This publish might comprise affiliate hyperlinks. As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please learn my disclosure coverage.
Cranberry orange cake pairs gentle and fluffy cake layers with a vivid cranberry filling and orange-infused frosting. It’s completely balanced, spectacular, and SO festive for fall and winter holidays! Recipe features a how-to video!
Cranberry Orange Layer Cake
In the present day’s cranberry orange cake is a festive (and spectacular) seasonal dessert that’s an awesome different to all issues pumpkin spice or peppermint. It has 4 layers of fluffy, orange-infused cake and three layers of vivid cranberry sauce. Every little thing is wrapped in a semi-naked layer of orange cream cheese frosting, and if you wish to go the additional mile, topped with a sprinkling of sugared cranberries.
It’s gorgeous, has an unbelievable taste, and can certainly be the star of your vacation dinner!
Why This Recipe WORKS
- Trusted cake recipe: We’ll use an orange-infused model of my well-liked white cake recipe for the cake layers. The outcomes? Fluffy, gentle, moist, and completely superb with the filling and frosting we’re utilizing at this time.
- Cranberry filling vs. cranberries within the cake: I experimented with including cranberries to the cake layers, however I discovered {that a} cranberry sauce filling layer was greatest. It’s basically a smoother, sweeter model of my favourite cranberry sauce recipe, and it’s a good tart counterpart to the candy cake!
- Not-too-sweet frosting: My well-liked cream cheese frosting recipe will get a citrusy makeover at this time with the addition of orange zest and juice. The result’s unbelievable and completely candy! Psst…this frosting can be superb on my spice cake or carrot cake!
Elements
- Oranges & cranberries. You’ll want recent oranges and both recent or frozen cranberries. Be sure to zest your oranges earlier than juicing them, because it’s almost not possible the opposite approach round.
- All-purpose flour. I often use all-purpose flour, however you should use cake flour if desired–substitution directions are within the recipe notes under.
- Egg whites. We might be whipping these individually to stiff peaks earlier than folding them into the cake batter (makes for a light-weight and fluffy texture!). It is extremely vital that you don’t get ANY egg yolk in with the egg whites, or they won’t whip up correctly. In case you don’t need to waste your egg yolks, save them for crème brĂ»lĂ©e or tiramisu. I don’t advocate liquid egg whites — they’re not all the time dependable!
- Buttermilk. This retains the cake gentle, plush, and moist (particularly vital because the cake must be refrigerated). I’ve tried swapping the buttermilk with orange juice and was not thrilled with the outcomes, buttermilk is greatest!
- Butter. I like to make use of unsalted butter within the cake layers and salted butter within the frosting, however you should use unsalted for each and simply add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the frosting.
- Cream cheese. It’s crucial that you just use full-fat, block-style cream cheese; the spreadable cream cheese offered in tubs won’t have the identical consistency and may make your frosting runny.
That is simply an outline of the elements I used and why. For the total recipe please scroll right down to the underside of the publish!
SAM’S TIP: A few of you might even see the amount of powdered sugar within the frosting and assume I’m a sugar fiend (not completely mistaken). Keep in mind, this can be a BIG cake (4 layers!) and you really want the total quantity for the right texture and sweetness. In case you cut back the sugar, you’ll run into points with the frosting being too gentle/runny, and never protecting your entire cake.
Make Cranberry Orange Cake
Sure, there are fairly a number of steps for my cranberry orange cake recipe, however none are overly sophisticated. The cake is a showstopper and nicely well worth the effort–simply wait til you style it!
Make the Cake Batter
- Step 1: Cream the fat, sugar, and citrus. Beat the butter, oil, sugar, and orange zest collectively till nicely mixed and creamy. Including the orange zest right here helps launch the citrus oils and brings out the flavour!
- Step 2: Add the buttermilk and dry elements. Add the vanilla, then alternate between including the dry elements and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry elements. Watch out to not over-mix, but in addition be sure you don’t have any pockets of flour hiding wherever.
- Step 3: Whip the egg whites. Fastidiously separate your egg whites, then place them in a separate clear, dry, and grease-free mixing bowl. Whip them with an electrical mixer (use clear beaters!) till thick, fluffy, and stiff.
- Step 4: Mix right into a clean batter. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the batter till all the things is evenly mixed. Once more, don’t over-mix right here (however do make sure that the egg whites are nicely distributed and no streaks stay!)!
SAM’S TIP: It is extremely vital that you just use a separate clear, dry, and grease-free bowl and beaters to whip your egg whites, in any other case they might by no means whip to stiff peaks.
Bake the Desserts
- Step 5: Divide & bake. Evenly divide the batter between your ready pans. You possibly can all the time divide the batter between two 8″ pans (your bake time might be longer) after which reduce every layer in half, however I’m horrible at slicing a cake in half like that and like to make use of 4 pans as a substitute. In case you use 4 pans, it’s tremendous to let 2 pans sit on the counter whereas the opposite two bake (in case your oven can’t accommodate them all of sudden — all of them have to bake on the middle rack).
- Step 6: Cool utterly. Examine the muffins for doneness (I like to make use of a toothpick!), then take away from the oven. Allow them to cool for about 10 minutes earlier than inverting onto cooling racks to chill utterly.
Cranberry Filling
- Step 7: Begin with a easy syrup. Prepare dinner the sugars, orange juice, and water over medium low warmth till the sugar utterly dissolves.
- Step 8: Prepare dinner til thickened. Add the berries and convey the combination to a boil. Scale back the warmth and let simmer till the filling thickens to a jammy consistency. If desired, you possibly can mix the sauce til clean with an immersion blender (my choice and suggestion), in any other case pour right into a heat-proof bowl and let cool utterly.
