This Cranberry Pound Cake recipe is the perfect blend of tart cranberries and sweet cake with just a touch of orange. It's ideal for cozy gatherings, holiday treats, or to give as gifts.
Grease and flour (or use baker's release spray) a loaf pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350F. Gather the ingredients and make sure they are at room temperature before beginning.
Cream butter and sugar with the mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each.
Beat in vanilla and orange zest.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.
With the mixer running on low speed add the dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream.
Beat on low speed until you have a smooth, thick batter but don't over-mix.
Stir in cranberries.
Spoon into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake at 350F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 65-70 minutes for a bundt pan or 40 -50 minutes for loaves. It will read about 210℉ on an instant read thermometer when perfectly done.
Remove from the oven and let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Carefully run a knife down the sides of the pan to separate the cake from the pan.
Turn the pan over and let the cake slip out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Storage:Store leftover cranberry pound cake in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to three days.I don't like to refrigerate leftover cake because it dries it out more quickly.However, to freeze pound cake, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in a layer of aluminum foil—or store it in an airtight container. Freeze for up to three months.Tips:
All ingredients should be at room temperature unless otherwise indicated in the instructions.
For the best results, don’t use low-fat sour cream. You need full-fat sour cream to get the right consistency in this cranberry cake recipe.
You can use a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to mix the ingredients. Either works fine!
Mix the batter on low speed until just combined. Overmixing the batter will activate the gluten in the all-purpose flour and create a tough cake.
To prevent the cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the cake, lightly coat them in flour in a medium bowl before folding them into the batter.
Use an instant-read thermometer to tell when your cranberry pound cake is done baking. The center of the cake should read 210 degrees F.
Allow the pound cake to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to the wire rack. The hot cake will crumble if you try to remove it from the pan immediately.
Slide a butter knife along the sides of the cake to help release it from the loaf pan before inverting the cake into a cooling rack.