December 11, 2017

White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake

Name: White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 2 h 40 min
Yield: 12 Slices
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 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; 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; Handful of slivered almonds; Orange zest

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.

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