Bright red cranberries and tart apples capture the essence of cozy, cold-weather cooking, bringing a festive warmth to your table. This apple cranberry cake is the perfect centerpiece for a holiday gathering, whether celebrating with family or hosting friends.
And if you find yourself with extra cranberries, don’t let them go to waste—transform them into a stunning Cranberry Almond Tart or a versatile Cranberry Maple Sauce to complement your holiday spread.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
This apple and cranberry cake is made with a list of simple ingredients. Here’s more detail about what we need from the grocery store:
- Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. Take the advice of the Barefoot Contessa herself and buy a few extra bags of fresh cranberries when they are widely available in the fall and freeze the extra. Also, sort through the cranberries and pick out any stems.
- Apples: I recommend a Granny Smith apple since it is tart and balances the sweetness. With that said, you can use any variety of apples you prefer, like Gala, Pink Lady, or Jonagold.
- Coconut Sugar: Coconut sugar keeps the filling naturally sweetened, but you can use light brown sugar instead.
- Orange Zest: Be sure to zest the orange before squeezing it.
- Orange Juice: Freshly squeezed orange juice from a fresh orange will provide the best flavor.
- Ground Cinnamon
- Large Eggs: Ina uses extra large eggs in her original recipe, but I can never get my hands on them. Large eggs work just fine.
- Cane Sugar: I like to use organic cane sugar for the cake recipe, but you can use granulated sugar if that is all you have. Make sure to save some extra for sprinkling on top just before baking.
- Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter controls the salt in the recipe. If you only have salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe. It is essential to let it cool before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Vanilla Extract: A hint of pure vanilla extract rounds out the flavors.
- Sour Cream: Full-fat sour cream provides the best texture and tang. Creme fraiche would be a wonderful substitute, or full-fat Greek yogurt, too.
- All-Purpose Flour: Regular all-purpose flour creates a cohesive cake batter. If you want to make this gluten-free, use 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.
- Kosher Salt
How to Make Ina’s Cranberry Apple Cake Recipe?
There is nothing to it. This apple cranberry pie recipe is so easy to make, it will become a new holiday staple. Here are the step-by-step instructions:
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F/163 C. Grease a 10-inch glass pie plate with butter or cooking spray.
- Mix fruit filling: Add fresh cranberries, apple, coconut sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and ground cinnamon to a large bowl. Mix to combine.
- Whip eggs: Using a hand mixer, beat the eggs on medium-high speed until thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Add wet ingredients: Add the cup of cane (or granulated) sugar, cooled butter, vanilla extract, and sour cream and mix on low speed until combined.
- Add dry ingredients: With the mixer still running, add the flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in fruit mixture: Fold in the cranberry apple mix with a rubber spatula.
- Transfer to baking pan: Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining tablespoon of sugar.
- Bake: Bake for 60-65 minutes, until lightly golden brown. The cake is done when the middle of the cake is pierced with a toothpick, and it comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
What to Serve It With?
It’s important to note, that the flavor of this cake is more sour than sweet, which is why I love to serve it with a creamy component to balance the sourness. Some of my favorite ways to serve include:
- Ice Cream: Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or our Vanilla Honey Ice Cream if you want to try something new.
- Whipped Cream: A dollop of whipped cream would be extra delicious, like our Maple Whipped Cream.
- Creme Fraiche: Creme fraiche is another rich, tangy counterpoint that makes it elegant and divine.
- Yogurt: Another good idea is Vanilla Yogurt if you don’t have any other toppings on hand.
How to Store Leftovers?
This cranberry apple dessert is best served the day it is made, but it can be stored for later with fantastic results. Here are my best storage and reheating tips:
- Storage: The cake is very moist because of the fresh fruit. For this reason, I allow it to come to room temperature and then store it in an airtight container in the fridge. The cake will last for 3 days.
- Reheat: While you can enjoy the cake cold, if you prefer it warm, reheat in a low oven (300 degrees F) until warm, about 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your slice.
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This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten’s cookbook Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?
Easy Cranberry Apple Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over to remove stems (frozen cranberries can also be used)
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced into 1-inch cubes
- ½ cup coconut sugar, or light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest, grated zest from 1 orange
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 large eggs , at room temperature
- 1 cup cane sugar , plus 1 tablespoon to garnish or granulated sugar
- ¼ pound unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly plus more for greasing the pie plate
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sour cream, full fat
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F/163 C. Grease a 10-inch pie plate with butter or cooking spray and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, add cranberries, diced apple, ½ cup coconut (or brown) sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and ground cinnamon. Mix to combine. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer, beat the eggs until frothy, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of cane (or granulated) sugar, melted and cooled butter, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Beat on low until thoroughly combined.
- While the mixer is on low, add flour and salt. Mix just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold the batter into the fruit mixture, ensuring that the fruit and batter are evenly distributed and mixed.
- Pour the mixture into the 10-inch pie place. Sprinkle with the additional tablespoon of cane sugar.
- Place in the oven and bake for 60-65 minutes* until lightly brown. To test for doneness, insert the cake with a toothpick or sharp knife. It should come out clean when removed.
- Let cool for 15 minutes and serve.
Notes
- Yields: This recipe makes a 10-inch cake that serves 8 slices. The nutritional values below are per serving.
- Baking dish: You must use a 10-inch baking dish. We tested it with a 9-inch pie pan and the cake batter overflowed. However, if you only have a 9-inch baking dish, place it on a baking sheet before baking it in the oven. The baking sheet will catch any cake batter if the cake starts to overflow.
- Bake time*: While Ina Garten’s recipe calls for a baking time of 55 – 60 minutes, we found it took longer for us. I recommend you start checking it with the toothpick test at the 55-minute mark. Then, bake in additional 5-minute increments if it is not ready.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’d like to make this for my book club next week. One person is lactose intolerant. Can you suggest a replacement for sour cream?
Hello Ann,
It is hard to say 100% but I would try cashew cream or cashew yogurt. I have been experimenting with it for sometime now and finding good success with it. Still, please know that I have not tried making this recipe with it so it is hard to guaranteed that it will work. I would start with an equal amount and see how it goes from there.
Hope this helps.