Cranberry Christmas Cake is incredibly simple to make and delicious. It has a nice balance of sweetness with a slight hint of tanginess. It feeds 16 which means it’s perfect for a holiday party.
Fresh cranberries are plump, deep red, tart, and in season during the holidays. This cake is a wonderful way to enjoy the fruit while it’s fresh. By the way, if you love fruit you should give our Instant Pot Strawberry Jam or Baked Strawberry Donuts a try!
Cranberry Christmas Cake
One of the things I love about this cake is that it is garnished with powdered sugar rather than covered in frosting.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big, big fan of frosting. You might even say I’m addicted.
But sometimes during the holidays, it can all get to be a bit too much. You know what I mean?
Between the fudge and the pies and the cakes, even I can start to feel like I want something that’s not as overpoweringly sweet.
If you have people in your world who aren’t into all the sugary confections, this cake could make a great treat for them.
The Eggs and Sugar Peaks
For this recipe, you’ll be mixing the eggs and sugar to make a soft peak. They’re the magic that’s responsible for making the cake rise beautifully.
If you’re a seasoned baker, you know all about “peaks.” I’m sure you could probably teach me a thing or two!
If you’re new to this, it’s super easy.
(A quick and easy tip to know whether an egg is fresh is to put it in a bowl of cold water. If the egg sinks to the bottom and then lays over on its side, it’s fresh.)
To make the soft peak for our Cranberry Christmas Cake, beat the eggs and sugar until you can lift the beaters out of the mixture and see a little peak on the end.
Don’t overbeat the ingredients. You don’t want a hard peak – which means the sugar and butter stand straight up and are quite thick.
Softening the Butter
If you’re anything like me, you sometimes forget to take the butter out of the fridge before baking.
You definitely can’t make this Christmas Cranberry Cake recipe with hard, cold butter.
You can soften the butter in the microwave, but you need to be careful that you don’t completely melt it.
The thing I hate about that method is that I wind up with a butter splattered microwave and I always, always, always melt it rather than soften it.
Melted butter will ruin all the work you did making sure you got a nice, soft peak with your eggs and sugar.
Instead, cut your butter into chunks and put it on a plate or saucer. Turn the faucet on hot and fill a glass.
Let the water sit in the glass until it feels warm to the touch.
Turn the glass upside down and cover the butter. Let it sit until the butter softens. It only takes a couple of minutes.
Cool, right?
It’ll make all the difference when you’re making this Christmas Cranberry Cake, and keep things moist and sumptuous!
Cranberry Christmas Cake
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs room temp
- 2 C sugar
- 3/4 C unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 12 oz fresh cranberries
- Powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prep an 9 x13 pan with non-stick baking spray.
- Beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer until slightly thickened and light in color.
- This mixture should form peaks when you lift the beaters out of the bowl.
- Add the butter, almond and vanilla extract to the egg mixture and continue to mix.
- Mix for two minutes.
- Slowly add in the flour but just until combined.
- Add the fresh cranberries.
- Stir the cranberries to mix throughout.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting into slices.
- Garnish with powder sugar.
- Makes 16 servings.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Video
Nutrition
Leave a Review!
We LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or comment here.
Your email address will not be published.
328 comments on “Cranberry Christmas Cake”
What a perfect light and festive ~ and easy to make the day ahead ~ Christmas dinner dessert! The 5⭐️ reviews I saw were right on the mark. The family all loved it, even a sister who doesn’t love sweets, who had seconds!
Thank you Marfa!
I’ve made this cake past 3 Christmases. It is soft, buttery, yet dense. It looks like Christmas with the bright cranberries. Sweet and tart. so delicious.
Thank you Margaret!
This is my family’s favorite
Christmas square.
I have made it 4 times in the last month. Thankyou.
Thanks Jean!
Is the batter supposed to be really thick?
Hi Heather. Yes, the batter will be fairly thick.
Since I first made this cake, I was hooked.( I pick my own cranberries I live in Maine) it is always a hit. Thank you. I recommend to buy as many cranberries in season and freeze them)
Thanks Monika!
I made this for family and friends last year. Everyone liked it so much I promised to make it again. It is delicious. New tradition.
Thanks Noreen!
I made this cake at Thanksgiving and my son wanted me to be sure I made it for Christmas! It is such a yummy addition to the holidays!
Thank you Joanne!
Do I need to cook my cranberries before baking in the cake?
Hi Susan. No, you do not need to cook the cranberries before baking.
Turned out great. It was a crowd pleaser!
I did omit the Almond Extract due to several having nut allergy (not sure if it’s even real almonds- don’t want to take a chance).
I added orange zest and squeezed the juice of a half orange in its place.
Will def finally make it again.
Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you Bridget!
I’m in the auxiliary with the VFW. We host a bingo for a local Veteran’s home every month. I make the desserts for this and I make this recipe of yours every Christmas for them. This is the 3rd year that I’ve been making it. They love it! Thank you!! The almond extract must be the fanastic touch to it!
Thanks Jodi! This is great to hear! So glad they love it!