Cranberry Bundt Cake

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This cranberry bundt cake combines the rich, buttery flavor of a traditional pound cake with cranberries and raspberries. Each bite is infused with a sweet and tart flavor that's divine and ribbons of pink swirls dance through the cake.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: -24 servings

Calories: 412kcal

Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Equipment

Ingredients

Berry Top

3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar divided
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ¼ cups fresh raspberries
1 ¼ cups fresh cranberries

Cake

1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature 3 sticks
2 ¾ cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs room temperature
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting optional

Swirl

3 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam melted
3-4 drops red food coloring

Instructions

For the Top

Preheat your oven to 325ºF. Prepare a 12-cup Bundt pan with the nonstick method of your choice.
Add the melted butter to bottom of the Bundt pan. Cover the butter with 3/4 cup of the brown sugar and the cinnamon.
Evenly spread the raspberries and cranberries over the brown sugar, covering the entire area. Carefully pat down the berries inside the pan.
Cover the berries with the remaining 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Set aside.

For the Cake

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the butter and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Slowly add the granulated sugar. Cream together for an additional 5 minutes, until very pale yellow and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time. combining well after each addition and scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl as needed.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed and slowly add the flour mixture in 2 batches. Be careful not to overbeat. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the side and bottom of the bowl and mix the batter until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.

For the Swirl

Remove 1 cup of the batter from the mixing bowl and add it to a separate small bowl.
Stir in the melted raspberry jam and red food coloring and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

To Assemble

Evenly pour 1/3 of the plain batter into the Bundt pan over the berries. Add 1/2 of the swirl batter on top. Add another 1/3 of the plain batter and the remaining swirl batter on top. Then add the remaining 1/3 of the plain batter on top.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the top of cake comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven. Let cool for only 5 to 7 minutes, then carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate to finish cooling. If any berries stick to the pan, carefully use a butter knife to remove them and place them back on top of the cake. Lightly cover the cake with foil or plastic wrap so it does not dry out. Let the juices settle (to speed this process, you can refrigerate).
If using, garnish with a small sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar. Serve.

Notes

To melt the raspberry jam, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 20 to 30 seconds until it is runny and thin.

To catch any juices that may drip while the cake bakes, add a sheet of parchment paper or foil on a shelf below the Bundt pan.

The eggs, butter, and sour cream should all be at room temperature before mixing the cake together. This allows for the ingredients to mix together properly and smoothly ensuring the cake cooks up with the desired outcome.

Make sure you cream the butter and sugar long enough for it to be light and fluffy. A stand mixer makes this more simple than an electric mixer but isn't required. Creaming the butter and sugar adds air to them and contributes to the height of the cake.

Once you add the flour to the batter it's important to only mix long enough to bring all the ingredients together. Over-mixing may make your cake a bit dry and tough.

The butter, sugar, and fruit mixture will get sticky as it cools which may make it harder to get the cake out of the pan. Cool in the pan for 5-7 minutes to give it time to set and then invert the cake to let it finish cooling.

A preheated oven is essential to even cooking and the outcome of your cake. A good 15-20 minutes or so will usually do the trick.

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