If you’re looking for a festive cake that’s got that something special, then my orange cake with cranberries recipe will certainly impress! This festive orange cake is super moist (thanks to a secret ingredient!), tastes like the Holidays, and makes a perfect centerpiece for you to devour.
Today’s delicious recipe is in partnership with my friends at Chosen Foods (North America’s leading producer of avocado oil).
Why Orange Cake
- Orange cake is everyone’s favorite! It’s sweet, tangy and super moist! When adding cranberries, it takes on the ultimate flavors of the Holidays!
- What’s so great about this cake is that you can bake it several days in advance and it will stay moist, tender and enjoyable to eat. I love anything I can make in advance for the Holidays!
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- It’s also a great cake for beginner bakers to make too. While it certainly looks impressive, it’s such an easy cake to make with minimal ingredients and steps involved. Only two bowls, one for the wet and another for the dry ingredients.
- To infuse the maximum flavor of orange in this orange cake recipe, I use both orange zest and orange juice in the cake. I also love a thick orange glaze over the top (which is completely optional–but why not?).
- The secret to a really moist orange cake is Chosen Foods Avocado Oil. You may also wish to try their Organic Avocado, Coconut and Safflower Oil. Either can be used for this recipe as they both have neutral flavor profiles.
- Chosen Foods Avocado Oils also cook or bake at a high smoke point, meaning they won’t burn. This will allow for richness in your orange cake. The oil also keeps the cake moist for at least 3 days! And if you’re worried about any after taste, well there’s absolutely none! So check them out at your local grocery or health food stores.
Orange Cake Recipe
The recipe is as easy as making a muffin or quick bread batter, and for that it’s such an easy foolproof Holiday dessert!
Orange Cake Ingredients
Cake ingredients are flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, cranberries, avocado oil, vanilla, orange zest, orange juice, sour cream, and sugar.
For the orange glaze, you will need orange juice and confectioners’ sugar.
Now the cranberry center, I have a Frosted Cranberries recipe you can follow right here.
Why Avocado Oil?
You might have noticed that in the recipe we are using avocado oil and you might be wondering why?
Well, avocado oil is a great fat to use in your baking. Firstly it’s a liquid, not a block like other fats that are good for baking such as butter. This means it’s easier to incorporate into your cake without having to melt it first.
Avocado oil is also super healthy. It is full of Oleic acid, which is known to be good for the heart. It’s also unrefined compared to other vegetable oils, and it has a high smoke point, which makes it both great for baking and more healthy than some other fat choices (such as vegetable oils).
If you missed my late summer recipe using avocado oil, well it was this Grilled Salmon. I’ve included instructions for you to grill salmon indoors as well since it’s getting cold now! Make sure to try that recipe too!
My favorite avocado oil brand is Chosen Foods which makes superb high-quality avocado oil and avocado-inspired kitchen condiments.
How to Make Orange Cake
Before you start cooking, the first step is to preheat your oven to 375 degrees F while you are preparing your orange bundt cake.
To start making your cake you first need to combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. This includes all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mix all the dry ingredients together so they are evenly combined. A whisk is the best tool to use here.
In another mixing bowl, you need to combine the wet ingredients: eggs, avocado oil, vanilla, orange zest, orange juice, sour cream, and sugar. Make sure to mix well until they are fully combined. The whisk is also the best tool for this task.
The next step is to add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold the mixture together. Keep folding and gently mixing until you have a light and fluffy cake batter.
The final step to making the orange cake with cranberries is to add the cranberries.
Cut the cranberries in half and then toss them in a tablespoon of flour before adding them into the cake batter and stirring them through.
Adding the flour to the cranberries beforehand is really important. It makes the cranberries dryer on the outside which stops them from sliding to the bottom of the cake batter and they stay evenly distributed. Don’t miss this step!
To make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the cake mix (and don’t just sink to the bottom of the mix) there is a little trick for you!
Once your cake mix is finished, the last thing you need to do is pour your cake batter into the bundt pan, then place it into your preheated oven.
