Recipe: Cranberry Orange Spice Cake


Simply delicious, and ready in under an hour.

By: Angela Allison, This Delicious House 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 16

Equipment

  • Two 9-inch cake pans

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup milk (whole or 2%)
  • ½ cup fresh orange juice (from one large orange)
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest (from one large orange)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup whole cranberries (tossed in a teaspoon of flour)

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • ½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 18 ounce package cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest

Sugared Cranberries

  • ½ cup sugar, divided
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¾ cup whole cranberries
  • ½ teaspoon orange zest

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cake pans with cooking spray and line bottom of pans with parchment; set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl or stand up mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for two minutes until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, milk, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Pour in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix again.
  4. Toss the cranberries with one teaspoon of flour then fold into the cake batter.
  5. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans, using a kitchen scale if possible. Bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire cooling rack until completely cool. Prepare the frosting and sugared cranberries while the cakes cool.
  6. To make the frosting, in a large bowl cream together the butter and cream cheese using a handheld mixer on medium speed for two minutes. Add in the powdered sugar, orange juice, and zest, and continue mixing on low speed until combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl and mix again.
  7. To make the sugared cranberry topping, in a small saucepan combine ¼ cup of sugar and water. Bring to a low simmer just until sugar dissolves. Turn off heat and stir in the cranberries. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cranberries to a wire rack. In a small bowl combine the remaining ¼ cup sugar and orange zest. Working in small batches, toss the cranberries in the sugar. Shake off excess sugar and set aside.
  8. To frost, place one layer of the cooled cake on pedestal or cake plate and spread on about a cup of frosting. Place on the top layer of the cake and spread the remaining frosting all over the cake. Decorate with sugared cranberries.

Notes

This cake can be made up to two days in advance. Just store covered in the refrigerator.

Click here for more of Angela’s delicious recipes. 

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