If you want to bake a crowd-pleasing treat to serve this holiday season, my easy cranberry cake recipe needs to be on your radar. Similar to a pound cake but not quite as dense, with gorgeous tart cranberries interspersed throughout, this cranberry Christmas cake will disappear in a flash. Your loved ones won’t be able to resist the balance of sweetness with the tartness of the cranberries.
You can use fresh or thawed out frozen cranberries for this recipe, but be sure to toss them with a little all-purpose flour to prevent them from sinking and to prevent the color from bleeding the cake batter. And for more festive cake recipes, try my Christmas pudding, eggnog cake, and gingerbread cake.
Ingredients
Eggs — you’ll need 4 large eggs to provide structure and rich flavor to the cake.
Sugar — granulated sugar is whipped with the eggs until light and fluffy and sprinkled on top for a crispy crust, perfectly balancing the tart cranberries.
Butter — use unsalted butter and ensure it is quite soft in order for it to mix into the eggs well.
Vanilla — vanilla extract complements the flavors in cranberry cake.
Flour — all-purpose flour is perfect for a tender cake that isn’t too crumbly. You’ll need it for the batter as well as to toss the cranberries in to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Baking powder — baking powder helps the cake rise.
Milk — a little bit of milk adds just the right amount of moisture to the batter for a cake that isn’t dry or too dense.
Cranberries — I used fresh cranberries, but you can also use frozen ones (more info is below). You can find bags of fresh cranberries in the grocery store with other berries in the produce section when in season.
Can I Use Frozen Cranberries?
Yes, you can use frozen cranberries in place of fresh cranberries! Thaw them completely, then pat them very dry before folding them into the batter to prevent their red color from bleeding into the batter.
How To Make Cranberry Cake
1. In the large mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer), combine the eggs and sugar. Beat on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes until the mixture is very pale yellow or off-white in color and nearly doubled in volume. It should create thick ribbons on the surface of the mixture when drizzled.
2. Add the cubed butter, vanilla extract, and salt, and beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until combined. The mixture may look curdled at this point, but that is normal. It will smooth out once the flour is added.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2¾ cups flour and the baking powder. Add half of the flour mixture to the batter and gently fold it in. Add the milk and stir carefully to combine, then fold in the remaining flour mixture.
4. Toss the cranberries with 2 tablespoons of flour, then gently fold them into the cranberry Christmas cake batter.
5. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with butter or baking spray. Line it with parchment paper. (optional). Dollop the batter evenly all over the base of the prepared cake pan. Spread carefully into an even layer.
6. Sprinkle the top of the cake with an additional 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar if you like for a little sparkle. Bake at 350°F for about 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before serving.
Ingredient Temperature Is Very Important
When making this cranberry cake, it’s important to use room-temperature eggs, butter, and milk so they can be properly incorporated into a cohesive batter. Since this batter doesn’t follow a classic creaming method of beating the butter and sugar together before adding any wet ingredients (like eggs), the butter, in particular, needs to be very soft. If it’s too firm, it won’t blend well with the fluffy eggs.
I recommend setting the refrigerated ingredients out on your counter about an hour before you start baking. If you forgot to do it ahead of time, learn how to soften butter quickly with my easy tutorial. If your kitchen is particularly cold, you can pop the stick of butter in the microwave in 5-second intervals until it is very soft but not melted.
Variations
- Use vanilla bean paste: I love to use vanilla bean paste (in place of vanilla extract) in this recipe for its beautiful flecks of vanilla bean throughout the cake.
- Add almond extract: Add ½ teaspoon of almond extract to this recipe for a slightly nutty flavor that complements the cranberries nicely.
- Add orange zest: For a bright citrus flavor, add the zest of 1 orange to the egg mixture when beating in the butter.
- Make two smaller cakes. To do this, make the batter as written, but bake it in two greased 8-inch round cake pans.
How to Serve Cranberry Cake
Cranberry cake is a star in its own right and doesn’t need too many bells and whistles to adorn it. It’s best served like a slice of coffee cake, plain, lightly dusted with powdered sugar, or drizzled with a glaze like the one I use on my cranberry orange bread alongside a cup of coffee.
