Glazed Cranberry Lemon Cake
This glazed cranberry lemon cake is an absolute showstopper with its lovely drizzly glaze draping over a layer of fresh cranberries and tender, soft lemon cake!
Since I’ve already told you how much I love cranberries, is it really a surprise that my self-proclaimed favorite dessert of the holiday season is this glazed cranberry lemon cake?
Based on looks, this cake easily scores 10 out of 10. I mean, look at it!
That beautiful contrast of fresh, vibrant cranberries next to the tender, lemon cake is pure beauty.
Thankfully, the gloriousness doesn’t stop there. Even though some pretty desserts often result in taste bud disappointment, this cranberry lemon cake is out of this world.
Perfectly soft and tender, the lemon cake itself is perfection. The bright hint of lemon comes through without overpowering the cranberries.
Admittedly, it would take a heck of a lot of lemon to overpower the somewhat strong flavor profile of tart cranberries, but rest assured that the flavors of this cake compliment each other without competing.
This truly is the perfect cake for holiday celebrations.
And just to dispel any worry or confusion, let’s talk bundt cakes for a second. I have a 35-year old bundt cake pan my mother-in-law handed down to me several years ago, so I’m not really in the know about The Best Bundt Cake Pan to own these days.
For certain, the main key to a bundt pan for this recipe is that it probably needs to be at least 10- or 12-cups in capacity.
I don’t want overflowing cake hate mail.
Personally, I have not tried this in a smaller bundt pan, a 9X13-inch cake pan or divided between a couple loaf pans. However, if you decide to experiment, keep an eye on quantity of cake batter and/or baking time.
I don’t want burned cake hate mail.
This cake has personality, good looks, and taste going for it.
What more could you want?
If you’re thinking “chocolate” – well, you and I are soulmates. I’m very reticent to throw my weight (haha?) behind a non-chocolate cake, but in the case of this cranberry lemon cake, the praise is well deserved. I love it, and can’t wait to serve it during the holidays for years to come.
Of course, I’m not going to stop you if you want to nix the glaze and drizzle it with a little dark chocolate ganache or something equally decadent.
This cake would make a fabulous addition to any holiday spread you serve this month. Or simply for a special dinner or get together with friends or family. And next year, don’t discount it for a viable dessert addition at Thanksgiving.
Even my unpretentious children scarfed this down. Well, except for my one child that really despises the texture of soft, cooked fruit. (Yes, even applesauce…a sad fact since his father works for an applesauce company.)
In the end, his distaste of softened, jam-like cranberries worked in my favor. I won the fork battle of who got to claim his barely eaten piece of cake.
It was worth nearly losing a finger in the process.
This cake is screaming for you to make it! Can’t wait to hear what you think.
One Year Ago: Mel’s Mini Holiday Gift Guide: Kids + His & Hers
Two Years Ago: Mini Gift Guide: Random Lovely Stuff for Guys and Gals
Three Years Ago: Fresh Cranberry Chutney {My Fave Cranberry Sauce}
Glazed Cranberry Lemon Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- ¾ cup (170 g) salted butter , room temperature
- ⅓ cup (71 g) packed light brown sugar
- 3 cups (340 g) fresh cranberries
- 2 ½ cups (355 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) granulated sugar
- Zest of 2 lemons, about 2 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Glaze:
- 1 cup (114 g) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 10- or 12-inch bundt cake pan with butter – making sure to grease all the nooks and crannies really well.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar over the bottom of the pan, then layer the cranberries evenly over the sugar.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), combine the granulated sugar together with the zest from the lemons. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until the sugar is infused with the lemon fragrance.
- Add the butter to the bowl with the lemon sugar and, using the paddle or whisk attachment on the stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, mixing and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a liquid measuring cup, combine the buttermilk with the 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined and a few dry streaks remain. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk/lemon mixture. Mix again until just combined.
- Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, followed by the remaining 1/2 buttermilk/lemon juice mixture. Mix. Add the final 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Spread the batter carefully into the prepared pan over the cranberries.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes or until lightly golden on top and just set.
