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Orange Cranberry Cake

Orange cranberry cake is a stunning dessert that tastes divine. Sweet orange, tart cranberry, and topped with a cream cheese frosting, each bite is warm and cozy.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

Cake Layers

  • 2 whole oranges for the zest and fresh orange juice
  • 1½ cups dried cranberries or fresh cranberries washed/dried and cut into halves
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 15.25 ounces white cake mix
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons orange zest
  • 1 cup walnuts chopped

Frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup salted sweet cream butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • ¼ cup walnuts finely chopped (optional garnish)

Instructions
 

Cake Layers

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of two (8-inch) round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with Baker's Joy or a generic version.
  • Using a fruit zester, zest 2 oranges. Once you have the zest, cut 1 orange in half and squeeze for the orange juice. Set it aside.
  • In a small mixing bowl, sprinkle the 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour over the cranberries, and stir to coat. Set it aside.
  • Using a medium size mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the cake mix, vegetable oil, water, orange juice, eggs, and orange zest just until the ingredients are well combined.
  • Fold in the coated cranberries and walnuts.
  • Evenly divide the cake batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cakes to completely cool.

Frosting

  • Using a medium size mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract for 1 minute.
  • Lower the mixer speed to low, and add the orange zest, heavy cream, and powdered sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium, and mix for another 1 to 1½ minutes, until the frosting is smooth.

Cake Assembly

  • Remove the bottom layer of cake from its pan and place it on a serving plate. Using a silicone spatula, or an offset spatula, evenly spread a layer of frosting onto the cake.
  • Remove the top layer of cake from its pan and evenly spread a thicker layer of icing on top, and then spread the frosting around the sides of the cake, smoothing as you frost.
  • Once the cake is frosted, you can evenly sprinkle the finely chopped walnuts on top of the cake. This is an optional decoration.

Notes

Using cake strips around the cake pans can help ensure the cake layers bake level.
Coating the cranberries in flour will help keep them suspended in the cake batter and not sink to the bottom.
Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature so that you don't end up with lumps in your frosting.