Frosting & Meeting
- Step 9: Make the frosting. Beat the butter, cream cheese, and orange zest til clean, then progressively stir within the powdered sugar. Add the orange juice and vanilla, then stir once more til clean and mixed.
- Step 10: Assemble the cake. Pipe a frosting dam round your first layer and add ⅓ of your cranberry filling within the middle, spreading all the way in which to the dam. Add one other cake layer on prime, pipe a frosting border, then add ½ of the remaining cranberry sauce within the middle such as you did for the primary layer. Repeat this course of another time, ending with the ultimate cake layer.
- Step 11: Adorn and chill. Use the remaining frosting to coat the surface of the cake; it gained’t be sufficient to completely cowl the cake and might be a extra rustic, naked-style coating. Place the cake within the fridge to relax for not less than half an hour earlier than making an attempt to slice–it will likely be messy for those who attempt to reduce into it instantly!
FROSTING NOTE: I like to embellish this cranberry orange cake semi-naked model, that means it won’t be utterly lined in frosting. In case you favor a totally frosted cake, you’ll need to extend the frosting by roughly 50%.
Regularly Requested Questions
Sure! Simply make sure that to wrap it nicely in plastic wrap and retailer in an hermetic, freezer-safe container. It’s going to maintain this fashion for a number of months.
To thaw, unwrap and let it sit at room temperature or within the fridge till softened.
You would attempt utilizing store-bought cranberry sauce, however the taste will possible be completely different and fewer candy than what I’m utilizing right here. In case you had been to make use of store-bought, you’d want about 2 cups.
I did do that recipe with cranberries within the layers a number of occasions, however it was truthfully simply an excessive amount of and never pretty much as good. If you wish to add them, I’d advocate including not more than a handful to the batter.
Looking for more holiday cakes? I have a peppermint bark cake and a gingerbread layer cake–both are festive showstoppers! Also be sure to check out my full list of Christmas desserts (that aren’t cookies) and Thanksgiving desserts (that aren’t pie).
Enjoy, and happy holidays!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTubeÂ đŸ’œ
For the cake
-
Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and lightly grease and flour four 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
-
In a large mixing bowl, (or in your stand mixer with a paddle attachment) use an electric mixer to beat butter until light and creamy.
6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter
-
Add sugar, oil, and orange zest and beat until well combined.
2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon orange zest, â…” cup (160 ml) neutral cooking oil
-
Stir in vanilla extract.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
-
In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2 ¾ cups (345 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt
-
Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the batter, starting and ending with the flour mixture (I add the flour in 4 parts and the buttermilk in 3). Stir until just combined after each addition.
2 ¾ cups (345 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (235 ml) buttermilk
-
Pour egg whites to a separate (completely clean, dry, and grease-free) mixing bowl (do not use a silicone, rubber, or plastic bowl). Use an electric mixer to beat on low speed until foamy, then gradually increase speed to high and continue to beat until you reach stiff peaks (opaque white, thick, voluminous, and hold their peak when the beater is lifted).
6 large egg whites
-
Add the whipped egg whites to the cake batter and use a spatula to gently fold the egg whites into batter until thoroughly combined, but just combined (don’t overdo it but you do not want to have any streaks of egg white remaining).
-
Divide batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake 2 cake pans at a time in preheated 350F (175C) oven for 20-24 minutes or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. I usually begin my cranberry filling once the cakes are baking.
-
Allow cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge and carefully inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely before assembling.
Filling
-
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine sugars, orange juice, and water over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.
⅔ cup (135 g) granulated sugar, 3 Tablespoons (38 g) brown sugar, ½ cup (120 ml) orange juice, ¼ cup (60 ml) water
-
Once sugar has dissolved, add cranberries and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer, stirring frequently, until the berries have burst and the mixture has thickened to a jam-like consistency (note that the sauce will thicken as it cools). Time may vary, usually takes about 7-10 minutes on my stovetop but may take longer. Be careful, as the berries pop they can splatter and the mixture is hot!
2 cups (226 g) fresh or frozen cranberries
-
Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend mixture until smooth.
-
Pour mixture into a heat-proof bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool while you prepare the frosting.
Frosting
-
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to stir together cream cheese, butter, and orange zest until smooth and creamy.
8 oz (226 g) brick style cream cheese, softened, ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, 2 Tablespoons orange zest
-
Gradually add powdered sugar, about 1 cup (125g) at a time, until all sugar is combined. Be sure to use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate all of the sugar.
5 cups (625 g) powdered sugar
-
Gradually stir in orange juice followed by vanilla extract until well combined.
½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 Tablespoon orange juice
Assembly
-
Once cakes and filling have cooled completely (very important or assembly will be a mess, trust me!), assemble and decorate the cakes. If cakes are uneven, you may wish to level them using a cake leveler (I link to mine in the equipment section below, an inexpensive and handy tool if you make a lot of cakes and your oven makes the layers uneven).
-
Place your first cake layer on your cake platter and fill a large piping bag fitted with an open tip (I like the 1A) with the frosting.
-
Pipe a border around the inside edge of a cake layer to form a dam to hold the cranberry sauce.
-
You will have 4 layers of cake and 3 layers of filling. Fill the first dam with â…“ of your cranberry filling and spread into an even layer. Repeat with the next two cake layers. Add your fourth and final layer of cake and cover the entire cake in a semi-naked covering of the remaining frosting. If you want to be extra, top the cake with sugared cranberries for decoration.
-
Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before slicing and serving.
Cake flour
You may substitute 3 cups (345g) cake flour for the all-purpose flour called for.
Storing
Cover cake (or store in an airtight container) and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I prefer to let the cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before serving, as it’s a bit softer that way.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 767kcal | Carbohydrates: 125g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 517mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 100g | Vitamin A: 494IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 181mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