- Transfer the bundt pan to a wire rack and let cool about 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving platter, tapping lightly so the cake falls out. Let the cake cool completely.
- For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar with the 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Add additional lemon juice or milk for a thinner consistency, if needed.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and let set, 5-10 minutes, before slicing and serving.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: barely adapted from Annie’s Eats by way of Williams-Sonoma
This looks delicious! If I were to bake this in mini bundt cake pans, would the fresh cranberries fully cook through with a shorter bake time (ie. about 20-25 minutes baking)? Or would frozen cranberries be a better way to go? Thank you!
I’m honestly not sure, but I think it should be fine with the shorter baking time.
Hi
Could i substitute almond flour for regular flour?
You could definitely experiment – I haven’t tried that myself so I can’t say for sure how it would work.
The instructions call for butter but the ingredients list doesn’t have it. How much do I need?
Butter is the first ingredient in the cake ingredients (3/4 cup)
I HAVE A 10 CUP BUNDT PANT. WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE BETTER TO USE THE BUNDT AND A SMALL LOAF PAN. HOW FULL SHOULD THE BUNDT PAN BE? THANKS A BUNCH
Hi Catherine, fill the bundt pan about halfway full.
Do you think I could use frozen blueberries?
Yes, I think so!
Just made this yesterday with frozen cranberries for Christmas Eve! Instant hit! everyone wanted seconds.
Been craving everything cranberry and orange (made scones and your YUMMY Holiday Salad for a party – which got several requests for the recipe), so decided to sub orange juice and zest for the lemon. Wow, the cake is light and tender.and the flavor is amazing! The only issue, even after greasing the pan super well, was quite a few cranberries stuck after removing the cake from tthe pan. Not a problem, just stuck them back on and glazed. Can always count on you for the best recipes! ♥️
I made this last night. I cut the recipe in half and it fit perfectly in a 9×5 loaf pan.
I am thinking this would be just as tasty using oranges instead of lemons? Have you tried that?
I haven’t, but I bet it would be delicious!
Hi, i followed the ingredient list, by weight. There was however one huge discrepancy for the flour— when I got to 355g, I had put closer to only 1.5 cups of flour, huge difference from the 2.5 cups that is called for. Was this the correct weight? All other ingredients were very close volume and weight. Thanks.
Hi Sandy, I test all my recipes using 142 grams per cup of flour, so the 355 grams is correct for 2 1/2 cups of flour.
I made this cake quite a bit. I use boxed cake mix. I use 3 eggs 1 cup of mayonnaise and one cup of water. Instead of what the box calls for. The cake comes out extremely moist and fluffy. I have used fresh cranberriies. I also made it with fresh blueberries . Both delicious.
This cake is incredible! I made it yesterday, and everyone in my family was raving about it, and I am not exaggerating, they were actually raving. One of my brothers said it was the best cake he’d ever had (which means something, since I make a lot of cakes) and the other, who is usually most critical of my baking, was rhapsodizing over it. It is incredibly moist and very buttery, and the lemon perfectly compliments the cranberries. (I thawed some frozen ones and used those and it was great.) It also looks beautiful and very classy.
Beautiful Cake. Made for my Christmas treat since it was my turn at work.
Extremely beautiful and decorated with a Holly decor in the middle of the bundt.
Followed each step using the fresh cranberries from thanksgiving
Thank you. This one is saved!
I’ve made this before and loved it! Do you think it would be good with blackberries? My almost 6 year old wants a lemon cake with blackberries all the stars for this yummy cake!
I think that would be fantastic!
Made this for a New Year’s gathering, and it was a hit! Just the perfect amount of sweet and tart flavors. Very refreshing, and such a pretty dessert on the platter! 🙂 It wasn’t difficult to pull together in the least, and I will definitely make this again.
just made this cake using frozen cranberries. It was watery at the bottom-cranberry part. And the inner ring portion was partly raw. Have to put it back in the oven. Very disappointed.