If you’d like a little something to go with it, you can top each slice with whipped cream or a scoop of pistachio ice cream or vanilla ice cream.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Weigh the flour! Adding too much flour will yield a dry cranberry cake. The most accurate way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- If you want to remove the cake from the pan, after greasing the baking pan, line it with parchment paper. While optional, this makes it easier to remove the cake from the dish if you prefer to place it on a serving plate rather than serve it directly from the pan.
- I recommend using a whisk attachment instead of a paddle attachment, which I normally use for cake batter. The whisk helps whip the egg and sugar into a fluffy mixture and incorporates the soft butter more easily. If you are using a hand mixer, use the beater attachments.
- Don’t overmix the batter after adding the flour. While cranberry cake is on the denser side, it should still be incredibly tender. Over-mixing after adding the dry ingredients will cause it to turn out tough because the gluten in the flour will overdevelop.
- To fold in the flour and cranberries, use a silicone or rubber spatula. Scoop underneath the batter, along the bottom of the bowl, to bring the batter up and over the flour. Continue this motion to ensure that the flour and cranberries are incorporated evenly in as few folds as possible (about 5 or 6 is ideal). This will keep the cake tender and the cranberries from bursting. If the cranberries burst, they will start to streak the cake batter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once fully cooled to room temperature, you can either store leftover cranberry cake in an airtight container or wrap it well with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or store at room temperature for about 3 days. The golden crust on top will soften as the cake sits, but the flavor won’t be affected.
Yes, make Christmas cranberry cake to freeze as great holiday prep! Once the cake has cooled completely, keep it in the pan or remove it and wrap it tightly in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil to protect it from freezer burn. It freezes well for up to 2 months. Thaw the cranberry cake at room temperature. To refresh slices, reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave or in the air fryer for 2 minutes at 250°F.
If you’d like a muffin recipe with a very similar flavor profile, I’d recommend making my cranberry orange muffins.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this cranberry cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Cranberry Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 9×13-inch pan
- Handheld electric mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment
- Parchment paper, optional
- Non-stick spray
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2⅔ cups sugar (534g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter cubed and softened (236g)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2¾ cups + 2 tablespoons flour divided (345g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ cup whole milk room temperature (80mL)
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries (340g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with butter or baking spray. Line it with parchment paper. (This is optional, but makes it easier to remove the cake and serve).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer), combine the eggs and sugar. Beat on medium speed (level 6) for 4 to 5 minutes until the mixture is very pale yellow or off-white in color, nearly doubled in volume, and creates thick ribbons on the surface of the mixture when drizzled.
- Add the butter, vanilla, and salt and beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until combined. (The mixture may look curdled. It will smooth out once the flour is folded in.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine 2¾ cups (330g) flour and baking powder.
- Add one-half of the flour mixture to the batter and gently fold to combine. Add the milk and stir gently to combine. Fold in the remaining flour mixture.
- Toss the cranberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons (15g) flour. Gently fold the cranberry mixture into the batter. (The batter will be thick. Try to distribute the berries with 5 to 6 folds, so that they don’t burst and start to streak the batter.)
- Dollop the batter evenly all over the base of the prepared 9×13-inch baking pan. Spread gently into an even layer. Sprinkle the top with an additional 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar if you like.
- Bake for about 50 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before serving.
Notes
- Weigh the flour! Adding too much flour will yield a dry cranberry cake. The most accurate way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- If you want to remove the cake from the pan, after greasing the baking pan, line it with parchment paper. While optional, this makes it easier to remove the cake from the dish if you prefer to place it on a serving plate rather than serve it directly from the pan.
- I recommend using a whisk attachment instead of a paddle attachment, which I normally use for cake batter. The whisk helps whip the egg and sugar into a fluffy mixture and incorporates the soft butter more easily. If you are using a hand mixer, use the beater attachments.
- Don’t overmix the batter after adding the flour. While cranberry cake is on the denser side, it should still be incredibly tender. Over-mixing after adding the dry ingredients will cause it to turn out tough because the gluten in the flour will overdevelop.
- To fold in the flour and cranberries, use a silicone or rubber spatula. Scoop underneath the batter, along the bottom of the bowl, to bring the batter up and over the flour. Continue this motion to ensure that the flour and cranberries are incorporated evenly in as few folds as possible (about 5 or 6 is ideal). This will keep the cake tender and the cranberries from bursting. If the cranberries burst, they will start to streak the cake batter.
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