Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake
Just going to throw out that this is the first Bundt cake recipe I’ve ever shared!! As much as I love making layer cakes, sometimes it’s nice to make other types of desserts. That is where this orange cranberry Bundt cake comes in.
While pulling together my baking holiday gift guide, I stumbled across the most stunning Bundt pan.
While I don’t REALLY have any room in my kitchen for it, I bought it anyway! What can I say, my impulse control is a work in progress.
I treated myself to this fancy new Bundt pan in hopes it would inspire me to make something new.
Clearly my plan worked, and the extra bag of cranberries in my fridge guided me toward this unique holiday flavor combo.
Less Common Holiday Flavors
When I think of Christmas, my first though isn’t orange and cranberry.
I usually think of chocolate and peppermint, or even eggnog!
That’s why my past holiday cakes (like my almond Christmas lights cake, or my hot cocoa cake) haven’t really played around with these flavors.
But in the midst of heavy holiday dinners, it’s nice to have a refreshing, tart dessert.
I’m not really giving cranberries enough credit. They are an important part of most holiday dinners, and they are seasonally relevant.
I think most people would be sad if they were missing from Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
I’m not the biggest fan of cranberry sauce, but I do love baking with cranberries.
They also make the most beautiful garnish when they’re sugared!
I love decorating cakes in a way that lets you know what flavor is hiding inside.
That’s why I topped this orange cranberry Bundt cake with loads of sugared cranberries and orange slices 🙂
The Bundt Pan
The final component of this Bundt cake recipe is the pan you use.
That’s the fun of making a Bundt cake, it’s shape is solely reliant on the pan it bakes in.
I think most people have their tried and true Bundt pans, and I totally respect that. They’re those iconic curved pans we grew up with, with short grooves and fluted edges.
This recipe will work great in just about any Bundt pan, as long as it has a capacity of at least 10 cups.
Most 10-inch Bundt pans can hold this much batter.
To make this Bundt cake, I used my Nordic Wear heritage Bundt pan, which has deep, beautiful grooves.
One word of advice, if you use a Bundt pan with a fun design or deep grooves, be sure you butter and flour them SUPER WELL before adding your batter.
Make sure you get a thin layer of butter into every nook and cranny.
It sounds dramatic, but you’ll thank yourself later when your gorgeous Bundt cake pops right out of the pan.
Tips to Make the Best Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Mix your cake batter just until the ingredients are incorporated. This will ensure your cake turns out tender and fluffy.
- Bake time can vary a lot based on your Bundt pan, so keep an eye on your cake and check in every 5 minutes once it’s been in the oven for 55 minutes.
- To prevent the cranberries from floating to the top of the Bundt cake, give them a rough chop and toss them in flour before adding them into the batter.
- To ensure the cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the cake once it’s baked pour 1/3 of the batter into the pan and add half the cranberries. Repeat this, then top with the rest of your batter.
- Butter and flour or grease your Bundt pan really well to help your Bundt cake pop out easily once it’s baked.
- Use a serrated knife to level the bottom of your Bundt cake once it’s fully cooled to help it sit flat on your cake stand or plate.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this orange cranberry Bundt cake recipe, I’d love to hear what you think of it!
Please leave a rating, and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment.
Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 375g
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400g
- 1 Tbsp baking powder 10g
- 1 tsp fine salt 6g
- 5 large eggs, room temperature 280g
- 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature 120ml
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature 255g
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil 224ml
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 115ml
- 2 Tbsp orange zest 12g
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 8ml
- 2 cups fresh cranberries or one 8 oz bag, roughly chopped and lightly tossed in flour 210g
Orange Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar 250g
- 2 Tbsp orange zest 12g
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 60ml
Decorations
- sugared cranberries
- small orange slices
Instructions
Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Butter and flour or use non-stick baking spray to grease a 10-inch Bundt pan with 10 cup capacity. Be sure to get into all the nooks and crannies of your Bundt pan to ensure an easy release.
- Whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, add the eggs, buttermilk, sour cream, oil, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
- Mix in half of the the dry ingredients until they are just combined. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients. Be careful not to over-mix the batter.
- Pour 1/3 of the batter into the pan, and add half the chopped cranberries that have been tossed in flour. Top with another 1/3 of the batter, then add the remaining cranberries. Top with the rest of the batter. This ensures that the cranberries will be evenly distributed once the cake is baked.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. My Bundt pan took about 63 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Use a serrated knife to level the bottom of the cake to help it sit flush against your plate or cake stand.
- Carefully invert the pan and flip the cake onto the plate or cake stand.
Fresh Orange Glaze
- While the Bundt cake bakes and cools, make the fresh orange glaze.
- Add the powdered sugar and orange zest into a medium-sized bowl, then pour in the fresh orange juice.
- Mix with a small whisk or spoon until the glaze is smooth.
Decorating This Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
- Drizzle the orange glaze over the ridges of the Bundt cake, covering as much of the cake as possible.
- Garnish with sugared cranberries and small orange slices in the center and around the base, then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Tips for Making the Best Orange Cranberry Cake
- Mix your cake batter just until the ingredients are incorporated. This will ensure your cake turns out tender and fluffy.
- Bake time can vary a lot based on your Bundt pan, so keep an eye on your cake and check in every 5 minutes once it's been in the oven for 55 minutes.
- To prevent the cranberries from floating to the top of the Bundt cake, give them a rough chop and toss them in flour before adding them into the batter.
- To ensure the cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the cake once it's baked pour 1/3 of the batter into the pan and add half the cranberries. Repeat this, then top with the rest of your batter.
- Butter and flour or grease your Bundt pan really well to help your Bundt cake pop out easily once it's baked.
- Use a serrated knife to level the bottom of your Bundt cake once it's fully cooled to help it sit flat on your cake stand or plate.
- Don't skimp on the orange zest or fresh orange juice! It really elevates the flavor of the cake, and is worth a bit of extra work 🙂
Hi it looks delicious, I want to try this,but may I use plain yogurt instead of sourcream?, Thank you I. NAdvance
Hi Roxana,
You sure can! Just be sure it’s full fat yogurt 🙂 Happy baking!!
How far in advance can you make this?
Hi Mal,
This cake can be baked and decorated, then stored under cover at room temperature for up to 3 days. Hope that helps, happy baking!! <3
I decided to make this recipe yesterday but instead of one large bundt cake I make several mini bundt cakes. I absolutely love the results!! The cakes came out perfect and the flavor is amazing!! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Hi Loralyn! That’s so wonderful to hear!! Thank you for sharing ? happy holidays and happy baking??
Do you think this cake would work in multiple layers vs a Bundt? I love the flavors but need to make a layer cake! Thank you!!
Hi Joan! I haven’t tried turning this recipe into a layer cake, but someone sent me a message that they did, and it does work! It should be enough batter to make 3, 7-inch or 8-inch cake layers 🙂 Happy baking!!
Hi!! I have this in the oven right now and it looks and smells AMAZING. I’m making this as a hostess gift and I’m worried about the glaze making it look messy once I wrap in cellophane. Do you think it would be delicious with just powdered sugar on top and the sugared cranberries?
Hi Nora!! the cake tastes great in its own, but I do love the glaze!! You could definitely dust it with powdered sugar and add the sugared cranberries, or could spoon the glaze over the cake once you get there! It isn’t a lot of glaze, so it’d travel well in a small Tupperware container ?
I am using frozen cranberries, the store is currently out. Do you use the same amount of frozen since it is a wet ingredient?
Yup! They should bake up just fine even if they’re frozen ??
What are your thoughts on doing this recipe but with lemon and blueberries?
Hi Megan,
I think that would be amazing, that’s a great idea!! I should work on a recipe like that!!! 🙂
Chelsea, I want you to know that we made this for Christmas dinner dessert with some tweaks ( my daughter is vegan so we switched out eggs, buttermilk and sour cream to be vegan friendly) and it was absolutely delicious! Everyone raved and my daughter was so happy to feel included. Happy holidays!
That is wonderful!! I am so happy to hear that Leslie!
Also very excited to hear that your swaps worked well to make it vegan 🙂 Happy holidays to you too, thank you for sharing!!
It was really, really tasty. Everyone loved it. For some reason every cranberry floated to the bottom. I followed the directions to a T so I don’t know why.
Hi Christine,
I am so happy to hear that this recipe tasted great, but so sorry the cranberries floated to the top! Sometimes if the cranberries are big they don’t stay put in the batter, because they’re so buoyant! A great work around for this is giving the cranberries a rough chop before adding them to the batter. I suggest trying that next time to help prevent them from floating.
I’m going to add this note into the recipe to help prevent others from having this problem, thank you for you sharing!! <3
I made this for Christmas dinner dessert and it was beautiful and everyone loved it! However, all of my cranberries rose to the top of the cake when I baked it and most got cut off when I leveled the cake before taking it out of the pan. When we cut the pieces there were no cranberries to be found in the cake. It still tasted great with the sugared cranberries. Just wondering what to do differently next time so they stay distributed in the cake.
Hi Shari,
Happy to hear that this recipe tasted great, but so sorry the cranberries floated to the top! Sometimes if the cranberries are big they don’t stay put in the batter, because they’re so buoyant! A great work around for this is giving the cranberries a rough chop before adding them to the batter. I suggest trying that next time to help prevent them from floating <3
I’m going to add this note into the recipe to help prevent others from having this problem, thank you for you sharing!! <3
Thanks, Chelsea! I chopped some cranberries in a quick bread that I made and it worked so I’m sure that’s the trick. Can’t wait to make this cake again and try that. Thanks again for the great recipe!
YAY! I am so happy to hear that Shari! 🙂 I updated my recipe to reflect that, so hopefully no one will have any issues going forward!
Yes please!
haha right?!?! 🙂
I made this for Christmas and it was amazing!! Beautiful and tasted so good! Definitely a crowd favorite.
So happy to hear that Safina!! Thank you for sharing, comments like this make my day 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful holiday!
That’ wonderful. Can you plz share the alternatives you used with quantity to make it vegan.
Eagerly waiting for ur response
Hi Tandeep,
I haven’t tested this recipe out with vegan alternatives, so I’m not sure! So sorry!
Will the dried cranberries work fine in this cake instead of fresh one
Hi Tandeep,
Dried cranberries will work just fine! Give them a rough chop though, to prevent them from floating to the top while the cake bakes <3
Hello,
Can I made cupcakes with this recipe? i just need 12, do you think I can do half of the recipe?
Hi Catalina,
I haven’t tested this recipe out for cupcakes, so sadly I’m not sure! I’d guess that 1/3 – 1/2 a batch of batter should make 12 cupcakes. Sorry I can’t be of more help, please let me know how they turn out if you try it <3 I'd love to know!
Hey!!
I am new to your page and i absolutely love watching you on youtube!!
Have you ever made a Fruit Cake for Christmas?? They are my grandmas favorite and i really wanna make her one…
I went to baking school for a bit but it got overwhelming and i ended up quitting unfortunately.
I aspire to start my own business as a cake decorator one day.
Keeping my fingers crossed!!
Hi Cassie,
You’re too sweet, thank you!! Sadly I haven’t, I’ve actually never eaten a fruit cake, so I wouldn’t even know where to start!!
I’m so sorry I can’t be of more help :/
Hi, is it ok if i use dried cranberries for ths cz it’s so hard to get fresh or frozen cranberries at my place.
Another question is (which is x really related), can i use ths swirl bundt pan for carrot cake (with oil, sultanas n walnuts)? Will it stick to th pan? Tq!
How long did u cook them and what temp
If I wanted to make this in a pinch, would I be able to use a boxed cake mix and add in the cranberries and organe zest? Would a vanilla cake mix make a good substitute? Can’t wait to try this! Thank you so much!
I am making this today. I have only found cranberries that are fresh but dry. I have seen cranberries before in a bag of liquid. Do they need to be Cranberries in the bag of liquid? Sorry, I dont know much about cranberries. Never cooked with them before but this cake looks too good to pass up. Thanks!
I made this and the cake turned out looking golden and pretty, however the inside was very dense. Other than the the texture everything else was fine but I would love to know why it had not turn out correctly. Thanks for the recipe anyways.
My best bundt cake attempt to date! Cake tasted absolutely great, and the cranberries and orange just give it the finishing touch. Definitely a recipe to keep.
I veganized this for myself and made it as a dessert to accompany our Hanukkah dinner. Instead of sour cream I used Kite Hill Unsweetened Plain Greek Style Almond Milk Yogurt, for the buttermilk I used Oatly Full Fat with 1/2 Tbsp ACV, and instead of eggs I used Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer. I also threw some vegan white chocolate mini chips (Enjoy Life brand) in with the cranberries. This was a hit and everybody loved it!
Hi, I made this cake yesterday. I used dried cranberries instead of fresh as we don’t get fresh ones here. I rehydrated it before using by microwaving it with water for 60 seconds and letting it stands for 5 minutes. I also had to substitute sour cream with 6 ounce cream cheese with 2 tbsp buttermilk. The cake turned out wonderful. Tasted amazing on the first day, but on the second day it has become rather soggy and dense.
I am not sure whether it is because I rehydrated the cranberries with water or because I used cream cheese and milk instead of sour cream.
Is there any tips you can share?
Thank you very much for a wonderful recipe. Definitely going to make this one again.
SO DELICIOUS!
Family loved it and asked for recipe which I gladly shared!
As others mentioned, my cranberries did rise to the top. I dusted with flour as recommended, but they were fresh not frozen. Would that make a difference?
Didn’t matter they were scraping their plates anyway.. ?
Will make again.
So happy to hear that Deb!! Cranberries can be so finicky, but I have found that frozen cranberries do a bit better than fresh in this recipe! Chopping them up can also help if you didn’t try that this last time. Hope that helps, happy baking 🙂
How many cups of batter does this make ? I understand a 10 cup bundt holds about 6 cups of batter. I’d like to make this but want to be certain. Thanks.
Hi Stephanie,
I haven’t measured the amount of batter this recipe makes, but it bakes up beautifully in a 10 cup bundt pan! That size of pan is perfect for this recipe. Hope that helps, happy baking!
I love, love, LOVE this recipe! I’ve tried so many cranberry orange cakes and nothing ever tastes like the main ingredients-always lacking. This is fabulous! This might be a silly question, but can I use this recipe to make muffins as well?
Hi Jessica,
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
I do think these would work as muffins, I’d recommend adding a generous sprinkle of coarse sugar on the top of each muffin to give them a perfectly crunchy top.
To create nice domed tops, I’d recommend baking the muffins for 6 minutes at 425°F / 218°C to give the muffins a nice rise and a domed, golden brown top. Then (keeping the muffins in the oven) reduce the oven temperature to 350°F / 175°C. Continue to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs).
Hope that helps, happy baking!
Have you ever made this in 2 loaf pans? I made in the bundt pan and was amazing but would like to do as a loaf.
Hi Chelsea,
I was really looking forward to this cake, but the recipe didn’t work out for me. I found that the cake was very dense and not cooked through. The cake rose in the oven, but then was flat once it cooled. I followed the recipe as is, with the substitute of plain yogurt instead of sour cream. I was surprised that the recipe did not ask for baking soda?. I’m surprised over all because based on the reviews this was a hit, but just not for me, and I almost never fail at baking. Expensive ingredients gone to waste.
Disappointed: (
Liliana
Hi Liliana,
I’m so sorry to hear that :/ That is such a bummer! This recipe does only use baking powder, it’s based off of my vanilla layer cake recipe, which is a denser cake recipe that uses the reverse crumbing technique to give the cake a really tender texture.
Based on the sound of it, it may have needed more time in the oven, especially if it flattened out a ton when it came out of the oven. Sometimes ovens run a bit cool (very few ovens actually bake at the proper temp – all three ovens I’ve ever had have not baked accurately and were off by at least 25F), or they also can get tired if you’re doing a bunch of holiday baking! My current oven starts to run cool if I bake more than few hours, which is super annoying! I only know it does that because I have a thermometer in my oven, which helps a lot!
The yogurt shouldn’t have caused an issues as long as it was at room temp! That’s my only other thought, were all the ingredients fully at room temp? Hopefully we’ll be able to figure out what happened!