Cranberry Pound Cake

This Cranberry Pound Cake is pure holiday comfort—rich, buttery crumb, fresh cranberries, and just enough orange to make it sparkle. Perfect for Christmas brunch, winter gatherings, or that “one more bite” moment at midnight.

Course Breakfast Bread

Cuisine American - Vintage

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 622kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

1-½ cups butter soft room temperature
2 -½ cups sugar
6 eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream room temperature don't use reduced fat or fat free
1-½ cups cranberries chopped
zest of 1 orange

Optional orange glaze forr cranberry pound cake

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice may need a little more
½ teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons dried cranberries

Instructions

Grease and flour (or use baker's release spray) a 9x5 inch 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.

Optional orange glaze

Mix until smooth and pour over cooled cake.
Sprinkle dried cranberries on top and gently press in while glaze is wet.

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.

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:

I always pop several bags of cranberries in the freezer when they are available. I love that tangy bite they give to scones, breads, and cakes all year long.
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.
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.

Nutrition