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5 from 1 vote

White Chocolate Cranberry Cake

The perfect holiday treat - light fluffy cake with fresh cranberry filling between each layer. 
Author Shannon Lyon

Ingredients

Frosted Cranberries

  • 2 c fresh cranberries
  • 1 1/2 c sugar
  • water

Cranberry Filling

  • 1 12oz bag fresh cranberries
  • 1 1/2 c. white sugar
  • 1 1/4 c. water, divided
  • 2 tbsp. cornstarch

White Cake with Cranberries

  • 1 white cake mix
  • 1 package (4 oz) white chocolate pudding mix (dry)
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 3/4 c. oil
  • 3/4 c. water
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 (8 oz) container sour cream

White Chocolate Buttercream

  • 1 c unsalted butter (2 sticks)
  • 1 bag (2 lb) powdered sugar (about 7.5 c.)
  • 1 4 oz. packet white chocolate pudding (dry)
  • 1.5 c heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract

Instructions

Cranberry Filling

  • Before making the cake it's a good idea to make the filling! You want it to be well chilled when it goes on the cake. 
    Combine the cranberries, 3/4 c. of the water, and white sugar in a medium saucepan.  Cook on medium heat until cranberries start to burst, stirring well. 
    Once cranberries start to burst, use the back of a spoon to crush the cranberries. Continue to stir until the mixture is bubbling and all cranberries are cooked down. 
    In a separate bowl mix the remaining 1/2 c. water with the cornstarch. Whisk until there are no clumps.
    Add this cornstarch mixture to the saucepan. Whisk in well, and continue to cook on medium heat until mixture has thickened. 
    Once it's thickened, remove from heat. Let come to room temperature then transfer to large glass jar or airtight tupperware container.
    Chill until ready to frost cake.

Frosted Cranberries

  • To make frosted sparkling cranberries, rinse fresh cranberries in water, straining in a colander. 
    Prepare a large baking sheet by covering it with white sugar. Remove wet cranberries from colander and toss in sugar.
    Shake baking sheet horizontally to level off the cranberries (so all are in an even layer and none are stacked on top of one another).
    Chill in fridge for 1 hour to set.

White Chocolate Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake pans with baking spray and parchment paper in the bottom of the pans. (You can use 2 layer pans, 3 layer pans, or a bundt pan.)
    In a large bowl, mix all cake ingredients except eggs and sour cream, with a large spoon. Then mix in one egg at a time. Then add sour cream.  Once mixed well, pour even amounts into your layer pans. 
    (And if you're making a layer cake, I've done the measurements for you! 
    - 3 layer cake: 1.9 cups of batter per pan
    - 2 layer cake: 2.8 cups of batter per pan
    Here's how to bake depending on how many layers you're making:
    - 2 layers (8/9 inch layer pans): 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees
    - 3 layers (8/9 inch layer pans): 23-25 minutes at 340 degrees
    - bundt cake: 50 - 55 minutes at 350 degrees
    Once cake is lightly golden brown and springs back to the touch, it is done. Remove from oven and let rest in pan until cool. Turn out onto baking sheet with parchment paper and chill. I like to freeze each layer of cake to keep it clean from crumbs while frosting.

White Chocolate Frosting

  • Beat butter in a stand mixer with paddle attachment until softened and smooth. 
    In a separate bowl, whisk white chocolate pudding mix with heavy cream. Whisk really well to get all the clumps out. Once mixture is smooth, set aside.
    Add 1 c. at a time of powdered sugar to the butter, while mixing on low speed. After adding a cup of powdered sugar, alternate by adding pudding mixture in. Keep alternating until both are added. 
    Beat in mixer until smooth and incorporated. If the mixture is too stiff for your liking, you can add a little more cream. If it's a little too thin, you can add a little more powdered sugar.
    A thicker buttercream will make a layer cake more stable. However if you're making a bundt cake you might want it thinner to drizzle over the top. Once it has the consistency you'd like, add the almond extra and mix until incorporated.

To Assemble Cake:

  • If your cakes have risen high with domes, remove cake domes from cakes with a large serrated knife.
    On a cake stand or large plate, spread a spoonful of the frosting in a flat circle. Place the first layer of cake onto this. This frosting will keep the cake from sliding.
    Place 1/4 of the buttercream into a large piping bag (or Ziploc bag with the end cut off). 
    Once the first layer is on the plate, pipe a 1 inch border around the edge to hold in the cranberry filling.
    Once border is piped, fill inside the frosting border with cranberry filling and spread evenly. Then add next cake layer on top. The border of frosting will keep the cranberry filling from squeezing out, and keep your cake stable. 
    For a 3 layer cake, repeat buttercream border and cranberry filling on top of your 2nd layer. (If you only have a 2 layer cake, just put cranberry filling in between the 2 layers).
    Add 3rd layer to top and frost thinly. Then thinly frost the edges and smooth them out with an offset spatula. 
    Once cake has a smooth crumb coat, freeze again for at least 20 minutes.
    When cake is very cold, remove from freezer and frost with remaining buttercream. If you want to make it fluffy looking like my frosting, use a knife with back and forth strokes to get the fluffy appearance.
    Top the cake with sparkling cranberries and add some around the edge, if desired.