This Orange Cranberry Cake made in one bowl, bakes super moist and is filled with hints of orange and cranberry flavors! Top with Christmas themed frosting and you have got yourself a perfect holiday cake!
Try my Gingerbread Bundt Cakes next! Find all Christmas Dessert Recipes from Greedy Eats at one place.
Taste and Texture:
- Soft and light Cake
- Hinted with scents of orange
- 2 thick layers of Sweet and tangy Cranberry Filling
- Topped with sweet vanilla buttercream
- I decorated mine with my fav sugar cookies (Recipe is here)
- Christmas Themed Sprinkles add a perfect crunch
Orange Cake Ingredients:
Oil: Any flavorless oil like canola, vegetable or avocado works here.
Orange juice and zest: Both juice and zest are needed for a good orange flavor.
Sour Cream: Make the cake crumb light and moist.
Flour: We will use all purpose flour for the base of this recipe.
Leaveners: To lift the cake.
Cranberry Filling: Both fresh and frozen cranberries can be used to make the filling, Cool down the filling completely before layering on cake. You can also prepare this ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze it for 2-3 months.
How to make Cranberry Orange Cake:
This cake is supremely easy to put together and can be easily made in one bowl. To make the batter:
- Mix all wet ingredients (at room temperature) in a large mixing bowl
- Sift dry ingredients over wet
- Fold, Pour in lined pans and bake
- Layer with cranberry filling when cooled
- Prepare buttercream frosting while the cake is cooling
- Tint it with green and pink
- Crumb coat the cake, allow to chill
- Frost with the remaining buttercream, pipe and decorate as desired
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- 5 Basic Ingredients and you will get a perfectly pipeable, smooth and creamy frosting with this recipe. Just remember to beat the butter-sugar mixture for good 3 minutes on high speed.
- For a perfectly creamy frosting add heavy cream to it instead of milk. If you don’t have cream available, add full fat milk.
- Adding salt to your frostings take it to another level, do give it a try!
More Christmas Desserts:
4 Ingredients Shortbread Cookies
4 Ingredients Sugar Cookie Truffles
If you liked this cake give it a star review. Also, tell me in the comments below, how did this turn out for you! And don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram at #greedyeatsblog Also follow me on Pinterest and Facebook!
Orange Cranberry Cake
Equipment
- Three 8 inches round cake pans
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 3/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 Cup Oil
- 1 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
- 3 large Eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 Cup Sour Cream (at room temperature)
- 2 tsp Orange Zest
- Cranberry Filling
For Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 and 1/4 Cups Butter (unsalted, softened to room temp)
- 5 Cups (600g) Confectioners' Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- Few Drops of Green and Pink Gel Food Coloring
For Cranberry Filling:
- 4 Cups Fresh/Frozen Cranberries
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Cornstarch (dissolved in 2 tbsp of water)
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
To decorate:
- 1/4 Cup Christmas Sprinkles
- 8 Iced Sugar Cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Lightly grease and line your pans. Set them aside.
- In a mixing bowl beat oil, orange juice, eggs, sour cream, sugar, and orange zest until completely mixed. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt over wet ingredients and fold to combine.
- Pour the batter in prepared liners and bake for about 19-22 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of cakes to check for doneness. Allow to cool for 10-15 mins before taking them out of pans. Allow to cool down further on wire rack.
For Buttercream Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter using a hand mixer/stand mixer fitted with paddle/whisk attachment for about 2 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, vanilla, cream and salt. Beat on low for a few seconds and then turn mixer on high speed and beat for 2-3 minutes. Or until the frosting turns fluffy. Take around 1 1/2 cups of frosting and tint it pink. Color the remaining frosting with green food coloring.
Cranberry Filling:
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, add cranberries, water and sugar. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until cranberries soften and burst. Add the slurry of cornstarch and stir continuously. Cook it until it thickens.
- Remove from heat and add lemon zest and juice, Mix it in and allow to cool completely before layering between cakes.
To Assemble:
- Place a layer of cake on your cake stand or a plate. Top with cranberry filling. Repeat one more time and top it with third layer of cake. Crumb coat cake with green frosting and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 1/2 an hour or till the frosting in cool to touch and set.
- Frost the cake with remaining green frosting and level it with a leveler. Stick some frosting on the back of iced cookies and stick them on the bottom of cake.
- Pipe with the pink frosting as desired and top with sprinkles of choice. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Oh wow, that cake looks impressive. Love the decorations and flavors inside. Now I wish someone make me this beautiful cake for Christmas. Yum! Great job!
I made this Orange Cranberry Cake with the kids, and we had such a blast decorating these tasty Orange Cranberry Cake’s that I might have to make them with the kids again before Christmas! Happy Holidays!
So beautifully decorated and colorful. My daughter loved the presentation and want to bake it herself. So will be trying it next weekend.
First, that is the cutest cake I have seen! Second, what a festive and delicious flavor combination for the holidays! You should have a bakery!
This is such a cute cake and I can’t wait to try it! The cake looks so light and fluffy, which is always a thumbs up!
Oh my goodness this is not only an adorable cake it sounds wonder. The classic flavor combination of orange and cranberry is my favorite. I just might be making this for my Christmas dessert table.
Wow, this cake really looks super colourful and delightful! The colours on it look amazing, but I’m sure he actual cake is tastes amazing as well. This cake looks really fun to make, thank you for sharing!
What a special dessert this would be for a holiday table or for a special birthday. The colors are so bold and fun!
What a beautiful creation! I love how moist the orange cake looks! The cranberry filling made my mouth water.. thanks for sharing!