Every slice of this super moist, ultra flavorful cranberry orange Bundt cake boasts a buttery brown sugar orange crumb, tart juicy cranberries, and a ribbon of cinnamon-sugar. Drizzle with a simple orange glaze for an impressive cake that’s a welcome addition to any holiday party or brunch.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos and additional success tips.
Step aside Christmas cookies because this Bundt cake is a must-make this—and every!—holiday season.
Cranberry & Orange Flavor Pairing
Peppermint and mocha. Pumpkin and spice. Ginger and molasses. Mint and chocolate. There’s no doubt this time of year is home to some of the most delicious and irresistible flavor combos. But there’s one duo that’s completely underrated: cranberry and orange.
I love this flavor duo year round, but especially during the holidays (hello, cranberry sauce) when we could all use a little pop of sweet/tart flavor in between chocolatey, spiced, and rich desserts. Don’t get me wrong, this cranberry orange Bundt cake is definitely decadent—and I love the flavor profile this cake adds to a holiday spread. A few other orange-cranberry recipes I love? Orange cranberry bread, cranberry orange icebox cookies, and cranberry orange muffins.
Behind the Recipe
Chai Bundt cake is the starting point for today’s recipe. It’s honestly one of the best cakes I’ve ever made, even if you skip the chai cinnamon swirl inside. It’s super buttery, moist, and dense without being too heavy.
With a quality base recipe like that, the options are endless. (Try my rum cake next!) I knew that’s where I wanted to start when crafting a holiday inspired cake.
Ingredients in Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
Because they’re so large, Bundt cakes have a tendency to dry out. Not this one! We’re using lots of power ingredients to ensure the very best flavor, moisture, and texture. Here’s what you need:
Some ingredients notes before you begin:
- Flour: We use sturdy all-purpose flour as the base because it’s strong enough to hold up to the cranberries and all the liquid ingredients.
- Butter: Make sure you use room-temperature butter that’s still cool to the touch. If it’s too warm, the butter and sugar cannot properly cream. Here’s more on how to cream butter and sugar and its importance in recipes.
- Sugars: Use brown sugar as the primary sweetener, with just a touch of granulated sugar.
- Oranges: Can’t have a cranberry orange cake without the flavor from real oranges. We use both orange zest and juice for added flavor and moisture. I don’t recommend store-bought OJ, because it’s too thick and I found it made the cake too wet.
- Eggs, Sour Cream, + Milk: 5 eggs, sour cream, and milk add moisture. It’s a lot of volume, but remember, this is a big cake!
- Cranberries: Use fresh, frozen, or dried cranberries—I tested the cake with both fresh and frozen. If using frozen, do not thaw. If using fresh cranberries, you can cut some in half or give them a rough chop before adding to the batter; this just gives a little more texture variety, and ensures cranberry flavor in every bite.
Curdled Ingredients: The wet ingredients will look somewhat curdled before you add the dry ingredients—this is due to the ranging temperatures of the ingredients. It’s normal. The butter may be warmer than the eggs, the sour cream may be colder than the butter, etc. It will all come together when the dry ingredients are added.
Cinnamon Swirl Filling
Layer the cinnamon swirl between the cake batter—half of the cake batter on the bottom, half of the cake batter on the top. There’s no need to actually swirl it, the oven will take care of that. The weight of the cake batter rises and falls as it bakes, moving the cinnamon swirl along with it.
Success Tip: When you sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar filling over the bottom layer of cake batter, try to keep it away from the edges of the pan as best you can. If a lot of the cinnamon-sugar layer touches the sides or center of the Bundt pan, the cake is more likely to stick to the pan when you try to invert it.
Easy Orange Icing
I love making icings and glazes with fresh citrus juices, like the topping on these lemon shortbread cookies. A little tang with a little sweet is always a good idea! You’ll notice that the icing is a bit thin, but it will “set” on top of the cake. For an alternative, try the brown butter icing used on my peach Bundt cake or the cream cheese frosting used on my hummingbird Bundt cake.
Before You Bundt
- Bundt Pan: You need a large Bundt pan for this big cake, one that can hold 10–12 cups of batter. I use and recommend this one and this one. Even though they have a nonstick coating, I still always grease the pan generously with nonstick spray, to ensure the heavy cake releases easily when it’s time to invert it onto a platter.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour, and then invert onto a cooling rack or serving platter/cake stand. Trying to invert the cake too soon or after too long always makes it harder to release; I find that 60 minutes is the sweet spot for this cake.
To really take this cake presentation to the next level of festive, serve it with the sparkly sugared cranberries that I also use to garnish pumpkin pie.
