Show-stopping and absolutely delicious, this Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze deserves a spot on your holiday dessert table! The festive combination of citrus and cranberry is perfection, and the lemon glaze on top brightens up every bite. Once you taste it, you’ll want to make it for every holiday event or dinner you have coming up. If citrus isn’t your thing, don’t worry, another favorite of ours is Cranberry Christmas Cake, and it’s a winner, too! They are both AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL cakes!
My friend, Myla, brought this Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze to Christmas dinner last year! One bite and I was immediately asking for the recipe. She told me it was originally a loaf recipe, but she adapted it to be a bundt cake! A girl after my own heart. If you’ve been here for more than a minute, you know bundt cakes are my jam! Below you will find a list of my favorites
What’s not to love about a bundt cake? They’re super easy, no need to pull out fancy frosting gadgets–and BOOM! You have a beautiful dessert that just needs a dusting of powdered sugar, a simple glaze, or a basic frosting recipe. I LOVE BUNDT CAKES!!!
My Favorite Bundt Cake Recipes
- Best Ever Banana Bundt Cake
- Best Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
- The Best Bundt Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whole Orange Bundt Cake
- Dreamy Toasted Coconut Bundt Cake
- Andes Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake
Step-by-Step pictures for how to make Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze
Frequently Asked Questions about making Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze
Do I need to use cake flour in this recipe?
No. In fact, this recipe was developed purposely so that you wouldn’t need to purchase cake flour.
What’s the best way to chop up my cranberries if I don’t have a food processor?
You can carefully chop them by hand, but that is a little tricky because they want to roll around. A powerful blender like a Vitamix could do it, but a food processor or a manual food chopper is the best choice.
Can I use regular orange juice instead of fresh squeezed and skip the orange zest if I don’t have a fresh orange?
The flavor will turn out different if you use regular orange juice versus fresh and skip the zest, but you can give it a try and see if you like it. Another option for a delicious cranberry cake that doesn’t need orange juice is this Cranberry Christmas Cake.
Can I use imitation lemon juice in the glaze instead of fresh?
Fresh makes a huge difference here… if at all possible, use fresh-squeezed.
What if I don’t have CARDAMOM? can I still make this recipe?
Cardamom is an ingredient that many people don’t keep on hand. Once you have it, though, you can make amazing things like The Best Pfeffernusse Cookies. If you don’t want to buy it or halfway into the recipe you realize you don’t have any, the best thing to do is to substitute with a mixture of equal parts ground cloves and ground cinnamon.
baker’s tools:
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- 1 (8.5 ounce) bag of fresh cranberries
- ⅔ cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar (If you don't have dark, use regular and add 1 tsp molasses.)
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Zest of one orange, approx. 2-3 tsp
- 1 tsp lemon zest, approx. ½ the zest of the lemon (reserve the rest of the zest and the juice for glaze)
- Juice of one orange, approx. ⅓ cup
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- FOR THE GLAZE:
- Juice from the lemon, approx. 3-4 tsp
- 1 tsp of lemon zest
- ½-1 cup powdered sugar (Enough to make a glaze consistency.)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Evenly spray a 12-16 cup bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Use a food processor or manual food chopper to pulse/chop the cranberries into small pieces. Do not puree the cranberries.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, oil, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, orange zest, and lemon zest until well combined and smooth.
- Add the chopped cranberries and mix until combined.
- Next, in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cardamom. Stir until well combined. Then add to the wet mixture and whisk it together until just combined. You don't want to overmix the batter.
- Pour cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- When the cake has completely cooled, run a butter knife around the edges, and then invert it onto the dish you plan to serve it on. Make the glaze and evenly spoon or pour it onto the cake.
- TO MAKE THE GLAZE:
- In a small bowl or even a large measuring cup (like I used), whisk or stir together the lemon juice and 1 tsp of lemon zest. Add ½ cup of powdered sugar and whisk it until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if needed until you reach desired consistency. A glaze should be a similar consistency to gravy. *Note: If your lemon was extra juicy, start by only using 1 tbsp of juice.
- Garnish with cranberries and mint leaves if desired.
- Enjoy!
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