This Cranberry Bundt Cake has a soft and moist crumb and is surprisingly easy to make. It’s the perfect Christmas cake covered in a simple orange glaze and studded with Sugared Cranberries.
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Easy Cranberry Cake Video Tutorial:
If you loved our Cranberry Orange Scones you already know it’s an irresistible flavor combination. This cranberry cake recipe is everything you love about a classic Cranberry Orange loaf but is so festive baked in a bundt pan.
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Why we love Bundt Cakes:
Bundt cakes are probably the easiest kind of cake to make, but it looks super impressive. It’s baked in a single bundt cake pan, and there is no layering or frosting required. A simple glaze is usually all you need.
Bundt cakes typically have a heavy batter that bakes into a rich, moist crumb. It is such a satisfying cake and keeps really well so you can make it ahead.
Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake:
This bundt cake has staple baking ingredients and a generous amount of fresh cranberries. You’ll love that juicy burst of fresh cranberry flavor in every bite.
- Eggs and Buttermilk – add moisture and balance sweetness (make sure they are room temperature)
- Flour – all-purpose works best. Be sure to measure flour correctly.
- Butter – creates a moist, rich crumb
- Oil – use light olive oil or canola oil
- Vanilla Extract – we use homemade for the best flavor
- Leavening: Baking powder gives the cake perfect rise while baking soda neutralizes and is activated by the buttermilk
- Orange zest – from 1 whole orange for the cake and glaze
- Fresh cranberries – rinse, pat dry, and toss these in 1/2 Tbsp flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom.
- Sugared Cranberries – an edible decoration which makes this cake look and taste like Christmas morning.
The Best Glaze for Bundt Cakes:
Most glazes are a simple combination of powdered sugar and some liquid like milk or water. Using orange juice and a bit of orange zest takes this glaze to the next level. We used a similar glaze on our Blueberry Lemon Muffins and they were a hit.
How to Make Cranberry Bundt Cake:
A homemade bundt cake is easier than you think. You can make this cake with a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer.
- Prep: generously butter a bundt pan and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Beat eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl on high speed until pale (3 minutes).
- Wet ingredients: Add oil, butter, and vanilla, mixing between each addition, then mix in buttermilk.
- Dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix to combine.
- Add cranberries and zest: Toss cranberries with 1/2 Tbsp flour and fold them into the batter along with 1 Tbsp orange zest.
- Bake: Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350˚F for 55-60 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in pan then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely before drizzling with orange glaze.
Common Questions:
Bundt pans come in all shapes and sizes. I use a non-stick bundt pan to ensure the easiest release. Our go-to is a 10″ diameter 12-cup bundt pan which is a standard size.
If using a smaller 10-cup bundt pan, you will need to adjust the ingredients proportionally. We have a tool in the recipe card to adjust ingredient amounts (click on the serving size).
If using dried cranberries, soak them in some orange juice for at least 15 minutes to plump and moisten them up. Drain well before using.
Frozen cranberries work great and there is no need to thaw.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out mostly clean with some moist crumbs.
Once the bundt cake is out of the oven, let it rest for 15 minutes then place a wire rack over the bundt cake and carefully invert using oven mitts (the pan will be hot). You can tap the pan over the rack to help release it.
The most likely culprit is not buttering and flouring the pan sufficiently. A non-stick bundt pan also helps. Under-baking or turning the cake onto a rack without resting can also cause the cake to break.
Bundt cakes are so easy to make but they always look impressive. This cranberry orange bundt cake is the whole package – it’s beautiful and the flavor and texture are excellent.
More Christmas Cakes and Desserts to try:
If you love this Cranberry Bundt Cake, then you won’t want to miss these Christmas cakes and our most popular holiday treats.
- Tiramisu Yule Log – this cake log will impress everyone
- Pomegranate Christmas Cake – elegant and delicious
- Baklava – can be made ahead for easy entertaining
- Cherry Christmas Cake – a simple, and darling cake
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad – a potluck favorite and our #1 holiday dessert
- Classic Tiramisu – this is always a hit at holiday gatherings
Cranberry Bundt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cranberry Orange Cake:
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 12 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted (not hot)
- 1/3 cup light olive oil or canola oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp orange zest, from 1 orange, plus more for glaze
- 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed, dried and tossed with 1/2 Tbsp flour
For the Orange Glaze and Topping:
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice, or to reach desired consistency
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 cup sugared cranberries, optional garnish
Instructions
How to Make Cranberry Bundt Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350˚F with a rack in the center of the oven. Generously butter and flour a bundt pan, tapping out excess flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs and sugar for 3 minutes on high speed, until pale in color.
- Add olive oil, then melted butter, and finally vanilla extract, blending between each ingredient then mix in buttermilk until well blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients on low speed until no flour streaks remain.
- Toss cranberries with 1/2 Tbsp flour and fold them into the batter along with 1 Tbsp orange zest.
- Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350˚F for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean with some moist crumbs. Cool 15 minutes in pan then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely before drizzling with orange glaze.
To Make the Orange Glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a bit of orange zest. Stir together until smooth. You should have a thick pourable consistency. Add more orange juice to thin out the glaze and more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Can I substitute frozen cranberries for fresh cranberries?
Hi Misae, yes, you can. I address this in the recipe post. “Can I use frozen cranberries? Frozen cranberries work great and there is no need to thaw.” I hope this helps.
