This beautiful holiday cake features fresh cranberries, chopped pecans, and a delicious cream cheese frosting.
I’m not sure why, but I always feel like a cake is too “everyday” to serve as a Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert. But this Cranberry Christmas Cake has changed my opinion in a big way!
Not only is this cake beautiful enough to serve at a holiday dinner, it tastes like something fit for a special occasion.
Made this cake today! Easy, quick, and festive. Can’t wait to serve it this week. A new addition to the holiday treat list. ~ Angela
The best part is, it starts with a white cake mix, so it’s pretty easy to put together.
And I don’t think anyone will notice the cake mix shortcut, thanks to the addition of pecans, fresh cranberries and orange zest.
The homemade cream cheese frosting is literally the icing on the cake.
If you don’t have three round cake pans, two will work just fine–you’ll just have to bake your cake a little bit longer, and you’ll probably have some extra frosting–but extra frosting is never a bad thing!
Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to cut your cake layers in half to make multiple layers. I suppose someone more professional out there would be very good at that, but for me, it’s the easiest way to turn an easy cake recipe into a disaster.
I made this for a church party. It was delicious! ~ Becky
Whether you make it with two layers, or three (or even four), this cake will be beautiful, delicious, and get rave reviews.
The only trouble with people asking you for the recipe is that they’ll find out how easy it was to make!
I’ve already made this Cranberry Christmas Cake twice in the last month, and my family is still looking forward to having it again as our Christmas dessert.
Be sure to save this Cranberry Christmas Cake recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Cranberry Christmas Cake
- White cake mix
- Milk
- Eggs
- Canola oil
- Sour cream
- Produce: oranges, fresh cranberries
- Pecans
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Vanilla
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
Cranberry Christmas Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 cup fresh cranberries coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
For the frosting:
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups confectioner’ s sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans.
- In a large bowl combine the cake mix, milk, eggs, oil, sour cream and orange zest. Beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
- Carefully fold in cranberries and pecans.
- Dived batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before turning onto wire racks to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth. Stir in the orange zest.
- Gradually add the confectioner ‘s sugar until frosting reaches desired consistency. Stir in the pecans.
- Frost between the cake layers as well as the top and sides. Garnish with fresh cranberries or additional chopped nuts, if desired.
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Nutrition
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Who Dished It Up First: Adapted from Taste of Home.
34 comments
Sharon
I made as directed but only had 2 9inch pans. So my thought was that it would be over the cake pan when finished baking, but came out with very thin layers. Not sure if it is due to the fact they are shrinking the cake mixes. Now they are little over 15 ounces. So do I need to use 2 cake mixes and if so what about the other ingredients? Do I increase them and if so, by how much?
Thank you in advance.
Parth
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Sharon
Cake was delicious but too moist and heavy. Layers sunk when stacked. I’ll make it again with a little less milk. I will also make a traditional cream cheese frosting with one stick of butter instead of two.
Sharon
Cake was delicious but too moist and heavy. Layers sunk when stacked. I’ll make it again with a little less milk. I will also make a traditional cream cheese frosting with one stick of butter instead of two.
Hilary
I made this cake for Christmas and it was amazing! I want to make a variation of it for a bday cake this summer but cranberries are not seasonal. What fruit could I substitute for the cranberries?
Danelle
Blueberries maybe? I wouldn’t chop them though. And I’d toss them with a bit of flour before adding them to the batter.
Hilary
I actually didn’t see your response and I did it with blueberries and tossed them in flour anyways! I also switched out the orange zest for lemon zest to compliment the blueberries better too
Millie
Can I make this in a Bundt Pan?
Jackie
Do you think I could do this with a yellow cake mix? I’m having a hard time finding a GF white cake mix.
Danelle
Sure, it will just be a slightly different color, but should taste the same.
Sf
How long is cook time of only using TWO cake pans? Thanks.
Danelle
I’d add about 5 minutes, so around 25 minutes.
Sf
Thank you! So excited to make this! If I end up freezing the cake how long do I let them defrost before assembly? Thanks!
Danelle
You could assemble it with the cake frozen, just let it defrost before you eat it, of course!
Michelle
This looks beautiful &i am going to try&make one today to see how i do (im into baking but im trying to master strudel made by hand-challenging)..however i have a question….can i make it ahead &freeze it?im traveling for the holidays.i will let you kniw how it turns out.have a blessed day&a very Merry Christmas
Danelle
You could definitely freeze the cake layers. But you may want to wait to frost the cake and put it together.
Eden Passante
Gorgeous colors here! I love the addition of cranberries in the center, they really make the cake pop!
Marina
So simple yet so pretty!
Lane & Holly from With Two Spoons
This cake is so festive and beautiful!
Lauren Gaskill
Christmas is my favorite holiday and this looks like the perfect cake to celebrate it with!
Danelle
Thank you Lauren! 🙂
MegUnprocessed
What a gorgeous creation.
Danelle
Thanks so much! 🙂
Angela
Made this cake today! Easy, quick, and festive. Used On my way! leftover cranberry relish. Perfect!
Can’t wait to serve it this week, (to Lisa- no worries about the cake mix! Yummy cranberries and orange zest make this taste so fresh and delicious!). A new addition to the holiday treat list.
Jennifer
If I’m baking this a day ahead of when I’ll be serving it, do you recommend storing it in the fridge overnight? Should I just put the layers together and do the outer frosting the day-of?
Becky Ellis
I made this for a church party. It was delicious!
Laural
Would it work as cupcakes, I need a dessert for a potluck and this looks very festive.
lisa
This looks soo beautiful, but you lost me at “white cake mix”!
Betty
This looks like a perfect Christmas dessert! I love the flavors, and it is so beautiful! 🙂
Kim - Liv Life
Oh, wow Danelle!! That cake is beautiful!! I’m definitely not a good cake maker, hence cakes don’t grace my table all that often. This one is truly good enough for any special gathering!
Joanne
This cake looks delicious and so festive for Christmas! Thanks Danelle!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
This cake is definitely delicious and perfect for Christmas.. definitely can see it making an appearance on my table. Thanks for the recipe!
Teresa
Wow, does this cake ever look lovely.
Sarah
That looks great – so festive!