My fresh Cranberry Bundt Cake with lemon is a delicious show stopper of a cake. It’s a tasty Christmas Bundt cake to make and quick to decorate with sugar-dusted cranberries. The delicious cranberry sponge cake with added lemon for flavour is a great centrepiece for a Christmas dinner party. I love how easy this Christmas Bundt cake is.
If you don’t have a bundt tin this cranberry bundt cake UK recipe can be used for a normal layer cake too, just use two eight-inch cake tins.
Christmas Bundt cakes are always a favourite of mine and now I’ve combined some great flavours for a winter cake. The cranberries taste great inside the cake and look beautiful on top. Spending a few minutes to give them that sugared snowy look really is worth it for a show stopper of a cake.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- A festive, sharp and fresh cranberry bundt cake is the perfect Christmas day dessert for those who don’t like a classic Christmas pudding.
- You can make it into a Christmas tray bake or cranberry lemon cake if you don’t have a Bundt tin. It can be adapted so you have the perfect Christmas bundt cake.
- Once you have mastered this cranberry bundt cake UK recipe you can easily whip it up at any event. Warm Christmas cake? sorted, summer bundt cake? SImple add fresh cream and strawberries and you’ve got a dessert.
Top Questions
What is special about a Bundt cake?
Why are bundt cakes so moist?
How do you sugar dust cranberries for a cake?
How do I cool a Bundt cake?
Can you eat raw cranberries?
What is the difference between regular cake and bundt cake?
Can you use any cake mix for bundt cake?
What is the difference between bundt cake and sponge cake?
How do I grease a bundt tin?
Ingredients
For the full recipe and instructions scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card.
DRIED CRANBERRIES
To decorate this fresh cranberry bundt cake, you will need wonderful dried cranberries. Fresh cranberries are amazing but they are just too tart for a dessert that also uses lemon. Dried cranberries mean that your Christmas bundt cake is still sweet with a hint of sharpness.
LEMON
Cranberry lemon cake wouldn’t be complete without fresh lemon slices, the mix of lemon with the sweet sponge is one of my new favourite Christmas flavours. You also add some zest and juice into your cake mix to fill out the flavour.
Instead of lemon, you could use dried orange slices to decorate your cake. They smell amazing and look great cut into small sections and scattered around the pound cake.
YOGHURT
Adding yoghurt to your bundt cake encourages leavening due to the acidity mixing with your rasing agent. It also adds a slightly tangy flavour which works perfectly in this fresh cranberry bundt cake.
Lemon Bundt Cake
This cranberry lemon cake is decorated super simply, but I think it looks absolutely beautiful. It was stunning on the table and everyone wanted a slice. The lemon and citrus flavour mixed with the sweetness of the cake and tartness of the cranberries is a combination in heaven.
How to make – step by step
- In a stand mixer cream, the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix.
- Measure and mix in the yoghurt.
- Add in the zest and juice from half of one lemon.
- In a separate bowl sieve out the flour, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.
- Pour the mix into the prepared tin. Stud with the cranberries.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the tin. Turn it around after 35 minutes to make sure it’s evenly cooked.
- Leave the cake to cool fully before removing it from the tin.
- Mix the icing sugar with a few drops of water to make icing and drizzle it over the cake.
- Then decorate with your dried cranberries and lemon slices! The sugared cranberries are a must!
Drizzle icing on the cranberry bundt cake
For this fresh cranberry bundt cake, I wanted to drizzle it in a different way than I usually do. I made up a runny icing and using a fork drizzled it everywhere. It looked so beautiful on the cooling rack. I liked this more abstract look. This is also my brilliant trick and a good way to hide any little bits of damage. Sometimes if you don’t grease the tin well enough some of the cake can get stuck in the tin.
Top Tips
- Turn your easy fresh cranberry bundt cake around after 35 minutes in the oven to make sure it’s evenly cooked.
- Don’t eat the fresh cranberries are they incredibly tart! Dried cranberries have added sugar so can be eaten but the fresh cranberries are for decoration only.
- Grease your bundt tin to make it easier to release your cake from the tin once it’s baked. Scroll down to see how to properly grease your bundt cake tin.
Serving Suggestions
This cranberry lemon cake is perfect on its own with the icing drizzle and decorated with fruit. But you could serve it with fresh cream poured over your slice or even more fruits!
