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:
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222 comments on “Cranberry Christmas Cake”
Has anyone tried doing this as a layer cake? Thanks!
I have! It was great! Covered it with white chocolate buttercream.
Thanks, Nikki! I’m going to give it a go. Our office has a Christmas party coming up that I’m going to make it for. And the white chocolate buttercream icing sounds like the perfect match for the frosting.
I am making this cake for an event at church. Need to make 500 pieces. I am working with it now to get the best results. Hope mine looks as good as yours does!!
We hope so too JoJo! Let use know how they turn out.
Delightful holiday taste. Baked in 5 mini loaf pans to freeze now and later will add to Christmas baked goods baskets I do for neighbors
Hi.Just wandering do you using whole cranberries????Look delicious
Ho Zorica. Yes, this recipe uses whole cranberries. You can always halve the berries if they are too large.
Did you have to make any adjustments other than baking time when you made mini loafs?
That sounds like a really great idea, I have several people that would love receiving this. Thanks for that idea, I don’t use my mini pans very much.
Pam how long did you bake the mini loafs please
Could you use orange extract instead of almond since we have family allergic to almonds?
Hi Jeri Lynn. That sounds like a great substitution and yes I think it would work well.
This cake is a tradition at our home it’s that’s good! It’s expected every Christmas!
I was wondering if I use 9 inch springform pan, would it turn out the same way?
Hi Laura. I haven’t tried that but would think it would work fine. Please let us know if you try it.
I absolutely love this cake. I make several and after I cut it I freeze individual pieces so when I need a little something not too sweet I just defrost a piece in the microwave or in the fridge overnight. I don’t put the powdered sugar on it, it doesn’t need it.
Even family that isn’t crazy about cranberries love it!
It was delicious! I will be making it next year
My husband saw this recipe and asked if I’d make it for a family gathering. It was a huge success with everyone asking for the recipe. My husband said it gets better the longer they sit. He loved them.
should I flour the cranberries before mixing them in the batter?
It was a 10 for sure. It was gone in about an hour at my house. I am going to make it again.
Made the Cranberry Cake strange recipe it was. I always make the classic family fruit cake, year after year. Won’t be making that again as this Cranberry Cake is my NEW Christmas Cake. So yum and pretty it’s going to be a hit! Can’t wait to share! Thanks for sharing with me!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Can you freeze cake?
Yes, it will freeze well.
Easy to follow instructions for a very moist delicious Bundt cake
It was delicious. I added white choc chips and some lemon flavoring too. I can’t wait to make again!
Can you use frozen cranberries?
You could after letting them thaw.
Just made this cake and it is absolutely delicious. My husband loves anything with cranberries and he said this may be the best cake I have ever made.
I’ve made this so often, my husband’s ABSOLUTE favorite! This is just sensational!!! Everyone who’s tried it LOVES it! Love it so much that I had to re-post it on Facebook for my friends!
I made your recipe, but instead of using a 9×13 I used mini loaf pans, and the cake was excellent.
Anyone know if you can make this in a bundt or loaf pan?