This Cranberry Christmas Cake is the perfect holiday dessert. It’s extra moist and super flavorful thanks to brown sugar, cinnamon, a hint of orange zest, and fresh cranberries. Topped with white chocolate cream cheese frosting.
This cranberry cake is a holiday favorite that’s perfect for entertaining or for your Christmas dinner dessert. It’s a deliciously moist and tender cake that tastes seriously warm and cozy.
Brown sugar, cinnamon and a hint of orange zest complement the tart cranberries perfectly, and the cranberries add a pop of color that make the cake feel extra festive. Then to top it all off – it’s frosted with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Heaven.
Basically, I like to think of this cranberry Christmas cake as a Starbucks cranberry bliss bar in moist, fluffy cake form.
Cranberry Christmas Cake
Ok – let’s talk about what makes this cake soooo delicious. If you want to get straight to the recipe, feel free to scroll down. But for more cake details, keep reading 😉
First, flavor. This cranberry cake is packed with flavor. We’re using:
- Butter
- Brown sugar for a delicious caramel undertone
- A hint of cinnamon
- Orange zest to balance out the tart cranberries
- Fresh cranberries
The cake crumb is moist & tender, and the cake is a little denser than some other cake recipes. Think of the texture as similar to a spice cake or carrot cake, instead of super light like a white cake or angel food cake. The cake has a deliciously moist texture and soft crumb because we’re using buttermilk, sour cream & 3 large eggs.
*It’s super important not to over mix the batter or the cake can get dry and tough. Warm up the ingredients to room temperature before getting started so that they mix together evenly without having to over mix.Â
Then the frosting is just to die for. It’s a white chocolate cream cheese frosting that’s not too sweet and just plain delicious. Slightly tangy, perfectly creamy, and always delicious with a thick layer. I then added an extra drizzle of white chocolate and dried cranberries on top to give it that cranberry bliss bar look.
Now for a couple common questions:
Can I make the cranberry cake with dried cranberries? I recommend using fresh cranberries in the cake because dried cranberries are hard and chewy – which isn’t the best in cake. If they’re all you can find, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes first to help soften them. Then pat them dry.
Can I make this cranberry cake with frozen cranberries? Yes – just make sure they aren’t frozen in syrup. If using frozen cranberries, toss them in 2 teaspoons of flour first to minimize the juices bleeding through the batter. Do not thaw the cranberries before baking.
Can I make the cake ahead of time? Yes. The cake can be made 1 day ahead of time. Cool fully, then cover it and store at room temperature (unfrosted). The cake can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Make the cake & cool it fully. Then wrap tightly before freezing. Thaw in the fridge first, then bring it up to room temperature. Frost the cake the day you plan on serving it for best results.Â
For more cranberry recipes, try these other holiday favorites:
- Cranberry Orange Loaf
- Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Pumpkin Cranberry Cake
- Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies
- Cranberry Orange CakeÂ
Cranberry Christmas Cake
Ingredients
Cranberry Cake
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 â…” cups brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 3 large eggs*
- ½ cup sour cream*
- ½ cup milk**
- 2 cups cranberries***
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese brick style, full fat
- 6 oz white chocolate melted & cooled
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1-3 tablespoons cream
Topping
- 2 oz white chocolate melted
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
Cranberry Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 9x13 inch cake pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.
- In a large bowl beat together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy (at least 2 minutes).
- Add in the vanilla extract & orange zest, then mix in the eggs 1 at a time until combined.
- In a liquid measuring cup whisk together the sour cream and milk.
- With the mixer on low speed, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture about â…“ at a time alternating with about â…“ of the sour cream & milk mixture until combined.
- Gently fold in the cranberries with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Pour/spoon the batter into the prepared pan & bake for 27-33 minutes, or until the top looks set and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
White Chocolate Frosting & Topping
- Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until soft.
- Beat in the white chocolate (make sure it's not piping hot before adding it in).
- Mix in the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, alternating with the cream until the desired sweetness is reached.
- Frost the cooled cake.
- Sprinkle the top with dried cranberries and drizzle white chocolate on top.
Looks delicious good recipe for christmas
Thank you! <3
Are the cranberries the same kind you find in the produce department, the ones used in making cranberry sauce? Or Are they the type you find where the raisins are on the shelf?
I really Would like to try this cake for Christmas it looks beautiful great job!
Hi Crystal,
For the cake batter – you can use fresh cranberries that you find in the produce section. For the top, I used dried cranberries to decorate. But if you don’t want to buy 2 different types you can totally skip the decorations on top 🙂 Merry Christmas!
The measurement for vanilla wasn’t given. I put in one teaspoon. The cake is now out of the oven and smells delicious. I’m going to wrap it up, after it cools, and frost it tomorrow eve, or maybe even Christmas morning. I’ll let you know “the final verdict” once “the jury” rules following our Christmas dinner. Merry Chistmas Fiona (and Jay!) 😄
Hello Fiona!
This comment is rather late as Christmas is ‘long over’, but still I wanted to let you know what everybody said about your Cranberry Christmas Cake (with one alteration).
I prefer the look of a layer cake over a sheet cake for special events, so that’s how I made this one.
It was, as are all of your recipes I’ve made for Mike’s family, a great success.
Thank you for all your lovely recipes!
(I would send you pictures but I don’t seem to be able to figure out how to do that… – I’m a bit tech-deficient)
Would like to make this cake and wondering if you have ever done it in a bundt pan?
I haven’t tried it – so I can’t be certain of the results. The batter would be enough for a 12-cup bundt pan and I’m guessing the bake time would be about 50-60 minutes at 350F. For bundt recipes, I like to make a pan release to grease the pan – I describe the method I use in this post: https://www.justsotasty.com/tips-for-making-the-perfect-bundt-cake/