I am also a big fan of warmed cranberry bundt cake, pop your slice in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and serve with a big scoop of your favourite ice cream. Warm desserts with cold ice cream are the perfect winter pudding!
Equipment
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- Nordic Ware bundt tin
- or 2x 8-inch cake tin
- Mixer
- Mixing bowl
- pastry brush
- microwave proof bowl
- sieve
- measuring jug
- weighing scales
- knife
How do I grease the Bundt Tin?
To make sure your cake slips out of the bundt tin easily it’s so important to grease it. I start off with melted butter which I brush onto the tin. I do this twice leaving a few minutes for the butter to harden slightly before the next coat is added.
When I have done the two layers I sieve the flour into the tin and tap the excess away. This also gives the tin an extra layer to help the cake come out smoothly. This dusting however also is important as it shows anywhere you might have left.
If you see any areas that didn’t get done the first time make sure you go over them with the butter layers and flour again. It will then be ready to use.
Cranberry and Lemon Bundt Cake
Substitutions and variations
Dried cranberry Bundt cake
If you don’t have fresh cranberries for this fresh cranberry bundt cake you can 100% make this recipe with dried cranberries. I would recommend lightly chopping them up and mixing them in. They will soften up in the cake mix and be beautiful little bite-size pieces throughout the cake.
If anything I think I prefer dried cranberries bundt cake as it helps have the cranberries all the way through. Delicious.
A perfect spring/summer bundt cake is this Elderflower and blueberry bundt cake. The sweet berries are perfect in the moist sponge.
Nordic Ware Bundt Tins
The fact is best Bundt tins are made by Nordic Ware. Infact they invented them! There are so many designs to explore and I’m sure if you’re like me you’ll end up with a few designs that you use over and over again.
The best tip I have is to spend the money and get a proper Nordic Ware tin. There are cheaper knock-offs but they aren’t as good and the non stick isn’t as good either.
Storing / Making ahead of time options
This cranberry lemon bundt cake is best served fresh. You can keep your sponge cake fresh by storing it in an air-tight container for 4 days but it’s always the softest and tastiest on the day of baking.
FAQS
What is special about a Bundt cake?
A bundt cake is a beautiful type of cake where the shape of the tin it is cooked in adds a distinctive shape and design. Bundt cake tins are made by Nordic Ware and come in a huge range of designs.
There are classic shapes like the one I used in this recipe. There are also more dynamic shapes including a heart, cathedral-style and for the children, there is even a fairy tale cottage. The way they are made means they are incredibly durable and can be used over and over again.
The best point of a bundt cake is that the cake looks beautiful even before decorating. You’ve got a beautifully presentable cake straight out of the oven. (Do leave it a little while to cool before turning out but you do get what I mean). This is the best way of making a wonderful cake which doesn’t need a huge amount of time to decorate.
Bundt cakes are time saving and people love to see these cakes on a table. They look special and that alone is worth it. To decorate this Cranberry Bundt Cake I only added some drizzle icing and then some fruit on top. How easy and quick to do!
Why are bundt cakes so moist?
Bundt cakes I make are so moist because I use yoghurt in the mixture. The bundt cake will cook like a regular cake. The yoghurt also helps the cake stay soft and moist for longer. This recipe will last 3-4 days in a cool place and still be soft and delicious.
How to sugar dust cranberries for a cake?
There are multiple ways to create beautiful sugar dust cranberries. My way only takes a few minutes and they will look as beautiful as my photos. Take your cranberries to use as your decoration and run them under cold water to clean them. Add some caster sugar to a small plate or bowl. Dab off the water from the cranberries but do not dry them and add a few to the sugar. Roll the fresh cranberries around gently so they are coated. Remove and leave them on another plate until you need to use them.
The sugar will stick enough to place them. There are other versions of this which are more time consuming but just for decorations I have found that this works perfectly for the Cranberry Bundt Cake.
Just a reminder – do not eat the fresh cranberries as decoration. When they are fresh incredibly bitter.
How do I cool a Bundt cake?
To cool a bundt cake once it’s cooked, remove from the oven and leave it to cool for about 15-20 minutes in the tin. Then gently turn the cake out on to a cooling rack. I put the wrack on to the top of the tin and turn them together so it lands on the rack.
