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Golden and finely crumbed, bursting with citrus and jeweled cranberries, this cranberry orange bundt cake is the best for the holiday season! Flavored with fresh orange zest and orange juice, each bite is soft and tender thanks to full fat buttermilk. Fresh cranberries add a burst of bright, tart flavor that pairs perfectly with the oranges. For ease, you can also make this cake with frozen cranberries.
Dressed up with a drizzle of sweet orange glaze and sparkling sugared cranberries, this cranberry orange cake makes a gorgeous table centerpiece and a wonderfully festive Christmas dessert.
Love baking with cranberries? You may also like my cranberry cheesecake recipe or cranberry crumb bars!
Success Tips
- Use fresh and sweet oranges for this bundt cake. You’ll need both orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice.
- For an added burst of orange flavor, I like to make my own orange-sugar. To infuse the sugar, simply combine sugar and orange zest in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute until the orange zest is finely ground and the sugar is fragrant.
- If desired, brush the warm cake with orange syrup to lock in the moisture and add another layer of orange flavor. Totally optional – see note in the recipe card.
Sugared Cranberries
- Place a wire rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Add fresh cranberries to the saucepan and coat completely in the simple syrup. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cranberries to the wire rack.
- Separate the cranberries into a single layer, spaced 1-inch apart. Let dry for 1 hour, then roll the cranberries in sugar to coat.
- Transfer sugared cranberries to a clean baking sheet and let dry for 1 hour before using.
More festive cranberry orange recipes:
- Cranberry Orange Snickerdoodles
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Cream Scones
Soft Moist Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Golden and finely crumbed, bursting with citrus and jeweled cranberries, this cranberry orange bundt cake is a showstopper for the holiday season! Fresh cranberries add a burst of bright, tart flavor that pairs perfectly with the oranges.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 1/2 cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cups (267 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp fresh orange zest
- 10 Tbsp (140 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs (100 g), at room temperature
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60 g) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (138 g) fresh cranberries, halved
Sugared Cranberries
- 2 Tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp (30 g) water
- 1/2 cup (55 g) fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
Orange Glaze
- 1 Tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh orange zest
- 1 1/2 Tbsp (22 g) fresh orange juice
- 3/4 cup (90 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Make bundt cake: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; reserve one tablespoon flour mixture to toss with cranberries.
- Combine sugar and orange zest in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute until zest is finely ground. Combine orange-sugar with butter in a large mixer bowl and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time. Combine buttermilk, orange juice, and vanilla in a small bowl. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture (begin and end with flour mixture), just until incorporated. Toss cranberries with reserved flour mixture and gently fold into batter.
- Generously butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan (or use baking spray with flour). Spoon batter into prepared bundt pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Tap pan sharply to reduce air bubbles.
- Bake bundt cake for 45 to 50 minutes, until cake is golden, springs back to the touch, and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. If using frozen cranberries, baking will be approximately 5 minutes longer. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; carefully invert onto rack and cool completely. (If desired, make orange syrup to brush over the cake – see note below.)
- Make sugared cranberries: Place a wire rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Combine 2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add cranberries to the saucepan and coat completely in the simple syrup. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cranberries to the wire rack. Separate the cranberries into a single layer, spaced 1-inch apart. Let dry for 1 hour, then roll the cranberries in 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar to coat. Transfer to a clean baking sheet and let dry for 1 hour before using.
- Make orange glaze: Whisk together melted butter, salt, orange zest and juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cake and and let set before topping with sugared cranberries and serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.
Notes
Cranberries: If your cranberries are small, leave whole. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries for the cake. If you’re using frozen cranberries, simply add them to the batter still frozen (no need to thaw them first). The sugared cranberries for the garnish do need to be made from fresh cranberries, so you can skip that step if all you have on hand is frozen.
Optional orange syrup: Combine 3 tablespoons (45 g) orange juice and 3 tablespoons (38 g) sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and syrup thickens, about 4 minutes. Carefully invert cake onto rack and brush the warm cake with orange syrup. Let cool completely before glazing.
Make Ahead: You can make the cake in advance. Once fully cool, wrap well in plastic wrap and a freezer bag and freeze up to 2 months. The day before serving, move the cake to the refrigerator (still wrapped to prevent condensation) and defrost overnight. Bring to room temperature, remove plastic wrap, and add the orange glaze.
Stunning recipe! Followed the instructions (almost to a T) the only thing I did not do is chop up the cranberries for folding (they were not large enough) but this cran-orange bundt is now my new go-to 🙂 I love the orange zest-sugar process. In fact I put in more than 2 tbsp worth of zest and adjusted the orange juice (which I squeezed fresh from the orange where I took the zest) to 2 tbsp and WOW talk about zing! I proceeded to make 4 other cakes for Christmas presents and I don’t even have to wait for ppl’s feedback to know this will be holiday hit! Thank you and I’ll be sure to check out you other cake recipes.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Autom – this absolutely makes my day! 🙂 Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!
Could I make these in mini Bundt pan?
How long would they need to bake?
Thank you
Shelly
Hi Shelly, yes you can. Depending on the size of the pan, this recipe will make 6 to 8 mini (individual) bundt cakes. Baking time will be approximately 24 to 26 minutes.
Brought this cake to a Christmas party…. It was a hit!! 10/10
Thank you so much, Connie! So glad you tried this recipe! 🙂
Hello, can we use frozen cranberries instead of fresh ones?
Hi Aastha, you can use frozen cranberries for the cake – simply add them to the batter still frozen. The sugared cranberries for the garnish do need to be made from fresh cranberries, so you can skip that if all you have on hand is frozen.
I really want to make this but fresh cranberries are hard to find this time of year. Any suggestions for using dried (maybe reconstituting them)?
Hi Linda, I recommend using frozen cranberries (no need to thaw them first). If you do want to use dry cranberries, I would try soaking them in orange juice. Microwave 20-30 seconds, then let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before using.
I’ve been making this cake for the last three years. We currently have a cranberry shortage in Texas, luckily I was forward thinking at Thanksgiving and froze a bag of cranberries, I’ve now made this cake with both fresh and frozen cranberries both turned out fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing, my family and I love this cake!
I made this last year and it was both beautiful and delicious. All of my guests asked for the recipe. I followed it to a T and although time consuming, it was well worth it. I would like to make this again for New Years and am wondering if anyone has tried making any or all of the recipe ahead of time?
Hi Christine, thank you so much! 🙂 You can make the bundt cake one day ahead. Store the baked cake at room temperature overnight and glaze the next day before serving. The sugared cranberries can also be made ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
This recipe was easy to make and delicious! I made it for Christmas dessert and it was a hit. I made it 2 days ahead and used frozen cranberries (even the candied ones on top). It was moist and delicious. I used the same bundt pan without any issues releasing.
That’s great to hear, thank you Rebecca!
This is an amazing recipe — nice work. It involved things I had never done and it was a nice gentle introduction. You present a thorough and accurate set of instructions, and it came out perfect and delicious on the first (and the second, and the third) try — makes a lovely holiday drop-off gift.
That’s so wonderful to hear, thank you Ellen! 🙂
What a great cake! My family loved it and wants me to make it again next week for Christmas. It was delicious and fun to make. I enjoyed making the orange glaze and sugared cranberries. It is not only a holiday cake but also for any time of the year and it is beautiful, I even took pictures it was so pretty! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Paula! That makes my day! 🙂
This cake is amazing! I took it to a holiday party last year and people have been asking for me to make it again this year, except the pandemic hit. I was curious if these could be made into mini bundt cakes that I can drop off at friend’s doors, and if so, what would you suggest for a baking time?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Kendra, that’s so nice to hear! Yes, absolutely – baking time and yield will depend on the size of your mini bundt pan, approximately 22-24 minutes. More guidance here: https://tutti-dolci.com/cranberry-white-chocolate-cakes/ Happy baking!
Thank you! I will check it out.
Made as gluten free: use 2 C King Arthur baking blend, 1/2C almond flour, about 1/4t Xantham gum (plus addition of chopped almonds and dark chocolate)… This was AMAZING. I didn’t even use the glaze or sugared cranberries.
So happy to hear that! Thank you, Elaine! 🙂
I made this for a dinner party and it was so good my husband asked me to make another one just for us! I doubled the glaze the second time, because it was so good we wanted more of it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you so much, Alexandra! So happy to hear this cake was a hit! Happy New Year! 🙂
This is the first recipe that I’ve made from Tutti Dolci and have to say I was super impressed! Being a baker myself, I hesitate trying new recipes but this recipe was absolute perfection! The cake was bursting with flavor from the perfect amount of cranberries and just the right amount of orange. The cake itself was super moist and just delicious! I’ll be making this one on repeat for years to come!
Thanks so much, Emmy! So glad you tried this cake! 🙂