Before adding the cake batter to the bundt pan, you need to make sure you grease it first. To do this, I used the Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Cooking Spray. It made greasing the pan easier than ever.
Once baked, check that the cake is fully cooked by making sure a toothpick inserted comes out dry. Then take it out of the bundt pan, leaving it to cool completely to room temperature on a cooling rack.
Orange cake glaze
It’s super simple to make the orange glaze!
All you need to do is add the powdered sugar and orange juice together in a bowl and thoroughly mix. Use a small whisk here.
You want the consistency to be quite thick, but runny enough that you get the effect of it dripping down the sides of the cake. This is quite a personal choice, you may opt for a thinner glaze.
If you don’t get the right consistency right away, it’s easy to rectify. Add more powdered sugar to thicken it up, or more liquid (orange juice) to thin it out.
Once you’ve got the glaze right, pour it carefully over your orange cake and leave it to set. However, make sure you only add the glaze once the cake is fully cooled. This is because you’ll notice the heat from a warm cake will affect the glaze consistency.
Orange Cake Garnishes
Once you have finished adding the icing, it’s time to add your frosted cranberries to the center.
I also recommend finishing it off by garnishing with fresh rosemary sprigs and a good helping of fresh orange zest.
Doing this at the end makes it look super festive 🙂
Orange cake variations
There are a few ways you can change this cake to make it work better for you (even though I think this is the best way to make this cake).
If you don’t have a bundt pan and you can’t get hold of one, don’t panic – you can still bake this cake. You can use loaf pans instead. It will have a different look, but it will still taste just as good!
If orange isn’t your thing either, you can make it a lemon cake instead. Just replace any orange juice with freshly squeezed lemon juice and the orange zest with lemon zest. Clementine is my favorite alternative to orange. However, any citrus would work!
You can see that this is a fabulously simple cake to make that looks gorgeous and tastes SO GOOD!! The only thing to do now is bake it, and impress all your guests with this eye-catching and mouthwatering bundt cake.
Don’t forget to look out for Chosen Foods Avocado Oil products–the avocado oil truly makes the cake!! 🙂
Holiday Recipes
- How To Make Biscuits With Cheddar Rosemary & Cranberries
- Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
- Sugared Cranberries Video
- Mocktail Recipes
- Chocolate Truffles Recipe
- Butternut Squash Casserole
- Turkey Breast Recipe On the Stove
- Panna Cotta
Orange Cake with Cranberries
If you’re looking for a festive cake that’s got that something special, then my orange cake with cranberries recipe will certainly impress! This festive orange cake is super moist (thanks to a secret ingredient!), tastes like the Holidays, and makes a perfect centerpiece for you to devour.
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- ¾ cup Chosen Foods Avocado Oil
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- ¼ cup orange juice
Dry Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch salt
Cranberries:
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries split in half
- 1 tablespoon flour
Glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons orange juice depending on the consistency you want
- Garnish:
- Frosted Cranberries
- Fresh rosemary
- Orange zest
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
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Spray a bundt pan with Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray and set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients and set aside.
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In another large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
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Add the bowl of wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix them well together using a spatula.
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Toss the cranberries and flour in a small bowl before adding them into the cake batter bowl.
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Fold in the floured cranberries and the cake batter is ready.
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Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 55-65 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before flipping it over to cool completely.
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In the meantime, make the glaze by whisking together the sugar and 2 tablespoons of orange juice. Add more juice if you prefer a thinner consistency to the glaze.
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Glaze the cake when it has cooled completely and then garnish with your favorite garnishes.
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Enjoy!
Recipe Video
I love the flavor of this cake! It’s perfect for when I’m craving something sweet. Delicious!
This orange cake with cranberries is perfect for entertaining! It is so moist and flavorful. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This cake is just stunning! Excited to try it. I love the combination of orange and cranberry together.
What a delightful recipe! We enjoyed every single bite!
I love this cake. It’s so moist and with the cranberries added, it’s perfect or this time of year.