If you are looking to take your baking to the next level, this Orange Cranberry Cake will certainly impress. With a simple icing design, bold flavors and fun sugared fruit garnishes, you will look like a professional.
If you’re new to fresh milled flour or unsure what this is, here is some more information to help you get started!
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
When it comes to cakes, I love a beautiful center piece on the table. With fruit and herbs, it replaces the classic flour arrangement with a beautiful conversation piece, both in presentation and flavor.
Let me help you plan the day of baking…
Start by making your garnishes. These have a lot of sit and wait time.
Next, make your cakes so they have time to cool while you make your jam and icing.
Next make the jam as you will need some for the icing. Or, skip this step all together and buy already made cranberry jam.
Finally, work on your icing.
Table of Contents
Equipment needed to make an Orange Cranberry Cake
- Grain Mill
- Stand Mixer
- Digital Scale
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- 3- 9″ Round cake pans
- 2-Sheet pans
- Serrated knife
- Sifter
- Rubber Spatula
- Parchment Paper
- 3-Small Sauce Pans
- Microplane-zester
- Pastry Brush
- Cake icing spatula, small offset spatula and bowl scraper or dough blade.
- Pastry bag
Orange Cranberry Cake Ingredients
Cake
- Soft White Wheat Berries-You can also use Einkorn, Spelt or Soft Red Wheat. Try different grains, you will be surprised which end up being your favorite.
- Sugar
- Salt–Redmond’s Real salt is all I use!
- Eggs
- Greek Yogurt– you can also use sour cream
- Coconut Oil
- Milk
- Orange zest (reserve juice for icing)
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla Extract
Cranberry Jam
- Cranberries-Fresh
- Lemon Juice
- Sugar
Icing
- Butter-room temperature
- Orange Juice
- Cranberry Jam
Candied Garnishes
- Cranberries-Fresh
- Oranges-Any size or variety. The ones in the photo were cuties so they are very petite
- Rosemary
- Sugar
- Water
How to make components of the Orange Cranberry Cake
Start your garnishes first-or better yet make the day before
- Slice 2 oranges 1/4 inch thick.
2. Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Drop orange slices into the water for 5 minutes and quickly move to a bowl of ice water to blanch. This will help preserve the texture and bright color of the orange.
3. Empty the sauce pan and refill with 3 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar. Heat just until the sugar is dissolved.
4. In a small glass bowl, place cranberries and rosemary. Pour 1 cup of the simple syrup over the cranberries and let sit for 1 hour.
5. The remaining syrup on the stove, add the blanched orange slices and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
6. After the cranberries and rosemary have soaked for 1 hour, remove and place on a wire rack to dry. After they dry for 1 hour, toss in more granulated sugar. Reserve the liquid to glaze your cakes when assembling.
7. Once the oranges are done simmering for one hour, add them to the wire rack and allow to cool. The oranges do not need to be coated in additional granulated sugar like the cranberries and rosemary.
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mill your soft white wheat berries into flour. Sift the flour separating the bran out and place in a small glass bowl.
- To the bran, add your milk and allow to sit and soften for 20 minutes.
- To the rest of the flour, add baking powder, baking soda, salt, orange zest and cinnamon. Set aside.
- To the stand mixer, add your eggs white and whip to soft peaks. Remove and set aside.
- Now, to the empty stand mixer, add yogurt, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Place your coconut oil on the stove in a small sauce pan to melt.
- Slowly sprinkle in the flour and additional dry ingredients to your yogurt mixture in the mixer. Alternately add the melted coconut oil.
- Finally add your milk and bran to the mixer.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the egg whites, just until combined.
- Prepare 3, 9″ pans by cutting parchment rounds to fit the bottom of the pan. Spray with oil to coat the sides and parchment.
- Divide your batter evenly between the 3 pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
- Sometimes I make my cake and garnishes the day before.
Cranberry Jam
- While the cake bakes, make your cranberry jam.
- Place Cranberries, sugar and lemon juice into a sauce pan and stir to coat.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, mashing and stirring to crush the cranberries.
- Place jam into a glass dish or jar to cool.
Cranberry Icing
- While the cranberry jam cools, start on your icing.
- Place room temperature butter into your stand mixer and beat until smooth.
- Sift powdered sugar and slowly add to the butter.
- Add 2 Tbsp fresh orange juice from the orange zested for the cake.
- Once the cranberry jam is cooled, add 1/4 cup to the icing.
- If your icing is too soft to ice with, place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to stiffen up before icing the cake.
Assembling the Orange Cranberry Cake
- Glaze your cakes and cut off the tops: Remove cakes from the pan and place on a flat surface with the domed side of the cake facing up. I like to do this on my turntable. Take your serrated knife and work your way around the perimeter of the cake, gently pressing in further each time around, until you get to the center of the cake top and have a level cake!
- I always keep a simple syrup on hand to glaze my cakes. With a squirt bottle or pastry brush, generously coat each layer before you assemble your cake. For this recipe, you could use the glaze you soaked your cranberries and rosemary in. Otherwise a simple sugar and water syrup will work.
- Place one layer of the cake onto a cake plate or cardboard round. Scoop some icing onto the cake and create a thin layer of icing to coat the cake. Using a pastry bag filled with the cranberry icing, squirt a ring around the edge of the cake. Fill the center with a generous portion of the cranberry jam.
- Repeat this step with the second layer of cake.
- Top with the third layer of cake.
- Take your spatula and apply a thin layer of icing around the sides and top if the cake, called a crumb coat.
- Place in the refrigerator for 15-20 mintues to allow the icing to set up so your layers don’t shift while icing.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and add more icing to the sides and top of the cake until there is no cake showing through.
- HERE is a video of how I iced and assembled my cake, but use your creativity here!
Orange Cranberry Cake
Equipment
- serrated knife
- 3 small sauce pans
- 2 Small Bowl
- Cake Spatulas
- Pastry Bag
Ingredients
Candied Garnishes
- 2 Oranges
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 4-6 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 cups sugar granulated, divided
- 4 cups water
Cranberry Jam
- 10 oz cranberries fresh
- 1 cup sugar granulated
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
Orange Cinnamon Cake
- 3 1/2 cups soft white wheat flour 420 g
- 2 cups sugar, granulated 475 g
- 1 cup greek yogurt 255 g
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs divided
- 1 1/2 cups coconut oil, melted 326 g
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp Redmonds Real Salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp orange zest reserve liquid for icing
Cranberry Buttercream
- 1 pound butter unsalted
- 6 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1/4 cup cranberry jam
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
Simple Syrup Glaze (optional-for glazing cakes)
- 1 cup sugar granulated
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Garnishes
- Slice 2 oranges 1/4 inch thick.
- Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Drop orange slices into the water for 5 minutes and quickly move to a bowl of ice water to blanch. This will help preserve the texture and bright color of the orange.
- Empty the sauce pan and refill with 3 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar. Heat just until the sugar is dissolved.
- In a small glass bowl, place cranberries and rosemary. Pour 1 cup of the simple syrup over the cranberries and let sit for 1 hour.
- The remaining syrup on the stove, add the blanched orange slices and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- After the cranberries and rosemary have soaked for 1 hour, remove and place on a wire rack to dry. After they dry for 1 hour, toss in more granulated sugar. Reserve the liquid to glaze your cakes when assembling.
- Once the oranges are done simmering for one hour, add them to the wire rack and allow to cool. The oranges do not need to be coated in additional granulated sugar like the cranberries and rosemary.
Orange Cinnamon Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 ℉
- Mill your soft white wheat berries into flour. Sift the flour separating the bran out and place in a small glass bowl.
- To the bran, add your milk and allow to sit and soften for 20 minutes.
