Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake with Zesty Icing | Vegan

This post is sponsored by Country Crock® Plant Butter. All opinions and recipes are my own.

This delicious cranberry and orange cake is one of my all-time favorite bundt cakes. Few flavor pairings say autumn like cranberry and orange, and they add a welcome zing to every bite. 

Baking is one of my go-to Fall activities. There’s something so cozy about the sweet smell of cake turning golden in the oven, especially when it’s packed with zesty seasonal fruit. 

This bundt cake recipe was inspired by the influx of fresh, tart cranberries on grocery store shelves. Cranberries taste fantastic by themselves, but mixed with orange – WOW! They add so much flavor to our light and fluffy cake sponge, and the sweet, drizzly icing is, well, the icing on the cake. 

One of the biggest challenges with vegan baking is finding a suitable plant-based fat, that allows the sponge to lock in moisture without affecting the taste. This bundt cake uses my FAVORITE County Crock Plant Butter, which is fast becoming a staple in our kitchen. 

Cranberry and Orange Bundt Cake ingredients

County Crock Plant Butter: This dairy and gluten-free, plant-based butter is the star of our bundt cake sponge. Using olive oil as a base, I love County Crock Plant Butter for spreading on toast, sauteeing, and baking. It has a flavor remarkably similar to dairy butter and doesn’t affect the taste of the final cake. It also contains 25% less saturated fat than regular butter! 

Perhaps my favorite thing about Country Crock Plant Butters though is their commitment to the planet. Their production methods generate less than half the carbon emissions of other major brands, and not a single animal is harmed in the process. Yay!

I opted for their Plant Butter Sticks with Olive Oil, but they also make versions with avocado and almond oils. These would work equally well in your bundt cake!

Tip: Crock Plant Butter softens a little faster than regular butter, so you can remove it from the refrigerator shortly before you need.

Buttermilk: Vegan buttermilk is one of the ways we’re going to get our sponge to rise, without using eggs. I made my own buttermilk with a simple mix of orange juice and almond milk. Just mix the two together and leave to settle for around five minutes. I used the juice to compliment the cranberry and orange cake flavors, but you could also substitute the orange juice with vinegar if you prefer. 

Baking soda + baking powder: I use a combination of baking soda AND baking powder to ensure the bundt cake sponge is light and super fluffy. 

Cranberries + Orange: Because you can’t make a cranberry and orange cake without them! Fall is the perfect time to make the most of the cranberry harvest, and using fresh berries will give you the tangy-est, sweetest flavor. However, if you’re making this out of cranberry season then you could always substitute fresh berries for frozen ones. 

Flour + Sugar: I used good old all-purpose flour and cane sugar in this bundt cake recipe. Sometimes you can’t beat the classics!

How to make vegan Bundt Cake

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350F/176C, and spray a bundt pan with cooking oil spray.

Step 2: Make the vegan buttermilk by combining 1.5 cups of almond milk with ? cup of orange juice. Stir until they are combined, then set aside for 5 minutes.

Step 3: Cream your Country Crock Plant Butter with 1 ½ cups of cane sugar. 

Tip: Creaming is when you mix butter and sugar together at a high speed until it is soft and pale. Doing this not only ensures your sugar is evenly dispersed but also adds air to your mix, making your final bundt cake lighter and fluffier.

Step 4: Add your orange zest, vanilla extract, and buttermilk to your creamed butter and sugar. Mix gently to combine.

Step 5: Combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl, then pour in the wet ingredients. Stir to combine.

Step 6: Pour your mixture into a greased bundt pan and bake 50-60 minutes.

Tip: Insert a skewer into the center of your sponge to check if your cake is cooked. If it comes out clean then you’re good to go!

Step 7: Allow your cranberry and orange cake to cool for around 15 minutes, then turn out of the bundt pan onto a cooling rack.

Step 8: Make your icing by whisking together powdered sugar and orange juice, then drizzle over your cooled bundt cake. 

Can I make recipe swaps?

Of course! County Crock Plant Butter also has almond and avocado oil versions, both of which would work great in this orange and cranberry cake. You could also use cranberry juice in place of orange juice for your icing. This gives it a gorgeous pink color.

Looking for more cake recipes?

Here are a few of my readers favorite cake recipes. I hope you enjoy them too!
Banana Bread with Walnuts | Vegan, Gluten-Free & Oil Free
Pomegranate and Pistachio Bread | Vegan & Gluten-Free
Apple Cinnamon Bread | Vegan

I hope you enjoy this Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake recipe! If you try my recipe, please let me know what you think with a comment and rating. Every bit of feedback helps make the blog even better.

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