I modified my favorite Vanilla Cake recipe to make this cake but adding orange zest and juice to the batter. Then just folded in some cranberries at the end. I used fresh cranberries, but you could use frozen as well (don’t thaw them first). It’s important that you toss them in a bit of flour so that they don’t sink in your cake batter whether they’re fresh or frozen.

I used fresh cranberries, but you could use frozen as well (don’t thaw them first). It’s important that you toss them in a bit of flour so that they don’t sink in your cake batter whether they’re fresh or frozen.

I intentionally made the layers on the thinner side — they are about 1″ tall each, slightly more. I wanted a better balance of frosting to cake without the cake being too large. If you like, you can 1.5x the recipe for taller layers (see Tips section). The cake is delicate and delicious with bursts of orange and tangy cranberry flavor throughout.

Loaded with fresh cranberries and packed with orange flavor, this Cranberry Orange Cake with cream cheese frosting is a hit for any occasion!

I kept the decorating simple with just a swirl through the frosting on the sides and top. This is a really easy technique — all you need to do it is a cake turntable (mine is a $10 lazy susan from Ikea) and an offset spatula.


For the top of the cake I decorated it with some fresh cranberries, orange slices, and sprigs of thyme and I love how it turned out! If you prefer, you can use sugared cranberries as decoration instead of plain ones to give the cake more of a winter/holiday vibe.