Cranberry Layer Cake Recipes

CRANBERRY LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of two greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease paper. In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients; beat on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium 2 minutes. Stir in cranberries and walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared pans., Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar and orange zest until smooth. Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with walnuts. Refrigerate leftovers. Freeze option: Wrap cooled cake layers, then cover securely in foil; freeze. To use, thaw cakes before unwrapping. Assemble as directed.

CRANBERRY LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Rinse cranberries in cold water; drain. Coarsely chop cranberries; set aside. Grease and flour two 8x1-1/2-inch or two 9x1-1/2-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, the water, oil and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed just until combined. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in cranberries, 1 cup pecans, and the orange peel. Divide between prepared pans, spreading evenly.
• Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes for the 9-inch layer or 30 to 35 minutes for the 8-inch layer or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
• Place one layer on a serving plate. Spread with some of the Cream Cheese Frosting. Top with the second layer. Spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup pecans. Serve immediately or cover loosely and store in the refrigerator. Let chilled cake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving. Makes 12 servings.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream cheese, softened; butter, softened; and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in enough powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. Stir in finely shredded orange peel. Makes about 3-1/4 cups.

CRANBERRY LAYER CAKE CHANTILLY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Cake
• Grease two 9-inch (23 cm) round layer cake pans; line bottoms with waxed paper.
• Beat eggs and vanilla with electric mixer at high speed until foamy.
• Adding sugar gradually, beat until eggs are very light, about 3 minutes. Stir together flour and baking powder; add to egg mixture in three additions.
• Divide batter between pans. Bake in preheated 350°F (180°C) oven until cake springs back when touched in centre, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
• Turn cakes out of pans; peel off paper and cool completely.
• Filling
• Combine sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Stir in water, cranberries and apples. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.
• Cook until apples are tender and mixture is thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
• Frosting
• Just before assembling cake, whip cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whip until stiff.
• To assemble, split cakes to make four layers. Place one layer on serving plate; top with ½ cup (125 mL) filling. Repeat with two more layers, placing last layer crust side up on top of cake.
• Spread remaining filling on top. Frost sides with whipped cream. Pipe a border or decoratively spreah whipped cream around top edge of cake.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.

CRANBERRY LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients;
• beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes.
• Stir in cranberries and walnuts.
• Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans.
• Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
• Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and orange peel; beat until blended. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with walnuts.
• Refrigerate leftovers.

FRESH CRANBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat 1 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons melted butter with a whisk until well mixed. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Stir flour mixture and milk into egg mixture until batter is well blended. Fold cranberries into batter until just mixed and pour into prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
• For sauce, heat 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, heavy cream, and vanilla extract in a saucepan over medium-low heat; cook and stir cream sauce until sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Pour hot sauce over hot cake. Allow cake to cool in the baking dish for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

DELICIOUS CRANBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• In mixing bowl, beat eggs with sugar until slightly thickened and light in color, about 5 minutes.
• Add butter and extract.
• Beat 2 minutes.
• Stir in flour just until combined.
• Stir in cranberries and pecans.
• Spread in greased 9"x13" pan.
• Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes.

