White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake

December 11, 2017 by Ashley Manila 93 Comments

This White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake is so festive and perfect for celebrating the holiday season! Top with sugared cranberries and fresh orange zest for a stunning presentation! Stays fresh for up to 5 days!

Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake

Do you have holiday plans? We’re hosting Christmas at our house this year and I couldn’t be more excited! I’m still ironing out the exact menu plans, but dessert? You know I have that covered! In addition to a couple dozen cookies, I’m whipping up some gingerbread cupcakes and this stunning White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake.

Because let’s be real… doesn’t this beauty just scream Christmas?! ↓

Cranberry Bundt Cake

For this recipe, I’ve teamed up with my friends over at Watkins. If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you’re probably aware of the fact that I’m a huge fan of this brand! I’ve used their extracts for years, and have recently become a fan of their spices and natural food coloring. So when they reached out and asked if I would be interested in developing a recipe for them, you know I jumped at the chance! Which brings us full circle back to this white chocolate cranberry bundt cake! It’s supremely moist and flavorful thanks to butter, cream cheese, fresh cranberries, almond extract, and baking vanilla.

Because the cake itself isn’t insanely sweet, it’s topped with fluffy white chocolate frosting and sugared cranberries! This combination is equally delicious and beautiful. And I added a handful of slivered almonds, too. Because why not? After I finished the cake it dawned on me that chopped pistachios would also be stunning, so feel free to try that if you want an extra colorful cake.

Cranberry Bundt Cake Ingredients:

all-purpose flour
baking powder
salt
unsalted butter
full-fat cream cheese
granulated sugar
light brown sugar
fresh orange zest (note: do not add orange juice, which will make the batter too wet)
vanilla extract
almond extract
eggs
fresh cranberries
confectioners sugar (about 2 and 1/2 cups)
heavy cream
and quality white chocolate

I know that’s quite a list! But those ingredients will have you covered for the cake, the frosting, and the sugared cranberries!!!

Equipment You’ll Need

You’ll also need a 12-cup bundt pan, an electric stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, a citrus zester, a whisk, measuring cups, a few large bowls, and a preheated oven. Once you have all of your equipment and ingredients, you’re ready to bake a bundt cake!

White Chocolate Cranberry Cake

Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:

To properly prepare your bundt pan you’ll want to generously grease and flour it, or spray with a nonstick baking spray.
If you’re allergic to almonds, or just don’t care for the flavor, you may omit the almond extract as well as the slivered almonds without making any other changes.
I know someone is going to ask me about this so I’m going to be proactive and answer now: yes, this cake really calls for 3 sticks of butter! And cream cheese. Trust me here.
Add in the flour mixture last, and mix ONLY until combined. Over incorporating the flour mixture will yield a dry cake.
Be sure not to underbake this cake! The top will puff up and look very brown, but it’s not done until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. About an hour and 15 minutes!
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Once you have a completely cooled cake, you may frost and decorate it.
Because this cake is insanely moist, it will keep for up to 5 days. I recommend storing it in the fridge, tightly covered, then bringing it back to room temperature before serving.
If you are going to make this ahead of time, I suggest waiting to decorate it until the day you plan on serving it. Otherwise the toasted nuts will become soggy and the sugared cranberries may bleed onto the frosting.

So, have I convinced you to try this cake yet? Say yes! And serve it with coffee 😉 Trust me!

If you try this recipe for Easy Cranberry Bundt Cake, let me know! Leave a comment below and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your kitchen creations makes my day.

More Cranberry Recipes:

Cranberry Orange Cake
Chewy White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
Cranberry Ricotta Scones

Ashley Manila

This White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake is moist, flavorful, and perfect for holiday celebrations!

5 from 34 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Inactive Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

For the Cranberry Bundt Cake:

2 and 1/4 cups (273g/9 and 5/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups (340g/12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (170g/6 ounces) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups (397g/14 oz) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (53 g/1 and 7/8 ounces) light brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 and 1/2 teaspoons Watkins Baking Vanilla
1 teaspoon Watkins Almond Extract
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (227g/8 ounces) fresh cranberries
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup (227g/8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 and 1/2 cups (283g/10 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon J.R. Watkins Almond Extract
6 ounces (170g) quality white chocolate, melted and cooled for 10 minutes

For the Sugared Cranberries:

1 cup (198g/7 ounces) granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup (57g/2 ounces) water
1 cup (113g/4 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries, if using frozen do not thaw

Decoration:

Handful of slivered almonds
Orange zest

Instructions

For the Cranberry Bundt Cake:

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Generously grease a 10-inch (12-cup) bundt pan, being sure to coat all of the nooks and crannies. I suggest using a non-stick baking spray that has flour in it, or greasing the pan with shortening or butter, then dusting it with flour. Set pan aside until needed.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk well to combine then set aside until needed.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add in both sugars, then increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the orange zest, baking vanilla, and almond extract. Reduce the speed back to medium, then add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low and add in the flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Turn mixer off.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cranberries and flour and toss well to coat. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cranberries into batter until just combined.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 70 to 75 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, set on a wire rack, for 20 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely.

For the White Chocolate Buttercream:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter on medium-speed until completely smooth. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the confectioners' sugar, beating until all of the sugar is completely combined. Add in the salt, cream, and almond extract and beat smooth. Add in the white chocolate and beat smooth. Once all of the ingredients have been incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat for a minute.
Spread frosting on the top and sides of the cooled cake. Top with slivered almonds, orange zest, and sugared cranberries, if desired. Slice and serve, or store in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 5 days.

For the Sugared Cranberries:

In a medium saucepan, add 1/4 cup of the sugar and the water and whisk well to combine. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a light simmer, whisking frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the cranberries and stir to coat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cranberries to a wire rack and dry for at least 30 minutes.
When the 30 minutes are up, roll the cranberries in remaining sugar, working in small batches and tossing until well coated. Set aside to dry for at least 1 hour.

Video

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