Cranberry Pound Cake with Orange Icing

4.10 from 32 votes

This Christmas cranberry pound cake is filled with fresh cranberries, orange zest, and is topped with a sweet orange icing. It's easily baked in a bundt pan and is perfect for the holiday season!

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Cool Time30

Total Time1 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 318kcal

Author: Karissa Parrish

Equipment

Bundt Pan (10 cups)
Mixing Bowls
Whisk

Ingredients

Cranberry Pound Cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (or canola)
3 large eggs, room temperature
¼ cup yogurt (plain or vanilla), room temperature
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk, room temperature
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries, tossed in 2 tablespoons of flour

Orange Icing

1 ½ cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
½ tablespoon orange zest

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and thoroughly grease a 10-cup bundt pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

Cranberry Pound Cake

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, yogurt, orange zest, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with the flour (flour, milk, flour) and whisking just until combined.
In a small bowl, toss the cranberries with 2 tablespoons of flour until well covered. Then gently fold into the cake batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 42-48 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before removing it and letting it cool completely on a wire rack.

Orange Icing

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, orange juice, and the orange zest until combined. If the glaze is too thick, add an extra ½ tablespoon of orange juice, if it's too thin add an extra ½ tablespoon of powdered sugar.
Pour the icing over the cooled bundt cake and cut into slices.
Keep any leftover cake slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

- Cake Pan: This recipe calls for a 10-cup bundt pan. Be sure to thoroughly grease the pan with cooking spray to avoid the cake from sticking. Add more than you think is necessary.

- Measuring Flour: To help ensure you don’t add extra flour, follow these three simple steps: 1) Fluff up the flour using a fork. 2) Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. 3) Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level out the flour.

- Room Temperature Ingredients: Any ingredient that needs to be at room temperature should be taken out of the refrigerator at least 1 hour before you want to bake. Do not skip this step!

- Cranberries: The cranberries need to be tossed in flour before being folded into the cake batter. This helps keep the fresh berries from sinking to the bottom when baking.

Nutrition