Cranberry Sauce Cake

This Cranberry Sauce Cake is an easy Thanksgiving cake recipe. It features two orange-scented cake layers and cranberry orange sauce filling, for the perfect combination of sweet-tart fall flavors.

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 🦃 The Easiest Thanksgiving Cake You’ll Make

Looking to do something different for your Thanksgiving dessert this year? Skip the pie recipes and make this delicious Cranberry Sauce Cake instead! It’s easy to make, comes together quickly, and it keeps well, so you can make it several days in advance and minimize your holiday baking stress.

Logistics aside, this cake will win you over with its taste and texture. The cake is tender, with a crackling sugar crust on top, and a tart-and-tangy filling that goes perfectly with the citrusy sugar cookie flavor of the cake layers.

Sugar Cookie? Or Cake?

Although I call this a “cake,” the cake layers more closely resemble a sugar cookie (which is a plus in my book!) It starts with a thick dough that is chilled, rolled out, and pressed into a cake pan. A generous layer of cranberry sauce in the middle keeps the cake moist for days, and balances out the cake’s sweetness with a bracing tart flavor.

This cake is charming in its simplicity, and it’s a refreshing change from some of the heavier, more indulgent holiday cake recipes.

I’ve made a version of this cake with a raspberry-kumquat layer before, and it was equally delicious, so don’t be afraid to play around with the filling! Here are a few other unconventional holiday favorite I think you’ll love: Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Pie, Persimmon Almond Rosette Tarts, and Chocolate Raspberry Almond Truffle Tarts.

🧾 What You’ll Need

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to know as you gather your ingredients:

• Cranberry Sauce: As the name suggests, cranberry sauce is the star of the show, so make sure you use a delicious cranberry sauce you enjoy eating. This is not the time to skimp and use a dusty can of sauce from the back of the pantry! I love and highly recommend my homemade cranberry sauce, but a good-quality store-bought sauce will also work.
• Butter: You’ll want your butter to be room temperature before beginning, so it mixes easily into the cake layers.
• Eggs: We’re using one egg and one egg yolk in this recipe. Here’s my full guide to separating egg yolks and whites if you need a refresher, and don’t forget to save the egg white for a future batch of Meringue Cookies or buttercream!
• Orange zest:One of my FAVORITE things about this recipe is the subtle but ever-present orange flavor, and that comes from rubbing orange zest into the sugar at the start of the recipe. This releases the orange oil and disperses the citrus fragrance everywhere. You can omit it if orange isn’t your thing, or use lemon zest instead.

Equipment

You don’t need much in the way of special equipment to make this cake, but there are a few things that will make your baking life easier: (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

• Cake pan with removable bottom: This is optional, but HIGHLY recommended! A cake pan with a removable bottom makes unmolding this cake a breeze. You can also use a springform pan, if you have one, or check the Notes section in the recipe card for suggestions if using a standard cake pan.
• Microplane: I find a microplane to be the easiest way to zest the orange. If you don’t have one, you can also use a cheese grater.
• Mixer:You’ll want a stand mixer (fitted with a paddle attachment), or a hand mixer to make this recipe.

📋 How to Make Cranberry Sauce Cake

Here’s a photo walkthrough of how to make this cranberry cake. You can find full printable instructions in the recipe card down below.

• Here’s the secret to super-intense orange flavor in your cake! Before you begin the mixing process, rub orange zest and sugar together between your fingertips, until the sugar has the texture of damp sand and it is very fragrant.
• Add butter to the orange sugar and mix for a minute, until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla extract and mix well.

• With the mixer running on low, slowly stream in the dry ingredients until just a few streaks of flour remain. Finish mixing by hand.
• Divide the dough in half and chill until firm.
• Roll out half of the dough into a 9-inch circle.

• Line a cake pan with parchment, and press the dough circle into the bottom of the pan.
• Spread a thick layer of cranberry sauce on top of the dough.

• Roll out the second half of the dough and place it on top of the cranberry sauce.
• Lightly brush the top of the dough with water or beaten egg, and sprinkle granulated sugar on top.
• Bake until puffed and lightly golden.

💭 Variations

There are so many ways you can customize this recipe and make it your own! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Try different fruit: swap in a chunky jam for the cranberry sauce. Cherry and berry jams work particularly well. You can check out my Raspberry Kumquat Sugar Cookie Cake if you want some raspberry inspiration!
• Use pie filling: apple, pear, or peach pie filling would also be delicious. Make sure the filling is quite thick, not watery, so the texture of the cake isn’t negatively affected. If necessary, drain it for awhile before adding it to the cake.
• Use other citrus: Instead of orange zest, try lemon zest or grapefruit zest.
• Spice it up: add cinnamon or a pumpkin pie spice blend to the dough, and sprinkle the top with a generous layer of cinnamon-sugar.
• Make ’em mini: make individual cakelets in muffin tins for the ultimate cute single-serving dessert!

💡 Tips and FAQs  

🍂 More Fall Desserts

• Brown Sugar Cranberry Cake
• Pumpkin Pound Cake
• Apple Cider Fritters
• Pear Pie In A Jar Recipe
• Salted Caramel Apple Pear Pie
• Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream