Vegan cranberry bundt cake seemed like as good a place to start using this bouncy fruit as any because bundt cakes with these bouncy bright jewels so it made sense in trying to incorporate more dairy free options into my diet with the vast amount of information out there that it’s not great for the environment and I know I don’t need to consume as much as I do.
The closest I’ve come to eating fresh cranberry’s is at a New Years Eve spent on a cranberry farm in the countryside outside Vancouver a decade ago. As you can imagine it was dark and not much interest shown in what they farmed so all these years later when I spotted fresh cranberries it made sense to grab them whilst in season.
Being a little uneasy with this fruit I've not had much beyond juice and some snacks of them dried, it became clear that cranberries and orange cake are a go to and so my buttermilk was made with orange juice instead of the regular lemon.
The punchy taste of cranberries in a cake would make one think that a lot of sugar is needed, but this cake works exactly as found in this recipe and as a big sweet tooth owner, one piece just doesn’t do so another piece has to be cut at each serving.
Why you'll love this
Sweet and tart cranberry flavor to the fore
The speckles of cranberries strewn through the simple cake makes for a great flavor.
The bright glaze
The glaze is all thanks to more cranberries and a little sugar that are poured over the cake.
A great make ahead
This cake stays fresh and great to serve up to two days after being made which means you can make ahead and serve at your leisure!
How to prepare the Vegan Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Prepare your chia eggs: Place the chia seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside (see note below).
- Cream your butter and sugar: Combine until pale and fluffy.
- Add the chia eggs: Add the chia eggs and combine.
- Buttermilk it: Add your buttermilk and combine until the mixture looks to be loose and like it's curdling...don't stress...it'll be grand!
- Dry it up: Add your dry ingredients and combine until no dry parts remain.
- Cranberry time: Add your cranberries and stir the bouncy berries through.
- Bake: Spoon the cake into your tin and smooth out and bake until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Loosen the berries: Stew the cranberries for the glaze and then blend.
- Make the glaze: Combine the confectioner's sugar and smooth cranberries in a small bowl, adding a little water to thin out as preferred.
- Pour it over: Pour the glaze over your slightly warm cake.
- Slice: Slice it up and dig in!
Tips for the best Vegan Cranberry Bundt Cake
Making chia eggs: If you've never made a chia egg before it's basically 1 part chia seeds to 2.5 parts water, the seeds need time to expand and I always refer to this recipe when making them.
Creating vegan buttermilk: Making vegan buttermilk is the same as regularly buttermilk in that you add acidic juice to milk until it begins to curdle when you stir them together. The warmth of orange works particularly well in this cake, however, you will need at least half the juice of a large orange to make the buttermilk.
Getting homemade vegan buttermilk right: It’s best to start at 150 milliliters of vegan milk and add juice to the milk, stirring until it begins to curdle. If it curdles before you reach the desired amount needed for this cake, add a little more milk and a small amount more of orange juice until it resembles buttermilk and is 230 milliliters of liquid necessary.
Cake batter texture: The cake will be firmer in texture when you're ready to put into your cake tin than a non vegan cake, however, this cake will be perfectly moist (don't hate me) for several days, so don't feel the need to add milk or more chia eggs if you feel it's too firm.
Keep the cake: The cake is best covered for the first three days and then covered in the fridge for any longer.
How to make:
Greaseproof a bundt tin and preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl on medium speed until pale and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
Add the chia eggs and beat a further minute until combined.
Add in the buttermilk and beat for a further 30 seconds until well combined.
Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and pinch of salt and beat on low until combined and no dry parts remain.
Add in 1 cup of the cranberries and stir through.
Spoon into your bundt tin and smooth out, the cake batter will be quite thick but still easy to smooth out.
Bake for 40 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
Flip and allow to cool on a cooling tray.
Meanwhile, place the ⅓ cup of cranberries, water and sugar into a saucepan and cover, cooking on low heat.
Cook until they look to have 'popped' and set aside to cool.
Places the cranberries, half the confectioner's sugar and 3 tablespoon of water into a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour the glaze into your pouring dish and add the remaining confectioner's sugar, stirring to combine.
Add another tablespoon of water if you want the glaze to be thinner.
Place your cake onto the serving plate and drizzle the glaze over the top evenly.
Slice and serve.
Vegan Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 8
- Category: Cakes
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Incredibly simple and a real showstopper with the bright frosting that happens to be vegan and will taste just as good two or three days after being baked making it a great snack cake.
Ingredients
Cake
220 grams / 7.75 ounces vegan butter
150 grams / ¾ cup superfine sugar
2 chia eggs
230 milliliters vegan buttermilk (see note)
360 grams / 2 ¼ cups plain flour
6 grams / 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
3 grams / ½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
100 grams / 1 cup cranberries
Cranberry Glaze
30 grams / ⅓ cup cranberries
15 grams / 1 tablespoon water
14 grams / 1 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
120 grams / 1 cup confectioner’s/icing sugar, sifted
15 grams / 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Greaseproof a bundt tin and preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl on medium speed until pale and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add the chia eggs and beat a further minute until combined.
- Add in the buttermilk and beat for a further 30 seconds until well combined.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and pinch of salt and beat on low until combined and no dry parts remain.
- Add in 1 cup of the cranberries and stir through.
- Spoon into your bundt tin and smooth out, the cake batter will be quite thick but still easy to smooth out.
- Bake for 40 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
- Flip and allow to cool on a cooling tray.
- Meanwhile, place the ⅓ cup of cranberries. water and sugar into a saucepan and cover, cooking on low heat.
- Cook until they look to have 'popped' and set aside to cool.
- Places the cranberries, half the confectioner's sugar and 3 tablespoon of water into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the glaze into your pouring dish and add the remaining confectioner's sugar, stirring to combine.
- Add another tablespoon of water if you want the glaze to be thinner.
- Place your cake onto the serving plate and drizzle the glaze over the top evenly.
- Slice and serve.
- Enjoy.
Notes
Making chia eggs: If you've never made a chia egg before it's basically 1 part chia seeds to 2.5 parts water, the seeds need time to expand and I always refer to this recipe when making them.
Creating vegan buttermilk: Making vegan buttermilk is the same as regularly buttermilk in that you add acidic juice to milk until it begins to curdle when you stir them together. The warmth of orange works particularly well in this cake, however, you will need at least half the juice of a large orange to make the buttermilk.
Getting homemade vegan buttermilk right: It’s best to start at 150 milliliters of vegan milk and add juice to the milk, stirring until it begins to curdle. If it curdles before you reach the desired amount needed for this cake, add a little more milk and a small amount more of orange juice until it resembles buttermilk and is 230 milliliters of liquid necessary.
Cake batter texture: The cake will be firmer in texture when you're ready to put into your cake tin than a non vegan cake, however, this cake will be perfectly moist (don't hate me) for several days, so don't feel the need to add milk or more chia eggs if you feel it's too firm.
Keep the cake: The cake is best covered for the first three days and then covered in the fridge for any longer.
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Calories: 500 calories per serve
Alicia
Wow I need to try this recipe! It sounds so good... and your photography is absolutely amazing!
Sylvie
Thanks so much Alicia, share your thoughts if you do 🙂