Orange Cranberry Cake

Orange Cranberry Cake – this vintage cake recipe perfect for the holidays! Made from scratch and loaded with dried cranberries, orange zest, and pecans. Makes a great homemade gift too! Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, buttermilk, baking soda, salt, pecans, dried cranberries, and orange zest. Top the warm cake with a quick orange glaze and cool. Can substitute chopped dates for the cranberries. This cake is seriously DELICIOUS!

slice of orange cranberry cake on a plate

Remember this recipe.

Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!

Pin This Recipe

Vintage Orange Cranberry Cake with Orange Glaze

This recipe is from a Plain Chicken reader. This recipe was given to her mother in 1944 by a lady who said it had been in her family for as long as she could remember. Don’t you just LOVE vintage recipes?!? I was SO excited to give the recipe a try. I whipped this up last week and it was WONDERFUL! This will definitely be on our holiday dinner table. It would also make a great homemade holiday gift.

orange cake with cranberries and rosemary on a platter

How to Make Orange Cranberry Cake from Scratch

This cake is very easy to make. Start with mixing together butter and sugar in a stand mixer. Next, add the eggs. Make sure to mix well after each egg and scrape down the bowl. After adding the eggs, add the dry ingredients, and buttermilk to the mixture. Finally, stir in some pecans, dried cranberries, and orange zest. Pour the batter into a tube pan and bake. Once the cake is done, you are going to pour a quick orange glaze over the warm cake and let the cake stay in the pan overnight before serving.

  • Have all ingredients at room temperature including buttermilk and eggs.
  • To make homemade buttermilk add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let the mixture stand until it starts to curdle, about 5 minutes.
  • The original recipe used chopped dates instead of dried cranberries. I think the cake would be delicious with chopped dates. Let me know if you give it a try!
  • If you use a Bundt Pan instead of a tube pan, you may have leftover batter. Leave at least an inch of the pan unfilled so the cake can expand when baking.
  • Can Orange Cranberry Cake be made in advance? Yes! You can make the cake a day or two in advance and store it in an air-tight container. The cake will keep 3 to 4 days on the countertop and up to a week in the refrigerator.
  • Can Orange Cranberry Cake be frozen? Yes! Cool the cake completely. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. The cake will keep 3 to 4 months in the freezer. Thaw the cake on the countertop before serving.
slice of orange cranberry cake on a plate

Delicious Holiday Dessert

This cake is a MUST for the holidays. It is a tried and true recipe that is guaranteed to please. Garnish the cake with some fresh rosemary and cranberries for a festive centerpiece. We all know you can’t have just ONE dessert for the holiday meal, so here are a few of our favorite dessert recipes from the blog that go great with this delicious cake:

Cake Mix Toffee Bars

Cake Mix Toffee Bars – only 5 ingredients!! Cake mix, eggs, butter, toffee bits, and sweetened condensed milk. I took…

Maple Pecan Pie

Maple Pecan Pie Recipe – seriously delicious!!! SO much amazing flavor from the real maple syrup! Super easy to make!…

slice of orange cranberry cake on a plate

Orange Cranberry Cake

Yield: 12 people
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Orange Cranberry Cake – this vintage cake recipe perfect for the holidays! Made from scratch and loaded with dried cranberries, orange zest, and pecans. Makes a great homemade gift too! Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, buttermilk, baking soda, salt, pecans, dried cranberries, and orange zest. Top the warm cake with a quick orange glaze and cool. Can substitute chopped dates for the cranberries. This cake is seriously DELICIOUS! #cake #cranberry #orange #fruitcake #thanksgiving #christmas

Ingredients:

Cake

Glaze

  • ¾ cup sugar
  • oranges, juiced
  • 2 Tbsp orange zest

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 300ºF. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream together butter and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs one at a time.
  • Add soda to buttermilk and stir. Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture, alternately with buttermilk.
  • Stir in dried cranberries, zest of 2 oranges, pecans, and vanilla, blending well.
  • Bake for 1½ hours, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven.
  • In a small saucepan combine ¾ cup sugar, orange juice, and remaining orange zest. Cook on medium heat just until sugar dissolves.
  • While the cake is warm, pour the glaze over cake while still in the pan. Let sit overnight before taking out and serving.

Notes:

  • Have all ingredients at room temperature including buttermilk and eggs.
  • To make homemade buttermilk add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let the mixture stand until it starts to curdle, about 5 minutes.
  • The original recipe used chopped dates instead of dried cranberries. I think the cake would be delicious with chopped dates. Let me know if you give it a try!
  • If you use a Bundt Pan instead of a tube pan, you may have leftover batter. Leave at least an inch of the pan unfilled so the cake can expand when baking.
  • Can Orange Cranberry Cake be made in advance? Yes! You can make the cake a day or two in advance and store it in an air-tight container. The cake will keep 3 to 4 days on the countertop and up to a week in the refrigerator.
  • Can Orange Cranberry Cake be frozen? Yes! Cool the cake completely. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. The cake will keep 3 to 4 months in the freezer. Thaw the cake on the countertop before serving.

Steph

Remember this recipe.

Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!

Pin This Recipe
orange cake with cranberries and rosemary on a platter

Categories:

Tags:

You Might Also Like

See All Cake

S’mores Dump Cake

S’mores Dump Cake – Gooey, chocolaty, and downright irresistible! This easy dessert will transport you back to those campfire nights…

Butter Brickle Poke Cake

Butter Brickle Poke Cake – a moist and fluffy buttery cake infused with a velvety caramel sauce. With every forkful,…

Apple Crumb Cake

Apple Crumb Cake recipe – a perfect blend of moist and tender apple-infused cake, topped with a buttery and crumbly streusel…

Butterfinger Pound Cake

Butterfinger Pound Cake Recipe –  the best candy bar cake around! Yellow pound cake filled with tons of crushed Butterfinger…

Comments

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating