Fresh Cranberry Cake

The tartness of cranberries is balanced perfectly with just the right amount of sweetness in this Fresh Cranberry Cake! You may be tempted to cut yourself a big slice and top it with ice cream or whipped cream, but, don’t overdo it! Let the flavours of this cake shine through, don’t mask or muddle it with toppings; a dusting of sugar will do just fine!

If you love the tartness of fresh summer cranberries, you’re going to simply adore this Fresh Cranberry Cake! The sweet cake batter is the perfect vessel for those tart cranberries. Oh, and this cake has a bit of sour cream in it too, so you know this one is going to be soft and moist!

This is one of those no-fuss cake recipes. That basically means that not only is the cake itself easy to make, but it doesn’t need any fancy decorating. I would consider dusting this cake with some confectioner’s sugar, but I would not be tempted to serve it with ice cream or any type of frosting. I would serve it with a dollop of clotted cream though!

Instead, I placed it onto a cake stand and dusted the top with some confectioner’s sugar and served slices with a hot cup of tea. It was absolute perfection! I think it made for such a beautiful cake without any fuss at all.

BAKING A FRESH CRANBERRY CAKE

In terms of baking, you can bake this cake in a 10″ spring form pan as I did, or you can use a 9 x 13″ baking dish.  I used the spring form pan so that I could place the humble cake on a pretty cake stand; not that the cake needed anything to help it be pretty, but because I love cake stands!

You cannot bake this cake in a Bundt pan, because by the time the cake batter cooks all the way through in the middle, the outer edges of the cake will be browned too much, or worse yet, burnt. The cranberries have a lot of moisture and that will affect the cake and how it bakes. If the cake batter is piled into a bundt pan, or a smaller cake pan with higher walls, the moisture in the cranberries will cause the batter to steam. You don’t want that!

If you are willing to slice the cake right into your cake pan, then you can bake it in the previously mentioned 9 x 13″ pan. Please keep in mind that most cake pans are not built to withstand a sharp knife being dragged across them. Doing so might put that non-stick coating at risk. Line it first with parchment paper to make the cake easier to lift out before slicing.

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So, welcome, Dear Reader, to the start of my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Cranberries – Wash them and dry them.
• Flour – Regular all-purpose flour was used. I have not tested this recipe with any other types of flour.
• Orange Zest
• Sugar – There’s a whole cup of sugar in this cake, but you need the sweetness to offset the tartness of the cranberries.
• Eggs – It’s always a good idea to make sure your eggs are at room temperature before baking. Sit them in a small bowl on your countertop for 10-15 minutes before using.
• Salted Butter – Your butter should be at room temperature and softened. If you don’t have salted butter, just add 1/2 teaspoon of salt when you add the flour.
• Milk – I always use whole milk when baking.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Baking Soda – Commonly known as sodium bicarbonate or just bicarb, it is a baking ingredient that’s activated by a liquid and an acid to help with leavening or rising.  In most cases, you will see baking soda in recipes with lemon juice or buttermilk, but that’s not always the case. In this case, it’s the sour cream.
• Vanilla Extract – Probably the most common extract and the most common flavouring used in cakes and cookies. 
• Sour Cream – Baking with sour cream is a great way to keep cakes and cookies moist while adding texture and richness.

O CRANBERRY, CRANBERRY, WHEREFORE ART THOU CRANBERRY?

Have you been reading my blog for any length of time? If you have, you will already be aware of what I’m about to discuss. If you haven’t, it’s important that you understand how frustrating it can be to be a food blogger at times. Food bloggers are always working ahead of schedule. When it comes to Christmas recipes, for example, we are baking cakes and cookies as early as September! In fact, I finished this cake recipe and the photographs you see here in November 2024!

We do this so that we can test the recipes to make sure that they will work for you at home. The recipes need to be plated and styled. Photographs need to be taken. We have to write up the post and make sure we please the folks at Google, otherwise, our recipes run the risk of being buried in cyberspace somewhere. There are many other steps that I’m skipping here, but all of it is to say that we need the time to get the recipes out to you a few weeks before you need them.

Now, as a huge fan of Christmas baking – the 200+ Christmas recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen are proof of that – there’s one thing that frustrates me every single year. There’s a tremendous lack of things like fresh cranberries for many months of the year. Don’t even get me started on holiday confections like Hershey’s chocolate or candy canes! All of this is to say that you cannot use frozen cranberries in this cake. There is just too much moisture and you run the risk of a deflated cake center. Fresh cranberries only for this recipe, folks!

HOW TO BAKE A FRESH CRANBERRY CAKE

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 10″ springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper and greasing the sides with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. Next, beat the butter and sugar together until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Next, add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. Beat on low speed until incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture.

Add the flour, orange zest, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat into the wet ingredients until just mixed through. Add the fresh cranberries and use a wooden spoon or a spatula to stir the berries evenly through the cake batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Smooth the top and tap the pan firmly on your countertop a few times to settle the batter into the pan.

Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (Test the cake for doneness at the 50-minute mark.) Remove the cake from the oven and set the pan on a wire cooling rack. Cool for 15 minutes before removing the springform side. Allow to cool completely.

THIS CAKE DEMANDS TEA OR COFFEE!

Maybe it’s my British heritage, or maybe it’s because I know a good thing when I see it! Afternoon sweet treats with a cup of tea or coffee have always been a part of my life.  An afternoon hot beverage is very common in Newfoundland, and I still have coffee almost every afternoon.  On the weekends, particularly, I love to have my coffee with a scone, a biscuit, or a piece of cake.

That’s what I love about this Fresh Cranberry Cake. It’s a cake that has no fuss about it. And, you don’t need to do anything fancy with it to fully enjoy it. Slice off a wedge and sit back with a hot coffee or tea. Nothing can beat that! How long is it going to take you? Ten or fifteen minutes? I think everyone deserves a little downtown once in a while. And, while you’re at it, have a piece of cake! Life is short; enjoy it!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!