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
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 3/4 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.