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.
Hi Natasha, this looks gorgeous and I really want to try this recipe tonight. Anyway, buttermilk is not our pantry staples here so I’m wondering can I use greek yogurt instead of buttermilk? At first i’d like to try your cranberry orange bread & i plan to bake it in bundt pan, but after read your comment for the bundt cake recipe, i end up here. Would love to hear your advice about this. Thank you!!
Hi Julita! I’m so glad you’re going to try this recipe. If you have regular milk at home, you can make your own buttermilk using 1 cup of milk and 1 tbsp lemon juice or distilled/white vinegar. Stir and let sit until curdled then it’s ready for use. You may also find this article helpful on how to substitute for buttermilk.
This looks incredible! Does anyone else automatically read the recipe in Natasha’s voice like on her videos? 😂💕
Haha, that’s awesome! I’ll take that as a compliment 😉
Hi
I made this recipe, but I added one banana ( mashed), 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed Orange juice, and 1/2 cup of oil. Oh, and a few extra cranberries, about 1/2 cup.
It was moist and delicious. I also spooned the flour into the cup. It make the batter lighter.
Happy cooking.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Wendy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
A couple positive points: the sugared cranberries are easy to make and delicious. The cake was fun to put together and I haven’t used a bundt pan in years!
With that said…the baking time is way off on this. Mine was very over-baked and turned out DRY DRY DRY! I probably should’ve baked for 45 minutes and checked after that. Sorry, but not a rewarding experience.
I love your videos! Great personality!!!
Hi Scott! I’m so glad you love my videos. Thank you for the feedback on the recipe. I have not had this problem with this recipe. A couple of things could help. Too much flour could cause them to be dry, watch my tutorial on how I measure flour HERE. Every oven bakes differently so you made need to make some minor adjustments but I highly recommend the use of an internal oven thermometer to see how your oven heats. I hope that helps and thank you for trying my recipe!
I agree, this is a lovely holiday cake, but bake no longer than 45 mins. I followed the recipe and it was away too dry.
Will try it again, but reduce bake time. Thanks
Hi Mary! Be sure to measure your flour correctly, using too much can dry out the cake. I also encourage the use of an internal oven thermometer to see how your oven heats.
Hello! Can I add some orange juice to the cake batter to give it more orangey flavor? If so, like a 1/4 cup? Would I need to omit a bit of another wet ingredient to balance it? Thank you!
Hi Bonnie! I have not tested that to advise, but you could experiment with it. I would opt for orange extract instead if I were wanting to make the orange flavor more intense.
Hi I’m wanting to make this recipe as cupcakes for an event. How many cupcakes should it make? Baking time?
Hi Gloria, 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! My daughter and I made this cake for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. My dad had a small piece because he is diabetic and he said it was the best cake he’s ever had. I want to make him one for his Birthday. Do you think I can making it with the Baking Splenda?
Thanks in advance
Hi Patty! I’m so glad your family loved this recipe. I have no experience baking with sugar-free so I am not sure how it will turn out. Please share if you experiment with it.
Good Morning Natasha. This cake is absolutely the best. Every Christmas season I end up making at least 6 – 10 to give as gifts and this year is no different. I have two in the oven as we speak. They are always met with appreciation. So again, Thank You for all you do. Can’t wait for your CookBook. HUGS
Hi Linda! That’s wonderful! These are great gifts. I’m so glad they are enjoyed.
We don’t care for cranberries. Could I make it with raspberries? And cut back on sugar.? Please and thanks.
Hi Dorothy! I think raspberries would work but I have not tested it to advise. If you experiment, let us know how it turns out. You may also enjoy my blueberry lemon cake. Many of my readers have reported making this with raspberries.
Hi, I love your recipes, when is your cookbook coming out? I plan to try this cranberry orange cake today!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, Glenda! Thank you for your lovely review! My book is due to come out Fall of 2023! We’re so excited!
Hi Natasha. This cake looks scrumptious. Just purchased cranberries to make and bundt pan greased and floured! Please could you confirm how many grams 12 tablespoons of butter is as the metric conversion hasn’t registered for the butter. Many thanks. Happy baking!👩🏻🍳
Hi Deborah, If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option on the printable recipe card. We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes, but it is taking some time to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help. 12 tbsp of butter is about 170 grams. I hope that helps!
I made this cake & it is very good. Only thing I would do different is to add more cranberries. My guests loved it too.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Sally! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Why do you use both olive oil and butter in the bundt cake? Why not just all butter?
We’ve had good results in the crumb/texture using a combination.
Hi Natasha, I love this recipe. How can I make it in a small Bundt cake pan. How do I adjust the ingredients? Thank you.
Hi Dorothy! I haven’t tested it in different sizes to provide exact instructions. You can scale down the recipe servings at the top of the recipe card if you’d like to make less batter. You’ll need to watch it in the oven, it will bake faster if you are using a smaller pan.
All I could find in the store was 1 percent buttermilk. Can I use this instead of the full fat buttermilk in the crandberry bundt cake? I’m making this today. I’ve enjoyed watching you make all kinds of things and have made your chocolate cake that my husband and family loves. Thank you.
Hi Virginia, I have not tested that but it could worK! We’d love to know how it goes if you do an experiment.
Can I use this recipe and make individual serving size Bundt cakes? Catering a small Christmas party and want dessert to be self serve.
Hi Pam, 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!
I love your website. I love your recipes. They cater to my cooking style. You are also very entertaining in your videos Whenever I am looking for a particular recipe you seem to have it.
Thank you, Lorraine! I’m glad to hear you enjoy my recipes.
Very very nice…
Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
It was a total hit with the family.
That is the best when the family loves what we moms make. That’s so great!
Hello Natasha, I would like to know if I can make the glaze and save it to use it the next day?
Hi Rebeca, I have always used the glaze fresh. It’s likely it will harden if left for a later time.
Fantastic cake!!! This was so good. I can’t wait to have it again. I will be making this cake year after year. Sooooo good!!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Melissa!
This is just such a wonderful cake, moist and fluffy and yummy and also beautiful. I made it a few times and every time it just flew away. Natasha makes it so easy to follow. Thank you so much Natasha!!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Alla! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.