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
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My niece gave me this recipe a while back; i just found it again. i had been “winging” it and I was always complimented on it, but to me it never quite met my expectation of the original recipe. I just found it on you tube and it is the “real mc-coy”. Thanks Now I will check out other recipes of yours.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Constance!
This sounds so good! Unfortunately, my husband is not a cranberry fan. Could this be adapted to use blueberries and lemon? I froze a lot of blueberries this summer.
Hi Mary, I have not tested this recipe with other fruit, but I imagine that should work. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!
I’m not a fan of cranberries either, but this cake will make you love them – at least in the cake!
I love love your recipes. They are very easy to follow. My family loved the cranberry bunt cake. Thank you so much for sharing and teaching us how fun it can be to cook and bake
You’re so very welcome. I’m happy to hear that.
I did a random search for “cranberry Bundt cake and saw your name. Whenever this happens, I know the recipe will be a great one. I love your posts.
Thank you so much, Lee! I hope you love this recipe!
Excellent! Love the contrast between the tart cranberry and the sweet glaze. And the cake is very tender. Made it exactly as the recipe calls for. Only change I made for second time was to add an extra 1/2 cup cranberries. BTW .. I used frozen cranberries and they worked out wonderfully.
P.S. I’ll bet this would be outstanding with frozen blueberries as well.
Thank you for sharing that with us, John. We have a similar glaze for our Blueberry Lemon Muffins.
I just made your cake and it was delicious! It has a very good taste, and is very moist! I hope it freezes well because I cannot eat all of this at this time.
How would you recommend freezing it? Thank you.
Hi Rose! I’m glad you loved it. If you’re wanting to freeze it, let it cool, wrap it in plastic, and then in foil. I would add the cranberries when you defrost it. 🙂
It’s such a perfect and yummy cake! But about the glaze I preferred clear with less powdered sugar and more orange juice. Oh Gosh… 🤤. Yummy yummy in my tummy! As my little one usually say. 😂.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Raquel!
It’s such a delicious cake just like store bought cake 😊
Hi Lara! I’m glad you love the cake. Thank you.
This turned out so yummy but my glaze ended up looking clear when I put it on the cake. Any suggestions on what went wrong?
Hi Mari, it sounds like the cake was still too warm and melted the glaze, or the glaze needed to be thicker. You can add more powdered sugar to it and ensure your cake is cooled. I hope this helps.
An excellent cake, easy to make and it’s super moist and flavourful. I just put 1/3 of it in the freezer to see if it can be frozen. Will let you know the result.
Thank you, Maria! Looking forward to hearing your feedback.
This turned out absolutely delicious, so much so that everyone wanted to take some home. I didn’t have cranberries so used frozen tart cherries, and only had grapefruit so I used the zest of that. Making it again today upon my in-laws’ request!
I’m so glad to hear it works great with cherries! Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Eden!
I don’t have buttermilk can I use 2% milk will it turn runny??
Hi Kathy! 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.
Great recipe! Impressed whole family this Christmas ☺️🎄✨
So glad to hear that, Darina! Thank you.
I made this cake for Christmas this year and it was an absolute hit. I also made your sugar cover cranberry and candy pecans. I wish I could leave a picture of how perfect everything looked and tasted
I’m so glad you loved it! I would love to see a picture, you can always tag me on Facebook or Instagram. #natashaskitchen
I made this today to bring to a party but didn’t have time for the sugar cranberries. Also some of it stuck when I released it from the pan but I’m bringing it anyway as it still looks good. I will let you know how I make out! Thanks for the recipe.
Cake is done, berries ready for sugar coating. I don’t want to serve until tomorrow. How do I need to store sugared berries overnight?? Or can I leave them glazed syrup overnight and then coat tomorrow?
Hi, I would store the sugared cranberries at room temperature covered for up to 2 days and add them just before serving. If the sugar starts looking moist, you can re-roll them in a little more sugar to freshen them up.
I feel the glaze was too thin. Next time less liquid. Otherwise exited to try this cake tomorrow.
Hi Natasha
I wanted to make this cake for Christmas this year and I was wondering if it could be made ahead on Christmas Eve? Thank you!
Hi Ban! That’s fine. I keep the cake stored in the refrigerator. The cranberries can get a little soft if covered in the fridge for too long. I would decorate with sugared cranberries the same day it’s being served.
Does this cake have to be refrigerated? I made it at Thanksgiving and it didn’t last long enough to put in the fridge. I have over 1/2 left and I don’t want it to spoil being left at room temperature.
Hi Melissa, usually I”ll leave it out for a day and cover and refrigerate leftovers after that. Put plastic wrap directly over any sides that have been cut so it doesn’t dry out.
Hi Natasha! I’m planning to make this for Christmas and I was wondering if it could be made the day before Christmas?
Hi Ban, you could leave it at room temperature overnight. I would cover the cake with plastic wrap overnight so it doesn’t dry out. If you are putting the glaze on, the cranberries will stick better to fresh glaze before it sets, and it would be safe to put them on top a day ahead in low humidity.
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake was scrumptious! My granddaughter loved it so much that she requested the recipe so it could be her birthday cake in early January! Making it again this Christmas 2022!
I’m so glad it was enjoyed! Thank you for sharing, Joan.