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Cranberry Orange Carrot Cake

This festive Cranberry Orange Carrot Cake puts a spin on traditional carrot cake. You’ll find fresh oranges, carrots, and bursts of sweet-tart cranberries in every bite! It’s a loaf cake that’s easy to make gluten free and decorated with an orange glaze and sugar-coated cranberries.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Cake, Dessert, Sweet
Servings: 1 cake
Author: Silvia Dunnirvine

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose white flour (see gluten-free substitute)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup carrots shredded
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp orange zest
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries

Sparkling Cranberries

  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cups sugar divided
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries

Orange Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp orange zest

Instructions

Cake

  • In a medium bowl add the first 3 ingredients (dry ingredients) flour, baking powder and salt, whisk to combine. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl add the eggs, carrots, maple syrup, yogurt, vanilla extract, orange zest and orange juice and mix until well combined.
  • Pour dry mix into the liquids batter and mix well using a spatula. Do not over mix! Fold in the cranberries.
  • Pour batter onto a lined and greased loaf pan and bake at 350F degrees for 35-42 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Sparkling Cranberries

  • Heat the water and 1 cup of sugar, until the sugar has completely dissolved (don't let it boil). Remove from heat and let it cool off almost completely. When cooled, add in the cranberries and let it bathe in this sugar syrup water for 5-10 minutes.
  • Pour the remaining 1 cup of sugar on to a flat bowl or any flat container with sides. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cranberries from sugar syrup and place it in the sugar bowl. Shake the sugar bowl to coat the cranberries equally with sugar. Remove the cranberries from the sugar bowl and set aside (in the refrigerator, preferably)

Orange Glaze

  • In low heat, dissolve the powdered sugar with 1 tbsp water, mixing with a rubber spatula to keep the consistency creamy. Add the orange zest and mix. Let it cool off for 1-2 minutes.

Putting the Cake Together

  • Once the cake is done baking and cooled off, pour the orange glaze over it, letting the glaze drip down the sides. Set aside for 1-2 minutes. Add the sparkling cranberries and orange slices for a complete and delightful look.

Notes

Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Cake
  1. Substitute all-purpose flour for Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour at equal amounts (2 cups)
  2. add 1 tsp baking soda also

Nutrition

Calories: 3832kcal | Carbohydrates: 879g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 359mg | Sodium: 3543mg | Potassium: 1901mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 648g | Vitamin A: 22425IU | Vitamin C: 89mg | Calcium: 1124mg | Iron: 16mg