This cranberry orange bundt cake is made with a soft, orange-infused cake with a swirl of tart cranberry sauce in the middle for a sweet surprise. It’s a sweet and simple holiday cake that looks incredible just dusted with powdered sugar with a few sprigs of rosemary.
Why you’ll love this cranberry orange bundt cake recipe
The combination of orange and cranberry is a classic holiday flavour and for good reason! The tartness of the citrus makes this bundt cake feel light and not too sweet. The acid from the orange juice in the batter helps make this orange cake soft and crumbly but firm enough to come out of the bundt pan without breaking.
This bundt cake is easy to mix by hand with a whisk, thanks to the melted butter. No mixer needed. It’s also an easy cake to decorate. You can get a little more fancy with a glaze or fresh fruits or just leave it plain.
This recipe makes enough batter to fill an 8” or 6-cup bundt pan. The pan I used for this cake is similar to this Wilton bundt pan but my favourite ones are Nordic Ware bundt pans because of their stunning designs. By using a bundt pan with a nice design, your cake can be served right away, without the need for additional decoration if you don’t want to. It can turn any cranberry orange cake into a showstopper just by baking it!
Ingredients you’ll need
- Cranberries - I’ve used fresh cranberries but you can also use frozen.
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Flavourless oil - Any vegetable oil that doesn’t have a strong taste works here like avocado oil or grapeseed oil.
- Unsalted butter - We’re using melted butter in this recipe. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small pan before adding it to the wet ingredients.
- Eggs - They should be at room temperature so that combine seamlessly with the rest of the ingredients. You don’t want the butter to solidify the moment you add in the eggs.
- Vanilla extract
- Milk - You can use dairy milk or plant-based milk!
- Orange juice - You’ll need the juice of about 1 large orange. Freshly squeezed orange juice works the best! Trust me, it has so much more tangy flavour and you’ll also be able to use the peel for the zest.
- Orange zest - You’ll need to the zest from about ½ the orange that you’re juicing. Feel free to add more for more flavour.
How to make a cranberry orange bundt cake
For the cranberry sauce
Boil until reduced: In a small saucepan on medium-high heat, stir together cranberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil. Stir occasionally and use a spatula to press down on the cranberries to macerate them. Boil mixture for about 10 minutes until the sauce is thick and jammy. Transfer cranberry sauce to a small bowl to cool.
For the bundt cake
Prepare bundt pan: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10” bundt pan with butter or cooking spray and sprinkle with flour. Tap the flour around the pan until coated with a thin layer. Discard the excess flour and set pan aside.
Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, melted butter, and sugar until combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
Add dry to wet ingredients: Add in half of the flour mixture and whisk a few times until almost combined. Pour in the milk, orange juice, and orange zest and mix until almost combined. Add in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until just combined and smooth.
Add cranberry sauce to batter: Pour about half of the batter in your prepared bundt pan. Carefully spoon the cranberry sauce on top of the batter to form a ring in the middle. Gently spoon the remaining batter on top to completely cover the cranberry sauce ring.
Bake bundt cake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool: Let the cake cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes or until the pan is warm enough to touch with your hands. Use your fingers to gently pull at the edges of the cake to loosen from the pan and then turn the pan upside down to release the cake. Let cool completely right side up on a wire rack.
Garnish bundt cake with rosemary trees and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
Frequently asked questions
This bundt cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let it come back to room temperature before eating.
Yes! You can freeze this bundt cake by wrapping individual slices or the whole cake in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then let it come back to room temperature before eating.
You can use store-bought cranberry sauce if you’re in a pinch but I would avoid using canned cranberry sauce as the texture is totally different. The taste won’t be exactly the same as there’s usually more sugar in store-bought cranberry sauce.
Always grease your bundt pan thoroughly with softened butter or cooking spray. Be sure to get in all the crevices of the bundt pan design. Then, dust the entire surface of the pan with a thin coating of flour. Bang the pan on all sides and rotate it to move the flour around. Discard the excess flour.
When releasing the bundt cake from the pan, wait until it has cooled for at least 20-30 minutes or until you can comfortably touch the pan with your bare hands. Gently pull at the edges of the cake to release from the sides of the pan. Flip the pan upside down in one swift motion. The cake should release and fall out by itself. If it doesn’t, set the pan down (upside down) and bang on the top of the pan until the cake releases.
More bundt cake recipes to try
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce
- 200 g cranberries
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 100 g water
Bundt Cake
- 350 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 150 g flavourless oil
- 115 g unsalted butter, melted
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 g milk
- 140 g orange juice, freshly squeezed (about 1 large orange)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, from about ½ an orange
Instructions
Cranberry Sauce
- In a small saucepan on medium-high heat, stir together cranberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil.
- Stir occasionally and use a spatula to press down on the cranberries to macerate them. Boil mixture for about 10 minutes until the sauce is thick and jammy. Transfer cranberry sauce to a small bowl to cool.
Bundt Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10” bundt pan with butter or cooking spray and sprinkle with flour. Tap the flour around the pan until coated with a thin layer. Discard the excess flour and set pan aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, melted butter, and sugar until combined. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Add in half of the flour mixture and whisk a few times until almost combined.
- Pour in the milk, orange juice, and orange zest and mix until almost combined.
- Add in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until just combined and smooth.
- Pour about half of the batter in your prepared bundt pan.
- Carefully spoon the cranberry sauce on top of the batter to form a ring in the middle.
- Gently spoon the remaining batter on top to completely cover the cranberry sauce ring.
- Bake bundt cake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes or until the pan is warm enough to touch with your hands. Use your fingers to gently pull at the edges of the cake to loosen from the pan and then turn the pan upside down to release the cake. Let cool completely right side up on a wire rack.
- Garnish bundt cake with rosemary trees and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
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