Cranberry Orange Cake

My Cranberry Orange Cake has the best citrus flavor thanks to plenty of fresh orange zest and bursts of sweet-tart cranberries baked right into the tender, plush crumb. It’s finished off with a swirls of cream cheese frosting and decorated with sugared cranberries & orange slices for a simple but beautiful presentation that is perfect for your holiday occasions!

I wanted to make a winter version of one of our favorite cakes from spring, so this is essentially the same cake as my Lemon Blueberry Cake, just with the fresh seasonal flavors available during the colder months of the year. It’s well-established that I love all things cranberry orange, with my Cranberry Orange Muffins, Cranberry Orange Bread, and Cranberry Orange Monkey Bread, so turning that flavor profile into a cake was inevitable!

The secret to the best orange flavor is to use plenty of fresh orange zest. It adds so much brightness and just tastes better than the juice of the orange alone or adding orange extract. Always zest your citrus fruits before juicing them while they are still firm and easy to zest.

This cranberry orange cake recipe makes three soft layers of moist cake sponge with just the right amount of my favorite sweet cream cheese frosting. And I have a trick to help prevent the fresh cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

What You’ll Need

This is a brief overview of the key ingredients needed to make this cake. Keep scrolling to the printable recipe card below for exact amounts and instructions.

All-purpose flour: Regular all-purpose flour works well for this cake.
Sugar: You’ll need granulated sugar for the cake layers and powdered sugar for the frosting.
Butter & oil: A combination of these two fats gives both flavor and lasting moistness to the cake.
Cream cheese: For the frosting.
Eggs: These are important for flavor and a tender cake crumb that doesn’t crumble.
Oranges: You will use both the zest and the juice from about 2-3 oranges.
Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries in this cake. If your cranberries are quite large you may want to slice them in half.
Buttermilk: This both tenderizes the cake crumb and adds a wonderful richness and tanginess that balances the cranberry and orange flavors.
Baking powder, baking soda, and salt: Typical cake ingredients for leavening and flavoring.
Vanilla: The unsung hero of the baking world, vanilla ties everything together and adds depth to the flavor profile.

Ingredients for making cranberry orange cake.

How to Make Cranberry Orange Cake

Cream ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and orange zest using a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium-high speed until creamy and light, about 2-3 minutes. Add the and oil. Beat for another 2-3 minutes until combined and light. Be sure to stop and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl while mixing so everything gets fully incorporated. Add in the eggs and vanilla, mixing again until well-combined.

Adding eggs to creamed butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. Mix on low speed just until mostly combined after each addition. Overbeating cake batter can result in a dry, crumbly crumb.
Stir in the cranberries by hand. Toss the cranberries with a little flour in a separate bowl to help prevent them from sinking during baking, then gently stir in to the thick cake batter.

Adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients in a large bowl.

Folding cranberries that have been tossed in flour into cake batter.

Bake. Divide the batter evenly between three 8-inch cake pans that have been lined with parchment paper circles and sprayed with baking spray. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 24-28 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of each layer comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Do not overbake. Let the cake layers cool completely on a wire rack before assembling.

Cranberry orange cake batter in 8-inch cake pans.

Baked cranberry orange cake layers in 8-inch pans.

Make the cream cheese frosting. Beat the cream cheese and softened butter in a large bowl until smooth before adding the powdered sugar. Beat again just until creamy and smooth.

An overhead image of buttercream frosting in a large mixing bowl with a spatula in it.

Assemble. Level your cake layers, if needed, then place your first layer on a cake stand or plate. Frost with a generous amount of the cream cheese frosting. Repeat with the remaining cake layers, then finish the cake by frosting the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Transfer the cake to the fridge for at least 45 minutes to help set the frosting before decorating with sugared cranberries and orange slices or zest.

A cranberry orange cake with cream cheese frosting, orange slices, and candied cranberries on top.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

Use room temperature ingredients. It makes a big difference with cakes especially, resulting in more even cake layers and a better crumb that stays moist longer. If you forget to remove the eggs from the fridge, you can speed things up by placing them in a bowl and covering them with warm water for 10 minutes while you gather other ingredients.
Preheat the oven. I highly recommend investing in an inexpensive oven thermometer and using that to determine when your oven is fully preheated rather than relying on the built in oven indicator. Some ovens run hot or cool by 25 degrees or more, which can make a significant difference in your bakes.

A partially sliced cranberry orange cake on a cake stand.

A slice of cranberry orange cake on a white plate.

Recipe FAQ’s

Can I use dried cranberries instead of fresh or frozen?

While technically you could, I do not recommend. They don’t have the same strong flavor of fresh cranberries and the chewy texture won’t work as well with the light and soft cake crumb.

Can this cake be made gluten-free?

I haven’t personally tried making a gluten-free version of this cake yet, but have had good results making other cake recipes with King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten-free flour. I think that would work well here, too.