Christmas Cranberry Cake topped with a sweet butter sauce is perfect for Christmas or any occasion! Easy homemade cranberry cake recipe uses fresh cranberries for a delightful, flavorful dessert.
The homemade butter sauce that is served alongside this cranberry cake is easy to make a a true NEED to make this dessert feel complete. While you can make it without, I highly recommend making it with the sauce.
My Favorite Christmas Cranberry Cake Recipe
This cranberry cake is one of my top 5 best desserts ever.
It’s one of those home-runs that always brings people up to you, begging for the recipe (and makes novice bakers like me feel so much better about themselves).
My favorite part is that it oozes holiday spirit- it’s about as perfectly October/November/December as you can get! Or any other time of year I suppose… but most especially during the fall:) I like to keep extra bags of frozen cranberries so I can make it throughout the year too!
Are dried cranberries the same as fresh cranberries?
Dried cranberries are usually more concentrated than fresh cranberries, this is mostly due in part to so much of the water being removed. If you used dried cranberries in this recipe instead of fresh, you’d want to soften them up by letting them soak in hot water for about 10 minutes, drain and then use.
Does this recipe really have no eggs?
Yes, there is really no eggs in this cranberry cake. Crazy right? But don’t worry, even though the batter will be thick, it’s still going to bake up great.
Cranberry Cake Ingredients
-6 T. butter
-2 cups sugar
-2 cups evaporated milk (I am lazy and use 1 can + the remainder of regular milk
-2 T. baking powder
-4 cups flour
-2 t. salt
-1 bag frozen cranberries washed (about 3-4 cups)
Butter sauce ingredients
-1 stick butter
-1 cup sugar
-1 cup heavy cream
-1 t. Vanilla
How to Make Cranberry Cake with Butter Sauce
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add in the milk and mix.
Add in the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Gently fold in the fresh cranberries.
Pour the thick batter into your greased and prepared baking pan.
Bake it in a bundt pan at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Adjust the temperature to 325 degrees F and cook for about 40 more minutes. You may need to add or remove some of this time, so check back often.
How to Make Butter Sauce
In a small sauce pot on the stove, combine all of the ingredients and bring them just to a boil.
Serve the warm butter sauce over the cake.
CHRISTMAS CRANBERRY CAKE
Ingredients
- 6 TBSP butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups evaporated milk
- 2 TBSP baking powder
- 4 cups flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 3.5 cups fresh cranberries or frozen, not thawed.
Butter sauce
- 1/2 cup salted butter 1 stick
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour bundt pan, then set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. Add milk. Mix in dry ingredients. Fold in berries.
- Pour into your greased pan (it is thick!).
- Bake in bundt pan at 350°F for 20 minutes. Decrease heat to 325 °F and continue baking 40 additional minutes. Insert a toothpick in center of cake to check for doneness.
- For butter sauce, heat ingredients slowly in a small saucepan. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat and let cool slightly. Serve the sauce warm over the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I use other berries?
Yes, you can use other berries if you wanted to, but honestly, cranberries are what make this dessert so great. The sweet and sour combination of flavors between the sauce and the cranberries are great!
How do you use fresh cranberries in baking?
Some people like to roll their fresh cranberries in flour before baking in batter using recipes like this cake. That said, you don’t need to do that here. You can simply toss them in and use. Just make sure that the berries clean, and that you old them in gently so that you don’t smush them and cause the juices to run throughout the cake.
After you try this amazing Cranberry Cake try a few of our other favorite holiday recipes:
- Cranberry Jello Salad
- Chocolate Orange Cookies
- Creamy Cranberry Salad
- Fresh Cranberry Orange Bread
- Dutch Apple Bread
- Holiday Cookie Salad
- Gooey Holiday Chex Mix
- Chocolate Nest Easter Cookies
- Christmas Cream Sodas
- Holiday Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole
- Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
- Red Velvet Christmas Cookies
- Christmas Bark
- Holiday Crockpot Ham
- Peppermint Ice Cream Cake Roll
Cranberry cake with butter sauce is delicious and a wonderful holiday treat. But don’t be afraid to be like me and make this cake throughout the year. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tangy.
Chelsea says
Someone gave me a bag of cranberries and for weeks I've been trying to decide what to do with it, it's one of those gifts that make you go "umm…gee…thanks?" I'm totally excited to try this out. I'll have to let you know how it goes!
Amanda Petersen says
I'm certain now that this cake IS the reason cranberries are in existence:)
Елена Яных says
It looks delicious and juicy. My husband adores such kind of cakes full of sauce. I just have a question about eggs. No eggs in the recipe? Or it's a mistake?
Amanda Petersen says
Yes- give it a try! There are no eggs in the recipe. The batter is really thick (almost like dough), so don't be surprised! Enjoy! 🙂
Chelsea says
Ok, I broke down and made it. WOW. I am super impressed. You are right, you HAVE to make the sauce, and you HAVE to take it to a party, or else you will hide in your kitchen and eat half of it yourself….not that I'm speaking from experience or anything ;)This is the first recipe I've actually tried on here, and I'm glad I did. Guess that means I better try out a few more!
Amanda Petersen says
Oh, I'm SO HAPPY you liked it! Isn't is just the yummiest thing ever? It's so different and perfectly fall! Keep the feedback coming!
Jessica Milo says
Do you need to use the sauce? Do you need to keep the sauce warm? Looks so yummy. Would love to make for my Mom's birthday. Let me know about the sauce, and whether the cake would be too dry without??
Deanna says
Delicious. Was in the mood for a simple cake and happened to have a bag of cranberries in the freezer. This cake was so easy to make and it is so delicious! The simple vanilla cake and tart cranberries are the perfect combo and the butter suace takes it over the top. Saving this to make again at Christmas.
Jessica says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Deanna!