From there leave it somewhere to cool. As they are dense cakes it can take a while. Leave it somewhere cool and it should be cold in about an hour. In rare cases, it might take a bit longer.
Do not put the cake in the fridge to cool. Fridges are too cold and will make the cake sweat as it cools.
Can you eat raw cranberries?
Please don’t eat raw cranberries from the top of the cake as raw cranberries are very bitter and can cause some stomach upset. The ones inside the cake are fine to eat.
What is the difference between regular cake and bundt cake?
The main difference between a regular cake and a bundt cake is its shape! Bundt cakes have a unique shape due to the ridged tin they are cooked in. This makes them amazing table centrepieces. The recipe for a regular cake and bundt cake is very similar.
Can you use any cake mix for bundt cake?
You can use any mix for bundt but I recommend following one of my bundt cake recipes as it will help to create the perfect bundt cake and I can help you to properly grease your bundt cake tin.
What is the difference between bundt cake and sponge cake?
The difference between bundt cake and sponge cake is its shape and the added yoghurt to the recipe. The two are very similar but the added yoghurt allows for a more moist bundt cake and the round tin with an open centre means your bundt cake has a unique shape.
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Recipe
Cranberry Bundt Cake with Lemon
Equipment
- Nordic Ware bundt tin
- or 2x 8 inch cake tin
- Mixer
- microwave proof bowl
- Sieve
Ingredients
- 250 g (8.82 oz) unsalted butter
- 220 g (1 cups) golden caster sugar
- 200 g (7.05 oz) light muscovado sugar
- 4 (4) large eggs
- 350 g (12.35 oz) lemon yoghurt
- zest and juice from half a lemon
- 350 g (2.8 cups) plain flour / all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon (2 teaspoon) bicarbonate of soda
- tiny pinch of salt
- 100 g (1 cups) fresh cranberries (You can use 150g dried cranberries if fresh are not available)
Decorations
- 200 g (1.67 cups) icing sugar / confectioners sugar
- a few drops of water
- 100 g (1 cups) fresh cranberries
- 1 (1) lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/175ºc fan.
- Grease the bundt cake tin (or 2 x 8 inch round cake tin) with melted butter and dust with flour – this will help you see if you haven’t greased any spots.
- In a stand mixer cream the butter at room temperature and sugars until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time and mix together.
- Measure and mix in the yoghurt.
- Add in the zest and juice from half of one lemon.
- In a separate bowl, measure and sieve out the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt.
- Sieve in the flour gradually and stop when the flour is evenly mixed in.
- Pour the mix into the prepared tin. Stud with the cranberries and push down slightly so they are covered. This stops the cranberries falling to the bottom of the cake and getting stuck on the tin.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean and the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the tin. Turn it around after 35 minutes to make sure it’s evenly cooked.
- Leave the cake to cool fully before removing from the tin.
- Mix the icing sugar with a few drops of water to make an icing and drizzle it over the cake.
- To make the sugar coated cranberries, take the cranberries and wash them. Place caster sugar in a bowl and place the damp cranberries in. Shake the bowl so the cranberries roll around to get a good coating of sugar on them. Take them out and add to the cake.
- Using the other half of the used lemon cut small slices and add them to the cake with the cranberries.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Another absolute stunner Sisley! Not that I’d expect anything less! And beautiful photographs to boot
Thank you so much Chloe. It’s nice to know the photos make it looks appetising. <3
That truly is a showstopper Sisley. Just wow. Bundt tins are brilliant for making cakes look extra special, but I think this might be one of the best looking ones yet.
Thank you so much Choclette!
The flavors are perfect today! So easy to make and the presentation is just gorgeous!
Thank you so much for the comment, I’m so glad you enjoyed it x
This cake is beautiful! I love the flavor combination, it is one of my favorites.
Thank you, that is so kind of you to say x
This bundt cake sounds delicious! Oh, how much I love your decoration: it is simple yet gorgeous!
thank you! Simple and quick to do is my favourite!
This cranberry cake was delicious! So easy to make and perfectly soft.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it x Thank you for leaving a comment
Cranberry n lemon bundt. Should this be 160° for a fan oven not 175°?
Hi Sue, 160ºC works for me but trust your intuition and your oven. In my oven 175ºC it cooks the edges too much too fast and the centre doesn’t cook enough so it’s a bit over done on the outside.