Name: Christmas Cranberry Pound Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter; 3 tsp Beurre noisette (optional); 1 cup sugar; 3 eggs; 1 vanilla bean; 1/2 cup mascarpone; 1/2 cup cream cheese; 1 1/2 cup flour; 1 tsp baking powder; pinch of salt; 1 cup cranberries; 1/2 cup white chocolate chips; 1/4 cup unsalted butter; 4 oz cream cheese; 1 cup icing sugar; 1 tbsp orange zest

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Are you looking for the best and delicious Christmas Cake? Then, this Cranberry Pound Cake being so festive and stunning, will be the perfect holiday dessert on your table.

Christmas holiday is one of the most awaiting and beloved holidays to celebrate with family. The festive table is full of tasty and flavourful recipes, but a Christmas table won’t be complete without a lingering dessert to savor every bite.

How about a Cranberry Pound Cake?

Pound cake with cranberries is one of my favorite sweet indulgence on a party table. Its sweet taste balances great with sour cranberries, thus making this Christmas cake look and taste fabulous. It is really moist, flavourful, and not too complicated. Your family and guests will be impressed with this delicious and gorgeous Christmas pound cake.

I adore desserts, and especially for Christmas, I love to make something unique and nice-looking. Try our Poppy Seed Cake, Blueberry Cake, or Fragrant Lemon Bundt Cake. Either served with a cup of coffee or tea, this cake welcomes winter holidays. This cake is already a traditional dish recipe in my house. This buttery and moist pound cake is super divine. Just try a slice!

Even though it looks like sweet bread, you will get convinced of how delicious it is once you will try it. I don’t like too sweet cakes, that is why I always try to make them moderate. It will sweeten your heart and soul, but not too pungent and intense. It has an ultra-soft texture, and I always get lots of compliments on this recipe.

What is a pound cake?

Pound cake is one of the more popular cakes that is characterized by a rich buttery taste and dense texture. It got its name as traditionally, this kind of cake is made with a pound of each of the essential ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. The pound cake is often confused with butter cake. Even if they seemed to be the same with almost similar ingredients, there are some differences between them. One thing is absolute that both of them a damn delicious.

The pound cake is a versatile dessert. It can be completed with various add-ins and can be served either plain or fancy.

What kind of flour is best for pound cake?

It is a good question for any baking treats. I will advise you to use cake flour for any type of cake. It is relatively lighter than all-purpose flour. However, do not complicate yourself and if you didn’t find any, easily use all-purpose flour.

Do you have to cook cranberries before baking?

Using fresh cranberries do not require cooking before baking. Neither frozen berries you should cook. I just recommend you to throw them just a little and then toss in a small amount of cornstarch before adding to the batter.

I adore dried cranberries in baked goods, and I think they work well in this treat too. If using dry cranberries, I will advise you to soak berries before mixing them in the batter. For a touch of Chrismast flavor, soak cranberries in some rum.

What is the secret to a moist pound cake?

To add moisture to the pound cake, you can add some sour cream, buttermilk, or cream cheese. I prefer adding cream cheese because it adds so much richness to the pound cake, making it super moist.

What can I substitute for fresh cranberries?

If a recipe requires fresh cranberries and can not find them, you can substitute them with a frozen one. Dried cranberries will work well too. Fresh or frozen cherries, blueberries, and pomegranates will substitute cranberries with no problem. The taste will be sweeter than if using cranberries, but it serves the same purpose.

How to make Christmas pound cake from scratch?

This festive looking Christmas cranberry cake topped with fluffy cream cheese frosting will take undoubtedly a central place at your Christmas diner table. Some white chocolate chips will nicely complement the vibrant and colorful berries. Ensure you doubled the quantities of ingredients `as I am sure you could not stop at just one piece and will not resist not to try it.

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Grease with butter and sprinkle with some flour the 8.5 x 4.5 x 3 inches loaf pan. If you are using a silicone mold, there is no need to do this, just set it aside.

For more flavor, I substituted a small part of regular butter with a Beurre noisette. It is actually browned butter. So, boil 3 tbsp of the butter till it stops “singing” and get a golden color with a hazelnut scent. Set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a bowl of your stand mixer, whisk ½ cup of softened unsalted butter, Beurre noisette and 1 cup of sugar until fluffy. Beat in gradually three eggs and seeds of one vanilla bean (or one tablespoon of vanilla extract). Beat on high speed for about 2 minutes. Lower the speed to medium and add 1/2 cup of each – mascarpone cheese and heavy cream. Continue beating until obtaining a creamy mixture.

Turn the mixer on low speed and add previously sifted 1 ½ cup flour, one teaspoon of baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Keep beating till just combined. Switch off the mixer and gently incorporate 1 cup of cranberries and ½ cup of white chocolate chips using a silicone spatula. Today instead of fresh cranberries, I have used a frozen mixture of cranberries and blueberries.

Transfer the cake batter to a prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 60 minutes until the top is a golden brown color and the cake passes the toothpick test.

How to make cream cheese frosting?

This cheese frosting will give an extra touch of freshness to this Christmas cranberry pound cake. Using your indispensable kitchen tool again – the mixer – whisk until smooth ¼ cup of softened unsalted butter with 4 oz of cream cheese. Gradually add in 1 cup of icing sugar and some lemon zest (about one tablespoon). Beat until fluffy and smooth. Once the cake cooled completely, spread the top with frosting.

Serve with pleasure!