Curious about the sugared cranberries on top of the cake. Fresh uncooked cranberries are hard. I can see where they’d soften up in the cake while it’s baking but do you cook them first to soften or put them in hot water like you do with craisins to get them plump before putting sugar on them to top the cake?
Hi Lisa, we used this Sugared Cranberries recipe for reference, I recommend reading through it for a few more tips and details, but we do not simmer the crabberries, but we do add them to the hot syrup to coat them nicely.
Hi Natasha, how would you convert this recipe for cupcakes?
Hi Melinda, I haven’t tried that yet to advise, but I think making them mini may work. I saw that someone else commented,” I made some mini ones today and they sure are pretty with the sugared cranberries.” but did not mention the cooking times. I hope this helps!
Hi Natasha,
I’m a fan of everything you do. Thank you! Can I use whipping cream instead of butter milk?
If not, I saw on a previous post you can make your own BM, just regular milk and vinegar. I just mix those two ingredients ? Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes.
Hi Jocelyn, You can make your own buttermilk with 1 cup of regular milk and 1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and let sit for 5-10 mins until curdled and ready to use.
Good morning,
Thank you do much gof you prompt reply. I will give it a try and share with you the result.
You’re welcome, Jocelyn! I hope you love it.
I don’t have light olive oil, can I just use more butter?
Hi Josephine, one of my readers has tried that, here’s what they said “This cake is so pretty and so yummy! I didn’t have any oil so I used butter for both the butter and oil measurements. I put extra cranberries in and wish I had added more because it’s such a party in your mouth when you bite into one of them.”
Hi Natasha, can I use olive oil instead of light olive oil or vegetable oil? Thank you
Hi Silvana. Light olive oil has a neutral flavor, I would not use regular/virgin olive oil because the flavor will come through. Another baking oil like canola, vegetable, avocado oil all work great.
Hi, Natasha. My family loves your recipe. Going to make again for our get together. Does it freeze well? Would like to make a day or two ahead of time. Thank you for all of your delicious recipes!
Hi there! Yes, if you’re wanting to freeze it, let it cool, wrap it in plastic, and then in foil. I would add the cranberries & decor when you defrost it
Hi Natasha, I tried this recipe, it came out beautiful just like yours but the only problem is my cranberries in cake were too tart. I used the fresh ones. What would you suggest?
Hi there! Fresh cranberries are tart but with the sweetness of the cake it mellows out the tartness. If you would like to use dried cranberries instead, which are sweeter, see my notes above for instructions.
To try to combat the tartness of the fresh cranberries, I cut them each in half and coated them with a bit of sugar and flour before adding them to the batter. They were still tart but at least tolerable. Overall, this was a good recipe. I did cut out about a quarter cup of sugar in the batter and skipped the glaze because the cake was still so sweet.
Hit of my party…Excellent and easy. Can this be made gluten free? How would I do this?
Hi Lu! You can use a 1:1 ratio Gluten free flour blend, like King Arthur.
Can I use blueberries instead of cranberries?
Hi Joann! Yes, they would be great too.
Can dried cranberries be substituted if fresh aren’t available?
Hi Shari! See my notes in the common questions section above for instructions on using dried cranberries. I hope you love the recipe.
can dried cranberries be substituted if fresh aren’t available yet?
Hi Shari, yes that would work. If using dried cranberries, soak them in some orange juice for at least 15 minutes to plump and moisten them up. Drain well before using.
I love this cranberry Bundt cake. If I make this in 9×5 loaf pan how long will it have to bake for? Also is the oven a different temperature?
Hi Christine! I don’t have the exact timing for that. It likely would bake similar to my Banana Bread Recipe since we use a 9×5 loaf pan.
Hey, can cranberries be replaced with fresh strawberries?
Hello there! I have not tested the recipe using strawberries to advise. If you do an experiment, we’d love to know how it turns out!
Hi Natasha – Can I bake this in a loaf pan? I can’t wait to try it and have lots of frozen cranberries but no bundt pan. Thanks
Hello Chris! It should be fine, you can use a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Hope it becomes a huge success!
I made this with 3 to 3 1/2 cups of fresh cranberries. Also I used 2 teaspoons of Almond extract instead of vanilla. I also put 1 teaspoon Almond extract in the glaze. I DIDN’T put the orange zest or juice in my cake. I bought buttermilk for this cake, I froze some of the remaining buttermilk in 1 cup amounts in seprate glass containers. Then I made the cake again pulled out one of the buttermilk container in the freezer. I put it very warm water in a bowl thawed the buttermilk, stired a few times to break up the chunks of frozen BM. It was perfect already measured for the recipe. Be careful not to get the water into the frozen BM. Next time I have BM when I need it. Win win. Everyone loved it the Almond flavoring!!
Hi there… I don’t have buttermilk, can I use regular milk instead?
Hi Sonja! You can make your own buttermilk with one cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar.
Wow this cake is delicious!
I’d like to share that I substituted truvia brown sugar and truvia white sugar and used light sour cream and the (reduced calorie) flavor was fantastic! I used frozen cranberries and the baking time in my oven was still 50 minutes.
Thank you for an excellent recipe!
Was, this cake is delicious!
I’d like to share that I substituted truvia brown sugar and truvia white sugar and used light sour cream and the (reduced calorie) flavor was fantastic! I used frozen cranberries and the baking time in my oven was still 50 minutes.
Thank you for an excellent recipe!
When substituting the sugar – did you use 2 cups of Truvia or less?
Are the cranberries in the cake batter left whole?
Hi Gail! Yes, they are.