Christmas Orange Cranberry Cake Recipe (video)

Name: Christmas Orange Cranberry Cake Recipe (video)
Prep time: 120 min
Total time: 28 min
Ingredients: For Cake Layers:; 1 1/2 cups (340 g) unsalted butter; softened; 1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar; 6 large eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) milk; warm; zest from 1 to 2 oranges; 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour; 4 1/2 tsp (10 g) baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 cup (175 g) white chocolate chips; melted; For Sauce:; 4 cups fresh cranberries; 1 cup (125 g) raspberries; fresh or frozen; 1 cup (237 ml) water; 1/2 cup (100 g) white granulated sugar; zest from 1 orange; For Frosting:; 3 cups (710 ml) heavy cream; chilled; 1 cup (125 g) confectioner's sugar; 8 oz cream (227 g) cheese; softened; 1 cup (175 g) white chocolate chips; melted; 1 tsp vanilla extract

Published on November 30, 2020 | In American | By tatyanaseverydayfood |

11 Comments

- Prep Time
- 120 Minutes
- Cook Time
- 28 Minutes
- Difficulty Level

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I love making and eating cranberry desserts during the holiday season! Something about that sour and sweet flavor of cranberry has always captured my taste buds. This festive holiday orange cranberry cake with white chocolate cake, ombre whipped cream frosting and cranberry sauce is no exception! It’s the perfect Christmas cake to serve for any holiday gathering and the show-stopping ombre will have your guests ‘oohing’ and ‘awwing’!

Watch My Video!

Watch my video recipe to learn how to make the ombre effect – it’s actually super easy! And make sure you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel to receive email notifications!

How It’s Made!

I start this orange cranberry cake with white chocolate cake layers, flavored with bits of orange zest. Adding a bit of melted white chocolate directly into the cake batter makes the cake layers unbelievably moist and tender. For the filling, I make some home-made cranberry sauce. But it’s not just any sauce! I make an orange raspberry cranberry sauce! It’s actually the same sauce I serve with my oven-roasted turkey. It’s so easy to make and I love the combination of raspberry and cranberry!

My recipe for the cranberry sauce makes a large portion. I like to serve extra sauce on the side when serving, for even more cranberry flavor!

The Frosting

For the frosting, I use a super fluffy and delicious white chocolate whipped cream with more orange zest! This frosting is so airy, you’ll want to eat it by the spoonful! It’s not too sweet and I love the addition of the orange zest! Just divide the frosting and add a bit of red food coloring to one half to create the ombre effect. I garnished the top with red sprinkles, edible pearls and frosting dollops. This orange cranberry cake is sure to be unforgettable!

More Recipes!

Looking for more holiday recipes? Here are a few of my favorites for you to try!

Orange Cranberry Bread – the easiest and most delicious cranberry bread with orange zest and orange glaze! Extra soft and moist!
Berry Almond Cake – light and airy berry cake made with German Buttercream!
Peppermint Mocha Cake – with chocolate coffee cake layers and peppermint buttercream. This cake screams ‘Christmas’!!
Irish Cream Chocolate Mint Cheesecake – made with a brownie base and Irish cream!
And, check out my in-depth video tutorial for ‘Orange Cranberry Sauce’!

Enjoyed this recipe? Share and save it to Pinterest!

Need some supplies to make this recipe? You can get them here! (Amazon affiliate links)

My handy handheld KitchenAid mixer gets used as much as my KitchenAid stand mixer!

I love this Ateco decorating table – makes decorating cakes a breeze!

This set of cake decorating offset spatulas are a must and this cake scrapper!

And these disposable pastry bags are a must if you make cakes often.

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Ingredients

For Cake Layers:
1 1/2 cups (340 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (200 g) white granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) milk, warm
zest from 1 to 2 oranges
3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
4 1/2 tsp (10 g) baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (175 g) white chocolate chips, melted
For Sauce:
4 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup (125 g) raspberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup (237 ml) water
1/2 cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
zest from 1 orange
For Frosting:
3 cups (710 ml) heavy cream, chilled
1 cup (125 g) confectioner's sugar
8 oz cream (227 g) cheese, softened
1 cup (175 g) white chocolate chips, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest from 1 orange
red food coloring
edible sprinkles, for garnish
orange juice from zested oranges, for soaking

