Christmas Cranberry Cake

If a white Christmas isn't in the cards this year, you can still dive into this snow-white cranberry Christmas cake. (Even if it does snow, bake it anyway!) Fresh cranberries, studded throughout like ornaments, provide a tart pop to balance the dense vanilla cake and tangy cream cheese frosting. Cranberries are also candied and sprinkled on top for a little extra sparkle. This cake skips the fussy tiers in favor of a 13-by-9-inch baking dish so it's extra easy to bake, frost, and serve. Bonus: It travels well too! Just be sure to hold off on the frosting if you're going a long distance—it shouldn't sit out more than two hours once frosted. Make this one of your go-to Christmas cakes—it's especially perfect for a daytime potluck or office party. 

Is it better to use fresh or frozen cranberries for baking?

You can use either for this cake recipe, which means you can make it any time of year you please! But if you use frozen berries, make sure to thaw them first, for both the cake and candied berries. Frozen berries that haven't been thawed could alter the cake's bake time and keep the candy coating from sticking properly.

Should Christmas cranberry cake be refrigerated?

Yes! Because it's topped with cream cheese frosting, it should be stored in the fridge. The 13-by-9-inch pan it bakes in makes it especially easy to store! Just wrap the top in plastic wrap to keep it fresh. Leftovers will stay good for up to 5 days, Just know, the longer it sits, the less the candied cranberries will hold up.

What is a substitute for sparkling sugar? 

If you don't have sparkling sugar, roll the cooked and dried cranberries in granulated sugar or demerara sugar (a raw, coarse sugar also called turbinado). Skip brown sugar here—it would dissolve on the cranberries. 

Do you need to sift powdered sugar?

Powdered sugar can start to clump after the bag is opened, and those clumps can make your frosting a bit lumpy. If you see lots of clumps, go ahead and sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl before measuring.   

How do you keep berries from sinking in a cake? 

The easiest way to keep berries from sinking is to start with a thicker batter. This recipe has a bit more flour, a bit less liquid, and sour cream for a pound cake–like batter that will help the fruit stay afloat.