Happy Friday, friends! If you’re looking to whip up a festive treat for the weekend while you finish your Christmas shopping, I have just the recipe for you. This cranberry orange cake with white chocolate buttercream combines all of the bright and sweet flavors of Christmastime! Every time Rudd has eaten a slice of this cake, he has commented on how “Christmas-y” it tastes, and it’s so true. This would be such a fun cake to take to any holiday gathering, party, etc.! You could even make multiples of them to gift to friends or family in cake boxes like these with a bow on top.
I decorated this cake with some of the leftover fresh cranberries I had from the recipe, and some fresh snips from the fraser fir trees we have growing behind our house! Super simple and easy, but I think it looks really pretty.
Keep scrolling for the full recipe!
Cranberry Orange Christmas Cake
INGREDIENTS:
Cranberry Filling:
5cups fresh cranberries
¼ cup water
¼cuporange juice
2tbspcornstarch
¾cupgranulated sugar
½tspcinnamon
Orange Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1tbspbaking powder
1tspsalt
½cupbutter
½cupvegetable oil
1+½cupsgranulated sugar
3largeeggs (I use Eggland’s Best)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1tbsporange zest
1cupmilk
½cuporange juice
White Chocolate Frosting:
1cupbutter
4cupspowdered sugar
1cupwhite chocolate, melted
2-4tbsporange juice
WHAT TO DO:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the sides of two 8″ baking pans.
2. Make the cranberry filling: Place all ingredients in a medium sized pot and bring to a boil – cook until cranberries get soft. Blend cranberries in a small food processor – I use this one.
3. Make the orange cake: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, oil, and sugar until creamy for about 2-3 minutes. Add 1 egg at the time and mix until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and orange zest and stir to combine. Gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring to combine. Alternately add the milk and orange juice until fully combined. Divide batter into the two prepared baking pans equally. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature.
4. Make the white chocolate frosting: Beat butter and powdered sugar in a medium sized bowl (I use these mixing bowls) until fully combined and smooth. Add chocolate and mix until creamy. Stir in 2-4 tbsp of orange juice depending on the consistency of the buttercream.
5. Assemble the cake: Cut each cake in half horizontally. Place one cake layer on a cake stand (I love this glass cake stand), then spread a layer of buttercream over the cake. Layer with ⅓ of the cranberry filling. Repeat two more times. Place last layer on top and frost the outside and the sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.
