Fresh Cranberry Cake Recipe: Cranberry Sour Cream Bundt Cake (2024)

By Robin Gagnon | Updated on 08/22/2022

Real ingredients make holiday foods better. This fresh cranberry cake recipe is an example of that. The cranberry sour cream bundt cake features fresh cranberries and organic sour cream & butter.

This Fresh Cranberry Cake recipe is a fun and festive that makes a pretty presentation with easy decorating.

The fresh cranberries in this Cranberry Sour Cream Bundt Cake really pop with color when the cake is sliced.

While I do enjoy the seasonal delights of pumpkin pie and cookies, I really love a dessert with a bit of zing. This is especially true after a rich holiday meal. The fresh cranberry cake recipe I'm sharing with you today fits just that bill. Fresh cranberries nestle in a delicious sour cream bundt cake. The colorful cranberries add fresh and festive flair to the cake and sour cream brings great flavor and moistness to the holiday cake.

Sour cream is also used in my Banana Bundt cake, if that is more to your taste. I also take advantage of the baking benefits of sour cream in my Sour Cream Cookies recipe.

The fresh cranberries on the top of this bundt cake are simply glazed in thinned down icing to add shine. I also dusted this with dried unsweetened coconut, becauce I liked the snow like effect it creates on the cake.

Fresh Cranberry Cake (Preparation)

Here is a quick visual walk-through of the making of the Cranberry Sour Cream Bundt Cake. This fresh cranberry cake recipe is actually quite easy to make. Full recipe below.

Ingredients for the Cranberry Bundt Cake

• 8ozunsalted buttersoftened
• 1cupsugar
• ¾cuplight brown sugar
• 1cupsour cream
• ½tspsea salt
• 2tbsorange juice
• 1tsppure vanilla extract
• 3large eggs
• 2 ¾cupsflour2 ½ in batter, ¼ to dredge cranberries
• 1 ½tspbaking powderpreferably aluminum-free
• 2cupsfresh cranberries
• 2tbsconfectionery sugar

Icing

• 2 ¼cupsof powdered sugar
• 3tbssour cream
• 2tbsorange juice

Glazed Cranberries

• 16fresh cranberries
• 1tsporange juice
• Icing left on sides bowl

Grab an extra bag of fresh cranberries while they are in season. They freeze well, and are fabulous in my Cranberry Orange Sauce recipe.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

After preheating the oven and preparing the bundt pan, cream the sugars and softened unsalted butter together with electric mixer.

Mix together the salt, orange juice and vanilla extract, then beat in eggs. Set aside.

Add one cup of sour cream to the creamed butter mixture, and mix. Next, add the beaten egg mixture and mix well.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add to the rest of the batter mixture and mix until smooth.

Chop the cranberries.

Toss in flour and confectionery sugar, then fold into the batter until evenly distributed.

Scoop batter into bundt pan and smooth out top. Bake, then cool on baking rack. Once cool, trim the bottom and plate.

Prepare the simple icing and spread around top, allowing the icing to drip down. Glaze the cranberries and place on top. Sprinkle on a little dried coconut or sugar if you like.

Need something that is in individual servings? Try my Cranberry Orange Donuts or Mini Banana Bundt Cakes with Vanilla Caramel Glaze.

Can I use Frozen Cranberries?

I don't recommend using frozen for this recipe. They will discolor your cake and give it an unattractive bluish gray tint. Stick with fresh, unless you are in a pinch and don't really care what it looks like.