Easy Cranberry Cake With White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 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 CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with liners.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in orange zest and vanilla extract. Add in 1/2 the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Add buttermilk and heavy cream, mixing until just combined. Mix in remaining flour mixture until just combined. Batter will be thick.
• Fold 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the batter until incorporated. Fold in remaining egg whites until no streaks of egg white remain. Fold in chopped cranberries. Spoon batter evenly into each prepared cupcake liner, filling each liner about 7/8 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cupcakes spring back lightly when touched, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool completely, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat butter in a bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until completely smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Add powdered sugar and salt, and beat until smooth and well combined, another 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in melted white chocolate and beat until combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in heavy cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat until frosting is smooth, light, and fluffy, 2 to 3 more minutes.
• Frost the cooled cupcakes with the frosting.

CRANBERRY BARS WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs, sour cream and extracts. In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture. Fold in baking chips, cranberries and walnuts. Spread into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan., Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack., For frosting, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth. Beat in confectioners' sugar; spread over top. Sprinkle with cranberries. Cut into bars or triangles. Refrigerate leftovers.

EASY CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• In double boiler melt chips and add heavy cream, mix until smooth take off of heat.
• In mixing bowl cream together sugar and cream cheese until smooth, slowly add chocolate mixture. Mixture will thicken up as the chocolate cools.

EASY CRANBERRY CAKE WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Lightly grease 4 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray or butter. Cut parchment paper circles to fit in bottom of each cake pan - I typically place pan on parchment paper, trace around bottom of pan, then cut along outline.
• Prepare white cake mix as directed on box (or according to your cake recipe instructions). Gently stir fresh cranberries into prepared cake batter, then divide batter evenly between cake pans.
• Place cake pans in oven and bake at 325°F for 27-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Be careful not to over-bake cake.
• Cover wire cooling rack with sheet of plastic wrap. Flip cooling rack over and place face down on top of cake pan, with plastic wrap covering cake surface. With one hand under cake pan and one hand on top of cooling rack, press the two together and carefully flip them over so cake pan is upside-down on cooling rack. Gently twist and wiggle cake pan while lifting upward to release cake. Repeat for all 4 cakes.
• Let cakes cool 5 minutes, then wrap each layer in plastic wrap. Place flat in freezer and freeze at least 8 hours. Note: cakes can be made weeks in advance and frozen until ready to decorate.
• Place wire cooling rack face down on top of cake pan. With one hand under cake pan and one hand on top of cooling rack, press the two together and carefully flip them over so cake pan is upside-down on cooling rack. Gently twist and wiggle cake pan while lifting upward to release cake. Repeat for all 4 cakes.
• Let cakes rest on cooling racks 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Transfer one cooled cake to plate or cake stand and begin decorating.
• In large bowl, use stand mixer or hand mixer to beat softened cream cheese and butter together.
• Place white chocolate chips in heatproof bowl and place in microwave (or over double boiler). Microwave in 30 seconds bursts, stirring well between each session. Microwave until just barely melted - if you microwave the chips too much, the chocolate will seize.
• Carefully add melted chocolate and vanilla extract to cream cheese mixture and mix well. Gradually add in powdered sugar in several increments, beating frosting mixture until light and fluffy after each addition.
• Note: Cake MUST be completely cooled (or completely frozen) before starting this process.Carefully level each layer of cooled cake so they sit flat on top of each other. Keep the layers as evenly thick as possible.
• Dollop white chocolate cream cheese frosting in center of one layer of cake - this will be your bottom layer. Use offset spatula to spread frosting out to edges of cake, creating smooth, even layer of frosting.
• Take another layer of cake and gently place it on top of frosting layer, centering it so edges line up with bottom layer. Repeat frosting layer and cake layer, alternating each, until all 4 layers have been stacked.
• Crumb coat entire outside of cake. To crumb coat, dollop small amount of frosting on center of top layer and spread to edges in very thin layer. You should still see cake through frosting layer. Visible crumbs in frosting layer are normal and fine.
• Continue this process down all sides of cake, crumb coating entire exterior in very thin layer of frosting. Be gentle and avoid pushing or pulling on cake surface.
• Place crumb coated cake in refrigerator and chill 30 minutes.
• Once crumb coat feels set and dry, remove cake from fridge and finish frosting. Dollop frosting on center of top of cake and use offset spatula to gently spread frosting out to edges and down sides of cake, coating cake fully.
• Decorate top and sides of cake as desired, with sugared cranberries, rosemary sprigs, gingerbread, or white chocolate. If desired, finish cake with sprinkle of powdered sugar through fine mesh sieve to create "snow".
• Serve finished cake as desired.

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.