrous. I had this idea in my mind to tint the buttercream a light orange and give it a retro look, but what actually happened was the buttercream ended up looking like the color of a bandaid. I kept holding up the orange slices and sugared cranberries next to it and telling myself that the color scheme would look better on the cake, but in the end it just wasn’t as pretty as the natural color of the buttercream, so I started all over again and saved the other batch for another cake project.
To decorate, I frosted a smooth layer of orange buttercream and piped portions of the cake with Wilton Tip 4B (for the stars) and Wilton Tip 1M (for the rosettes). Then I added sugared cranberries and some candied orange slices from Trader Joe’s. Holiday cake perfection inside and out!
UPDATE 2024: I revisited this recipe and made a few tweaks: 1) I decided to mix the orange zest and sugar together to give the cake even better orange flavor. I use this same method in my favorite lemon cake recipe, which is where I got the idea. 2) I reduced the butter content slightly and made up the difference with vegetable oil. 3) I omitted the sour cream because the end result without it is so moist and light that I didn’t want to add more density.
The end result is super fluffy and moist, packed with beautiful orange flavor, and still keeps those cranberries perfectly suspended.
Cranberry Orange Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange Cake
- 2 1/2 Cups (265g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp orange zest from about 1/2 large orange
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) fresh squeezed orange juice from about 2 large oranges
- 3/4 Cup (180ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Cups (300g) granulated white sugar
- 3/4 Cup (170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 Cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Cups (145g) fresh whole cranberries coated in 1 Tbsp flour
Orange Buttercream
- 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Tbsp orange zest from about 1/2 large orange
- 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- pinch of salt, or to taste
Garnish (optional)
Instructions
Make The Cranberry Orange Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with baking spray and placing a parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one.
- In a medium bowl, add the sifted cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside. Mix together the orange juice and milk and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and orange zest until fragrant and well combined, about 1 minute. Add the butter and vegetable oil, then cream together with the orange-sugar mixture on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla, then mix for one minute on medium-high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Add the milk-orange juice mixture in a steady stream and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps.
- Coat the cranberries in 1 Tbsp of flour, then gently fold them into the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans (fill them no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for five minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.
Make The Orange Buttercream
- With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter with the orange zest on medium-high until the butter is creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
- Add the orange juice, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated.
Assembly
- Once the Cranberry Orange Cakes have cooled completely, fill and frost the layers with Orange Buttercream. To create the design pictured, fit one piping bag with Wilton Tip 4B and another piping bag with Wilton Tip 1M before filling each with the remaining Orange Buttercream. Pipe rosettes and stars onto the top of the cake in a crescent moon shape, then pipe some more onto the bottom of the cake on the opposite side. Add some sugared cranberries and candied orange slices wherever you wish!
Notes
- The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
- The orange buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency.
What are some of your favorite Holiday cake recipes? This cranberry orange cake has become one of mine! Let me know what you’re baking right now and if you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment to let me know how you like it and tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me!
Beautiful recipe my question is can l use freeze dried cranberry to make this cake? Can’t find fresh or frozen cranberry.
Hi Paulette! I haven’t tried this recipe with freeze-dried cranberries but I have read that they taste/behave differently in cake batter unless you rehydrate them. The internet recommends soaking them in warm water for 15-20 minutes, draining them thoroughly, then tossing them in flour before adding them. Hope that helps and if you try it, let me know if it works!
Hi! I really want to attempt this cake for my husband’s 50th birthday this weekend but I cannot seem to find any fresh cranberries!!! Are frozen ones an absolute no-no for the sugar-coated cranberries for decoration? Can they be substituted with dried cranberries tho visually not as nice….
Hi Alexia! For the sugared cranberries, I’ve heard mixed things about using frozen cranberries and since I haven’t tried it myself I can’t confirm. Some people say they wilt a bit after thawing, others say that you can thaw them and use them in a sugared cranberries recipe without any problems. I’d say give it a try with the frozen ones (thaw them first), or lean more into the candied oranges as a garnish. Hope that helps!
Thank you! Made this using gluten free King Arthur measure for measure flour. It came out great! Everyone raved over the taste of the cake. No one knew it was gluten free. I did add some white chocolate melted to the buttercream and omitted the orange zest since I don’t love the texture in frosting. Thanks for the recipe!
That’s wonderful, Suzanne! I’m so happy it worked so well with GF flour!
Wow incredible flavor and very moist. Love this cake so much. I’m definitely not a frequent baker – I followed the recipe except used 9×13 pan for 40 min. Perfection. I screwed up tho and added about an extra 1/4 cup of the milk/oj combo by mistake. Didn’t realize what I did until I put it in oven. No one incl me can believe it still turned out beautifully. Oh I did add an extra TBsp orange zest intentionally. Didnt make icing. My family prefers plain everything ugh – highly recommend this cake. Highly!
I’m so happy you love this cake, Anna! Now I want to bake it in a 9×13!
Can I use a hand mixer intsead? I don’t have a stand mixer.
Hi Robyn! Yes, you can absolutely make this recipe with a hand mixer and large bowl. Enjoy!
Hello,
I was wondering if i’ll be using almond milk instead of regular, would you change the amount?
I am making this tomorrow so really excited!
Hi Marie! You can use an equal amount of almond milk (3/4 Cup). Enjoy!
Question – I baked 2 8″ round at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, and the cake is really brown and still not cooked. Was yours on the darker side (not burned but pretty dark brown, not golden).
The batter is delicious!
Hi Amy! My layers were definitely more golden brown than brown. Do you have a conventional oven or a convection (fan assisted) oven? I do find that convection ovens brown the cake layers more than conventional because they run a little hotter, but it’s puzzling that the cake isn’t fully baked yet. Let me know how it looks inside once it’s done!
The cake was amazing. Wow. It was gone in one day. Thanks for the awesome instructions. I want to make for church but wanted to try sheet cake pan but not sure what size or how much batter one recipe makes. Then I assume frost and decorate. Suggestions ?
I just died and went to heaven tonight on my first bite of this fabulous cake. I think this is the best Cranberry- Orange Cake I have ever made! I made it as directed. The frosting I made was my own recipe because I was running low on butter, plus I used a 9×13 glass pan since this was a ‘test this recipe” late night adventure. I used a half cube butter, half block of cream cheese, fresh orange juice, Madagascar Vanilla and dehydrated orange peel. This was so, so good! I can hardly wait to share it and show it off tomorrow to family.
Once iced can you leave in the fridge overnight, to be served the next day? Or do you recommend icing it on the day of? Any suggestions on what’s the best route to go about saving time and yet being on time to an event without the hassle of assembling it. Lol
Hi Jessica! Yes, you can frost the cake and store it in the refrigerator a day ahead. Here’s a blog post I wrote about how to save time making cakes ahead: https://sugarandsparrow.com/making-cakes-ahead/