The Most Delicious and Easy Cranberry Orange Cake

Do you need a Christmas dessert idea?? If so, you definitely will want to try the most delicious and easy cranberry orange cake!

It’s menu day for my monthly dinner club group, and this month is all about the holidays!

We have a fabulous menu for you, so let me share what we have in store for you.

our holiday menu

Sparkling Pomegranate Margarita
Walnut Baked Brie
Crockpot Cranberry Pork Loin
Creamy Tortellini Soup with Kielbasa
Strawberry Pastry Puffed Brie Bites

If you are coming over from Kelly at The Tattered Pew, welcome! We are so glad you are here!

Also, I want to welcome Kelly as our guest host this month. Her Strawberry Pastry Puffed Brie Bites looked amazing, and I can’t wait to try them.

about my cranberry orange bundt cake recipe

This was a recipe that my mom got from a co-worker back in the 80’s. It’s really a recipe for cranberry bread and was meant to be baked in a loaf pan.

My mom has been making it ever since, and it has become a family favorite.

I recently decided to try it as a cranberry bundt cake for Christmas, and it turned out great!!

It’s loaded with cranberries and has a wonderful hint of orange.

ingredients for cranberry orange bread/cake

1- 12 ounce package fresh cranberries

1 cup orange juice

3 cups sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs

4 cups flour

2-3 cups pecans, optional

directions for cranberry cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cranberries with flour first. This keeps the cranberries from sinking to the bottom.

Then add all other ingredients to cranberries.

Mix together well.

Grease and flour bundt pan. (I actually like to use sugar instead of flour)

Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Make sure cake is done in the center.

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variations of cranberry orange cake

A couple of other options, are baking in a loaf pan and serving like a bread. Also, baking in mini loaf pans make it a great gift for friends and neighbors.

You can also bake it in a 9×13 glass baking dish and cut into squares to serve.

It makes a wonderful cranberry bread, cranberry orange cake, or cranberry bundt cake.

The beautiful red color from the cranberries, make it the perfect cranberry Christmas cake or bread!

This cake/bread freezes really well, so you can make ahead and freeze.

tips for baking cranberry orange cake or bread

The original recipe calls for 1 cup of frozen orange juice concentrate (as is). Meaning using the orange juice before mixing with water like you would normally do to make the OJ.

This makes a denser cake than using mixed orange juice. I prefer the mixed orange juice for the cake, because it isn’t as dense/heavy.

Also, a reminder to mix the cranberries with flour before adding to the mixture. This will keep your cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the pan.

This recipe calls for 3 cups of sugar which makes it pretty sweet. I suggest cutting the sugar if you want a less sweet bread or cake.

As I already mentioned, this bread/cake freezes really well. I recommend wrapping tightly in saran wrap, then wrap in foil or place inside a freezer bag before freezing.

decorating your cranberry bundt cake

I had so much fun playing with different ways to decorate or embellish my bundt cake.

I will say that is definitely one advantage to baking the cake/bread in a bundt pan, rather than a loaf pan or baking dish.

First, I found a small glass that would fit in the center of my cake.

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I filled the glass with water, placed it in the center of my cake and added some hydrangeas from my garden. They look beautiful and make a great presentation to your holiday table.

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Next, I tried some magnolia branches that I had cut to use on my green and gold holiday tablescape.

You can see my Christmas green and gold tablescape here.

And lastly, I tried fresh cranberries in the center. For this option, the glass/vase isn’t necessary.

I used frozen cranberries to add a bit of a frosted look.

It looks so beautiful and festive!!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe for the most delicious and easy cranberry orange cake. It really is so simple to make and can be made so many different ways.

If you try it, I would love to hear!!

Next up on the menu is Sparkling Pomegranate Margarita from Simply 2 Moms, and it looks amazing!!

Be sure and visit all the links below to see the entire menu.

blessings,

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Printable recipe below…..

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If you missed my tablescape last month, you can see that here.

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