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line 4, 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray the sides with a non-stick baking spray. You can also use 2, 8-inch cake rounds, then split the layers in half once the layers are cooled.
Prepare the cake batter first. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar, softened butter and vanilla for 2 to 3 minutes, until the butter is fluffy. Add the eggs, a few at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the warm milk and orange zest next. Mix until incorporated and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the batter. Mix the flour into the batter just until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
Add the melted white chocolate last and mix again for about 30 seconds. Divide the cake batter evenly among the 4 cake pans. Level the batter with an off-set spatula. Bake the layers in the preheated oven for 25 to 28 minutes, until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the layers from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
While the layers are baking, prepare the cranberry sauce. Simply combine the cranberries, raspberries, water, sugar and orange zest in a medium-sized sauce pot. Stir the ingredients together, then cook over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer and stir occasionally, then cook for about 18 to 20 minutes until cranberries pop open and the mixture thickens into a jelly. Allow the sauce to cool completely before using in the cake. Refrigerate for faster cooling.
Once the layers are cooled, prepare the orange whipped cream. In a stand-mixer bowl, whisk the heavy cream and confectioner's sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl, cream together the softened cream cheese, melted white chocolate, vanilla extract and orange zest. Mix until the mixture is lump free, then add it to the whipped cream. Whisk on high speed for about a minute, until stiff peaks form.
To create the ombre effect, place about 2 to 3 cups of the frosting into a separate bowl and color with a few drops of red gel food coloring. Mix in the color with a spatula, then transfer the frosting into a pastry bag; I used Ateco tip #823.
To assemble the cake, first soak the layers generously with the orange juice, squeezed from the zested oranges. Spread about 1/2 cup cranberry sauce over each layer, then top with a generous amount of plain whipped cream. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the plain frosting first and smooth down with an off-set spatula.
To create the ombre effect, pipe a few lines of red frosting around the bottom of the cake, then use a flat cake spatula to blend the frosting upwards (watch my video for more details!). Pipe the remaining red frosting on the top as dollops to garnish the cake. Garnish with edible sprinkles, pearls and cranberry. This cake can be served immediately, or refrigerated.

Servings : 16
Course : Dessert
Recipe Type : Cakes, Video

11 Responses to Christmas Orange Cranberry Cake Recipe (video)

Ruslana December 2, 2017 at 9:33 pm #

Hi Tatyana, this cake looks gorgeous i cannot wait to make it. I was just wondering if i use 2 cake pans will i have to bake the cakes for longer?

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CL December 21, 2018 at 9:43 am #

Hi there, I made this the other night but accidentally omitted the white chocolate so instead of plain orange juice to brush on top of the layers I made an orange syrup and it turned out spectacular. I think this was the best cake I had ever made. One friend said it was the best cake she had ever had. I would like to make a half sheet 2-layer cake using this recipe but I know some cake recipes are more conducive to sheet pan success than others. Do you think this recipe would work making a 2-layer half sheet cake (I would double the recipe)? Thank you

Reply
- tatyanaseverydayfood December 21, 2018 at 10:51 am #
  
  Hi! Oops, that happens to everyone sometimes! 🙂 I’m soo glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! I think this would be great as a sheet cake, too. I would double the recipe and it should be great! 🙂
  
  Reply
Anna May 12, 2019 at 12:02 pm #

Hi Tatyana,
Would it be possible if you only used this frosting to frost cakes? Also, is this frosting too sweet and is the cream cheese flavor strong? Lastly, would this frosting suitable for piping roses and Russian tips?
Thanks

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- Anna May 12, 2019 at 12:05 pm #
  
  Also, can you add instant white chocolate pudding mix to the heavy whipped cream to have a stabler frosting?
  
  Reply
- tatyanaseverydayfood May 13, 2019 at 11:41 am #
  
  Hi Anna! Absolutely, this frosting would be great for many cake recipes. I actually have a separate video recipe for a similar frosting here: https://tatyanaseverydayfood.com/recipe-items/berry-whipped-cream-frosting/
  You can definitely try adding the pudding mix, that would only help. With the addition of the pudding, it should be stable enough to pipe.
  
  Reply
  - Anna May 13, 2019 at 2:25 pm #
    
    Thank you. Would this frosting be stable for piping flowers without the pudding mix? Thanks. Your cake looks great by the way.
    
    Reply
Anna May 13, 2019 at 5:42 pm #

If I used a white chocolate pudding mix, would that mean I would cut down the white chocolate chips?

Reply
Anna May 15, 2019 at 2:51 pm #

Thank you. Would this frosting be stable for piping flowers without the pudding mix? If I used a white chocolate pudding mix, would that mean I would cut down the white chocolate chips? Thanks. Your cake looks great by the way.

Reply
Anna May 18, 2019 at 1:46 pm #

Thank you. Would this frosting be stable for piping roses and flowers without the pudding mix? If I used a white chocolate pudding mix, would that mean I would cut down the white chocolate chips? Thanks

Reply
Anna May 20, 2019 at 2:14 pm #

Could I also use the frosting under fondant if I stabilize it?
Thank you

Reply