This Cranberry Cake recipe is so festive and lovely! It’s scented with orange and toasty walnuts and has a light and tender crumb with just the right balance of sweet and tart. A delicious addition to the holiday table. Vegan. Includes a Video. 
Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness. ~Mary Oliver
Tender and moist with a lovely synergy of flavors this Cranberry Cake is the perfect balance of flavors. Olive oil gives a subtle, rich depth, harmoniously complementing the tart fresh cranberries and bright orange flavors. Crunchy toasted walnuts lend texture, earthiness and depth.We love using fresh cranberries in desserts and try to incorporate them in where we can while the season lasts! They give such a nice balance to the sweet abundance of this time of year. You may also enjoy these cranberry orange muffins!
This cake is easy to put together. It is just as good the next day. And no one will even know it’s vegan! They will just know it is delicious and worthy of a second piece!
Cranberry Cake Ingredeints
- fresh cranberries
- orange juice & zest
- toasted walnuts
- olive oil
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder & baking soda
- sea salt
- sugar
- vegan yogurt or applesauce
- non-dairy milk (oat, almond, coconut, hemp, whatever you prefer)
- vanilla
- orange oil (optional)
How to Make Cranberry Cake (Instructions)
Step one
Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil your pan and set aside.
Zest and juice your oranges, rinse cranberries, toast and chop walnuts.
Step two
In a large bowl mix together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt.
Step three
Whisk together olive oil, vegan yogurt (or applesauce), nut milk, orange juice and zest, vanilla and orange oil.
Step four
Add wet mixture into the flour mixture along with cranberries and walnuts.
Stir gently, just enough to fold together until flour is mixed in fully. Work quickly as it immediately starts leavening.
Step five
Pour into pan spreading out evenly.
Step six
Bake 350 F for 40- 50 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing from pan (especially if using a bundt pan.)
To Serve:
Top with orange glaze or just sprinkle with powdered sugar when it has cooled.
Variations on Cranberry Cake
- Drizzle with a chocolate glaze instead of an orange glaze.
- Add dark chocolate chips to the batter.
More recipes you may enjoy
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Vegan Meyer Lemon Coconut Bundt Cake
- Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (vegan & gluten-free)
- Cranberry Orange Muffins with Rosemary
- Chocolate Tart with Hazelnut Crust (Vegan & GF)
- Easy Apple Pie with Pie Crust Cookies
- Rustic Pear Galette with Walnut Crust
Vegan Cranberry Cake scented with orange and toasty walnuts has a light and tender crumb with just the right balance of sweet and tart. Festive and delicious, a perfect holiday dessert!
Happy holidays!
Cranberry Cake | 60-Sec Video
Fresh Cranberry Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 12
- Category: Vegan Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Cranberry Cake is scented with orange and toasty walnuts has a light and tender crumb with just the right balance of sweet and tart. Festive and delicious, a perfect holiday dessert! Vegan!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 2 cups (250 grams) flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 cup (177 ml) olive oil, extra virgin or milder if you prefer
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) vegan yogurt (or applesauce)
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) non-dairy milk (oat, almond, coconut, hemp, whatever you prefer)
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon orange oil (optional! see notes)
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 cup (100 grams) fresh cranberries
- 1 cup (117 grams) toasted walnuts
powdered sugar glaze
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil your pan and set aside. (10 ” bundt pan or 8″ or 9″ cake pan)
- In a large bowl mix together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt.
- Whisk together olive oil, vegan yogurt (or applesauce), nut milk, orange juice and zest, vanilla and orange oil.
- Add wet mixture into the flour mixture along with cranberries and walnuts. Stir gently, enough to fold together until flour is just incorporated. Work quickly as it will immediately start leavening.
- Pour evenly into oiled pan.
- Bake 350 40- 50 minutes until golden and puffed.
- Let cool in for 15 minutes before removing from pan (especially if using a bundt pan.). Loosen the edges if needed with a small rubber spatula (or something other than sharp metal that could harm your pan).
for the glaze
- Allow cake to cool about 1 hour before glazing.
- Whisk together sifted powder sugar and orange juice until perfectly smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake.
Notes
Store cake covered at room temperature for 1 day. Or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Toast walnuts 8-10 minutes at 350 F
Orange oil gives more of the bitter orange peel notes. Add more zest if omitting.
Glazed walnuts and cranberries for garnish: pour 2 tablespoons of maple syrup in a pan with a small handful of walnuts and cranberries. Stir together over medium heat until maple bubbles. Put on a plate to cool. Cranberries can be cut in half. Some cranberries and nuts will stick to the icing on the cake, some will fall around the plate for a beautifully rustic presentation!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 27.7 g
- Sodium: 257.1 mg
- Fat: 21.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 47.2 g
- Fiber: 2.1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Excellent! Really moist but not heavy. Lovely texture with the walnuts. I did the following tweaks : only 100g of sugar. Blueberries instead of cranberries which I couldn’t get hold of. Thanks for the recipe!
Great to hear Josie! Appreciate hearing your tweaks. 🙂
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! And really easy to make!
Awesome Kristen! So happy you enjoyed.
Sounds awesome – and vegan!!! Looking forward to making this.
Let us know what you think!
Ho, ho, ho – I just found my new Christmas cake! Absolutely delicious!
Perfect!
This came to my inbox just in time. I made this for dinner part I was hosting on Saturday evening and every single person there raved about this cake. I happen to be vegan, but none of them are and no one seem to miss any of the butter or eggs or anything that would be a typical recipe. I used applesauce because I didn’t have unflavoured vegan yoghurt on hand and it worked out great. I did try making this an angel food cake pan and made the mistake of, after it was cooling for about 15 minutes, trying to invert it to cool further as I had seen my mother do with angel food, and orange chiffon cakes in the past. Do not do this! Haha. There were certainly tears as the entire cake fell out of the pan and crumbled to pieces on the counter. I did save that because it was certainly delicious but decided to make a second cake in a round cake pan just to be on the safe side. It was so perfect and the orange glaze to go on top was simple and added a special touch. I plan to make this at Christmas but also add the candied cranberries on top. There will be a nut allergy at Christmas, but I’m sure the cake will be just as delicious without the walnuts inside or a top the cake.
Oh dang those tube pans are tricky! Love that you persevered and made it again. Thanks for the review Nadia!
I’d love to make this for Thanksgiving this year, but my mother-in-law is allergic to nuts. Would leaving them out be a be a big loss in this recipe? It looks so good!
I think it will still be totally delicious!