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Cranberry-Pecan Spice Cake

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2013

Time

2½ hours, plus 3½ hours cooling

Yield

Makes one cake

Cranberry-Pecan Spice Cake

Ingredients

Filling

8 ounces (227 grams/2 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries ½ cup (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar ½ cup orange juice

Cake

3 cups (15 ounces/425 grams) all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon lemon juice 18 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 18 pieces and softened2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar 3 large eggs, plus 1 large yolk, room temperature1½ cups pecans, toasted, cooled, and ground fine1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Glaze

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened2 tablespoons whole milk 1 cup (4 ounces/113 grams) confectioners' sugar

Instructions

    for the filling

  1. Bring cranberries, granulated sugar, and orange juice to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have broken down and juices have thickened slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to food processor and process until smooth, 10 to 15 seconds. Let cool completely.
  2. for the cake

  3. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in medium bowl. In small bowl, whisk buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon juice together.
  4. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk, one at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk mixture, scraping down bowl as needed.
  5. Combine pecans and pumpkin pie spice in small bowl, then stir into cake batter until incorporated. Spoon half of batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Using back of spoon, create ½-inch-deep channel in center of batter. Spoon half of filling into channel. Using butter knife, thoroughly swirl filling into batter. Repeat with remaining batter and filling. Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.
  6. for the glaze

  7. Whisk cream cheese and milk in medium bowl until combined and no lumps remain. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Drizzle evenly over top of cooled cake and let sit until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. Serve.
Cranberry-Pecan Spice Cake

Cranberry-Pecan Spice Cake

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

2½ hours, plus 3½ hours cooling

Yield

Makes one cake

Ingredients

Filling

8 ounces (227 grams/2 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar
½ cup orange juice

Cake

3 cups (15 ounces/425 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
18 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 18 pieces and softened
2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar
3 large eggs, plus 1 large yolk, room temperature
1½ cups pecans, toasted, cooled, and ground fine
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Glaze

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 cup (4 ounces/113 grams) confectioners' sugar

Ingredients

Filling

8 ounces (227 grams/2 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar
½ cup orange juice

Cake

3 cups (15 ounces/425 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
18 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 18 pieces and softened
2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar
3 large eggs, plus 1 large yolk, room temperature
1½ cups pecans, toasted, cooled, and ground fine
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Glaze

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 cup (4 ounces/113 grams) confectioners' sugar

Ingredients

Filling

8 ounces (227 grams/2 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup (3½ ounces/99 grams) granulated sugar
½ cup orange juice

Cake

3 cups (15 ounces/425 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
18 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 18 pieces and softened
2 cups (14 ounces/397 grams) sugar
3 large eggs, plus 1 large yolk, room temperature
1½ cups pecans, toasted, cooled, and ground fine
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Glaze

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 cup (4 ounces/113 grams) confectioners' sugar

Why This Recipe Works

To infuse our favorite Bundt cake with the flavors of fall, we start by making a cranberry “jam,” cooking frozen berries down with orange juice and sugar before pureeing them in the food processor. We cook pecans until they’re toasted and fragrant and then grind them to a fine powder. This nut “flour” gets stirred into the cake batter, along with pumpkin pie spice for all-in-one flavor. We layer the batter into a Bundt pan with our cranberry mixture, creating a sweet-tart swirl throughout the finished cake. A simple cream cheese glaze is the finishing touch.

Instructions

    for the filling

  1. Bring cranberries, granulated sugar, and orange juice to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have broken down and juices have thickened slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to food processor and process until smooth, 10 to 15 seconds. Let cool completely.
  2. for the cake

  3. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in medium bowl. In small bowl, whisk buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon juice together.
  4. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and yolk, one at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of buttermilk mixture, scraping down bowl as needed.
  5. Combine pecans and pumpkin pie spice in small bowl, then stir into cake batter until incorporated. Spoon half of batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Using back of spoon, create ½-inch-deep channel in center of batter. Spoon half of filling into channel. Using butter knife, thoroughly swirl filling into batter. Repeat with remaining batter and filling. Bake until skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours.
  6. for the glaze

  7. