Cranberry Christmas Cake Recipe (2024)

Are you in search of the perfect Cranberry Christmas Cake recipe for your festive celebrations? Delight in our special cake, bursting with juicy cranberries and infused with holiday spices, promising to be the star of your Christmas table.

Looking for the Ultimate Cranberry Christmas Cake Recipe?

Wondering if this is the place to find the best Cranberry Christmas Cake recipe? Absolutely, you're in the right spot! We're sharing the most delightful and festive Cranberry Christmas Cake recipe, perfect for the holiday season.

Our expertly crafted recipe combines the tanginess of cranberries with the warmth of holiday spices, and everyone's favorite cream cheese frosting, creating a perfect festive cake that's not just delicious but also a beautiful centerpiece for your Christmas celebration.

The tartness of the cranberries combined with the tender cake and icing is an unexpected flavor combination that's get's rave reviews after the very first bite. Experience the joy of baking with our tried-and-tested recipe, designed to bring holiday cheer to your table.

Ingredients

There are three components that when put together make up this cake; the tart cranberry sauc, the simple white cake with tender crumb, and the cream cheese frosting.

For the Cranberry filling

• fresh cranberries-picked over for any bad ones. Alterantively, if you cant find fresh berries, you can substitute for frozen cranberries
• Whitesugar
• Fresh orange zest and orange juice
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Ground cloves

For the Cake

• Egg whites
• buttermilk
• vanilla bean-if you don't have a vanilla bean, look for vanilla paste or use vanilla extract
• cake flour - this is one of those basic ingredient switches that can really help you make lightly fluffy cakes
• granulated sugar
• baking powder
• salt

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• Unsalted butter
• cream cheese-we're not one for spending more than we have to, and often are ok with store brand. But when it comes to cream cheese, the fat content really makes a huge difference in the overall taste. We highly recommend Philadephia brand.
• Lemon zest and lemon juice
• Confectioners’ sugar - aka powdered sugar
• Sugared Cranberries,for garnish

How to Make this Cranberry Christmas Cake Recipe

Start by making the cranberry filling

• In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, orange zest, juice, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
• Bring to a boil over, then reduce and simmer for 10 minutes, or until cranberries pop.
• Remove from heat and mash cranberries with a wooden spoon. Allow to cool completely.

Bake the cakes

• Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the beaten egg whites and buttermilk.
• Using a sharp knife, carefully scrape seeds from the inside of the vanilla beans and stir them into the buttermilk mixture.
• Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prep two 9" cake pans by greasing and flouring.
• Whisk the dry ingredients together (the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a large bowl and set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for 30 seconds on medium high.
• Scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed, gradually add the flour mix. Add half of the buttermilk and mix to combine.
• Add the remaining buttermilk and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed.
• Divide the cake batter evenly into the cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and edges are light golden.
• Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing cakes from pans to cool completely.

Make the frosting

• Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese and butter in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
• Add the lemon zest and juice and mix again.
• Scrape down the sides and add in the confectioners’ sugar, ½ cup at a time until combined.
• Add a tablespoon of milk if the mixture is too thick.

Assemble the Christmas Cranberry Cake

• When the cakes have cooled, cut the cakes in half evenly to make 4 total cake layers.
• Place one cake layer bottom side down in the center of your serving platter and spoon ⅓ cup cranberry sauce evenly over the top.
• Place a cake layer on top of that and spread ½ cup lemon frosting evenly over it.
• Top with a thin layer of cranberry sauce, about ⅓ cup.
• Top with the next cake layer and spoon ⅓ cup cranberry over top.
• Finally top with the last cake layer, cut side down.
• Crumb coat your cake and place in fridge for 10 minutes to set.
• Finish off your beautiful cake with a healthy layer of frosting and a few sugared cranberries on top of the cake before serving, if desired.

Pro Tip: Want to add a little pop to both the cake and your co*cktails? Consider making Spiced Cranberry Syrup to use both in the layers and at your bar. Simple brush the cake layers with a bit of the syrup as you assemble the layers.

Leftovers & Storage

Store this cake in the fridge. When ready to serve, let it sit out for 20 minutes to soften the cream cheese icing.

To keep slices fresher longer, place a sheet of parchment paper against the exposed cut edges.

More Delicious Christmas Recipes

If you’ve tried my Cranberry Christmas Cake recipe, or any other recipe on passthesushi.com please don’t forget torate the recipeand let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can alsofollow along for more good eats and travel tipsonInstagram@passthesushi&@girlcarnivore,Twitter&Facebook.

📖 Recipe

Love cranberries?

Give these other tart recipes a try when you're done with your Cranberry Christmas Cake.

• Cranberry Margarita
• Baked Brie with Rum Soaked Cranberries
• Tart Cranberry Cherry Pie
• Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies