The first Christmas cake of the season! This is such a fun and festive holiday dessert, baked with fresh orange and cranberries! The cinnamon cream cheese frosting is the icing on the cake (ha!). The cinnamon flavor is subtle, and compliments the cake flavors so well. This cake is perfect for all of your holiday parties, so let’s get baking!
The fresh cranberries baked into this cake are so pretty when it’s sliced into, and are little bursts of bright flavor when you bite into them! Orange and cranberry is one of my favorite flavor combinations; last year I shared my Cranberry Orange Muffins, which are still going strong as a top recipe!
For a super easy decoration, I cut a few orange slices and covered some leftover fresh cranberries in sugar. It doesn’t get more simple than that, and I love how pretty it looks!
Cake Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
6 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest of 1 1/2 oranges
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh cranberries
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degress F, and grease and line three 6″ cake pans. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, flour through salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and sour cream. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add the orange zest and juice, and mix until all ingredients are just incorporated. Stir in the chopped cranberries with a spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans, and bake for 33-36 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans, and then use a knife to gently loosen the edges before inverting onto a cooling rack.
For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing until it’s fully incorporated. Add the cinnamon and vanilla, and beat for a few minutes on medium-high speed.
Frost when the cakes are completely cooled. (I even prefer to frost cakes that have been refrigerated at least an hour.) Top with cranberries and orange slices, and serve!
Delicious and easy bourbon pecan pie bars. Because is it even Thanksgiving without pecan pie? With a shortbread crust, and gooey pecan pie filling, these pie bars have all the flavor you love about pecan pie, and none of the hassle of pie crust. Because I’m all about simplification, more time to spend with family and friends, and to be honest? I actually prefer the smooth buttery taste of shortbread!
We’re well into October and well into pumpkin spice season (aka the best season ever). I hope you’re not tired of it yet, because I’m just getting started! Today I’m sharing a super easy, super delicious fall dessert recipe – Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Bourbon Glaze!
These are the most delicious pumpkin muffins ever! Moist, perfectly sweet, and warmly spiced. Topped with cinnamon streusel and vanilla chai drizzle, these easy muffins are perfect for cool fall mornings and afternoon snacks. These homemade muffins are full of autumn spices and pumpkin flavor that nobody can resist!
As you might be able to tell from my recent recipes, I’m a wee bit obsessed with pumpkin! It’s such a delicious fall flavor, and autumn only rolls around once a year! The chai drizzle on these muffins is next level, you seriously have to try it! These are like a chai pumpkin spice latte in pumpkin form, and it’s amazing!
Muffin Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Streusel Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
Chai Spice Mix:
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoons cardamom
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Vanilla Chai Glaze Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Chai Spice Mix (Above)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a muffin tin with liners.
For the streusel: mix together the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through brown sugar. In a large bowl, using a rubber spatula, combine all the wet ingredients, pumpkin through vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Fill each well about 3/4 full of batter, and top generously with the streusel, gently pressing the streusel into the top of each muffin. Bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, and allow to cool completely before drizzling with glaze.
For the glaze: combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and chai spice mixing together with a fork. Transfer to a plastic piping bag, and drizzle the glaze over each cooled muffin.