BROWN SUGAR LAYER CAKE WITH CRANBERRY BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Flour the pans and paper.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract in a small bowl.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, butter, oil and salt. Beat on medium-high until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer occasionally and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add egg whites one at a time, mixing for about 20 seconds between each egg.
• Set mixer to low and alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients in three additions. Mix until a few spots of flour remain. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a rubber spatula, finish folding in the dry ingredients: Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the batter is evenly mixed.
• Divide the batter among the prepared pans (about 2 2/3 cups per pan), smooth the tops and tap the pans on a countertop to release any large air bubbles. Bake cakes until golden and puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then use the tip of a knife to loosen the edges and carefully place them parchment-side down onto the rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the cranberry jam: Combine cranberries, sugar, 1/2 cup water, orange juice and zest, ginger and vanilla in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and cook until the cranberries have burst and juices are thick and jammy, about 5 minutes. Cool mixture to room temperature, then use an immersion blender or food processor to purée the mixture until smooth. Set aside. (You should have about 2 1/2 cups.)
• Make the buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk continuously until the sugar has dissolved and mixture is hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Return the bowl to the stand mixer, and using the whisk attachment, beat the egg white mixture until stiff, glossy peaks form and both mixture and bowl are cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.
• Switch to the paddle attachment, and reduce the speed to medium. With the mixer running, add the butter a couple of tablespoons at a time and beat the buttercream until smooth and fluffy. During this step, the buttercream will likely break and look curdled: Turn up the speed on the mixer for a few seconds, and it will come back together. Continue until all the butter is incorporated, then add the vanilla and salt. Slowly add 1/2 cup cooled cranberry jam, and mix until well combined. If the buttercream is extremely soft or runny, refrigerate for about 10 minutes, then whip until smooth.
• Assemble the cake: If necessary, use a serrated knife to trim the cake layers so they are flat and even. Add a small spoonful of buttercream onto a cardboard cake round or serving plate, and place the first layer of cake, cut side up, on top.
• Spread about 3/4 cup buttercream on top of the cake. Spread about 1/4 cup cranberry jam over the buttercream. Be careful not to spread the jam all of the way to the edge so it doesn't spill out the sides. Place the second cake layer on top, and repeat with buttercream and jam. Place the final layer on top, cut side down, and spread the top and sides of the cake with a thin, even layer of buttercream. (Store leftover jam in an airtight container in the refrigerator.)
• Refrigerate the cake until the buttercream is firm, about 30 minutes. Then spread the remaining buttercream in an even layer over the cake. Serve at room temperature.

CRANBERRY-GLAZED ORANGE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until creamy. Gradually add sugar; beat until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange peel, vanilla extract and orange extract. Whisk milk and yogurt in small bowl to blend. Add dry ingredients to yolk mixture in 3 additions alternately with milk mixture in 2 additions, beating well after each addition.
• Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of whites into batter, then fold in remaining whites. Divide batter between pans. Smooth tops.
• Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 15 minutes. Run small knife around sides of pans to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.)
• Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread top of cake with 3/4 cup Creamy Brown Sugar Frosting. Spread 1 cup Cranberry Glaze over frosting, leaving 1/2-inch border all around cake. Top with second cake layer, flat side down; press slightly to adhere. Spread 2 cups frosting over sides of cake. Spoon remaining frosting into pastry bag fitted with medium-size star tip. Pipe decorative border around top edge of cake. Refrigerate until frosting is firm, about 1 hour. Spread remaining Cranberry Glaze over top center of cake. Chill until glaze is set. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate.)

CRANBERRY COCONUT LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Make cake layers:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8- by 2-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with rounds of wax paper. Butter paper and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.
• Into a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a glass measure stir together milk, water, and vanilla. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat butter on medium speed 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugar and beat mixture until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer on low speed add flour and milk mixtures alternately in 4 batches, beginning and ending with milk mixture, and beat until just combined (mixture will look curdled; do not overbeat).
• Divide batter evenly among pans (about 3 scant cups per pan), smoothing tops and tapping pans on counter to allow any air bubbles to escape. Bake layers in middle and lower thirds of oven (arrange pans so they overlap only slightly) until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped in plastic wrap, in an airtight container in a cool dry place. (Alternatively, layers may be made 3 days ahead and frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil. Thaw layers in refrigerator 1 day before proceeding.)
• Make filling:
• With a knife halve vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape seeds into a 3-quart saucepan and stir in pod and remaining filling ingredients. Bring mixture just to a boil and cook at a bare simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Discard pod and transfer filling to a bowl. Cool filling completely. Filling may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring filling to room temperature before proceeding.
• With a long serrated knife horizontally halve cake layers. Arrange 1 cake half, cut side up, on a cake plate and spread evenly with about 1/2 cup filling. Repeat layering in same manner with remaining cake halves and filling, ending with a cake half, cut side down.
• Make frosting:
• In a 3-quart metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water whisk together frosting ingredients until mixture is warm and sugar is dissolved. With a hand-held electric mixer on high speed beat frosting about 6 minutes, or until thick and fluffy. (Depending on mixer and weather, this may take longer.) Remove bowl from heat and beat frosting until cool and spreadable. Frost cake and coat with coconut. Cake keeps, covered, 2 days.

CRANBERRY-CARROT LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, oil and orange zest. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and cloves; gradually add to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in carrots and cranberries. , Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, milk, ginger and orange zest if desired. , Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. If desired, top with sugared cranberries.