- To the rest of the flour, add baking powder, baking soda, salt, orange zest and cinnamon. Set aside.
- To the stand mixer, add your eggs white and whip to soft peaks. Remove and set aside.
- Now, to the empty stand mixer, add yogurt, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Place your coconut oil on the stove in a small sauce pan to melt.
- Slowly sprinkle in the flour and additional dry ingredients to your yogurt mixture in the mixer. Alternately add the melted coconut oil.
- Finally add your milk and bran to the mixer.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the egg whites, just until combined.
- Divide your batter evenly between the 3 pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
Cranberry Jam
- While the cake bakes, make your cranberry jam.
- Place Cranberries, sugar and lemon juice into a sauce pan and stir to coat.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, mashing and stirring to crush the cranberries.
- Place jam into a glass dish or jar to cool.
Cranberry Icing
- While the cranberry jam cools, start on your icing.
- Place room temperature butter into your stand mixer and beat until smooth.
- Sift powdered sugar and slowly add to the butter.
- Add 2 Tbsp fresh orange juice from the orange zested for the cake.
- Once the cranberry jam is cooled, add 1/4 cup to the icing.
- If your icing is too soft to ice with, place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to stiffen up before icing the cake.
Assembling the Orange Cranberry Cake
- Glaze your cakes and cut off the tops: Remove cakes from the pan and place on a flat surface with the domed side of the cake facing up. I like to do this on my turntable. Take your serrated knife and work your way around the perimeter of the cake, gently pressing in further each time around, until you get to the center of the cake top and have a level cake!
- I always keep a simple syrup on hand to glaze my cakes. With a squirt bottle or pastry brush, generously coat each layer before you assemble your cake. For this recipe, you could use the glaze you soaked your cranberries and rosemary in. Otherwise a simple sugar and water syrup will work.
- Place one layer of the cake onto a cake plate or cardboard round. Scoop some icing onto the cake and create a thin layer of icing to coat the cake. Using a pastry bag filled with the cranberry icing, squirt a ring around the edge of the cake. Fill the center with a generous portion of the cranberry jam.
- Repeat this step with the second layer of cake.
- Top with the third layer of cake.
- Take your spatula and apply a thin layer of icing around the sides and top if the cake, called a crumb coat.
- Place in the refrigerator for 15-20 mintues to allow the icing to set up so your layers don't shift while icing.
- Remove the cake from the fridge and add more icing to the sides and top of the cake until there is no cake showing through.
- Get creative with how you finish the cake design here. Create a textured look to your icing and add the candied fruit to the top of the cake.
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions about Orange Cranberry Cake
Do I really have to glaze the cake?
You can certainly do whatever you’d like here. I have done cakes for 20 years and always glazed my cakes to keep them moist longer. If you are wanting to skip this step, I would warn you the cake will dry out faster.
Can I adjust the spices in the cake?
Of course! Not everyone loves cinnamon, and you’re welcome to leave that out, or even the orange zest. This is your cake, make it with whatever spices you like!
How do I store my cake?
I keep mine on the counter for 3 days under a cake dome. Any longer, you will want to put in an airtight container in the fridge. I do let it come back to room temperature before eating.
Tips and Tricks:
Do not over bake your cake! You want to watch it and bake just until the toothpick comes out clean.
Purchase a turntable if you are enjoying icing and decorating cakes! It’s the easiest way to ice and decorate a cake with minimal cost!
THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for trying this recipe, I hope you love this Orange Cranberry cake as much as my family does. If you make this recipe, please share and tag me on Instagram or Facebook! And, please leave a comment or star rating below. I love to see everyone be successful in the journey to a healthier lifestyle with fresh milled flour! Don’t hesitate to contact me with any question, chances are we will both learn something from us working through it together!
Happy Baking!
Bailey Basics is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I may earn a commission, with no additional cost to you, if you purchase through those links.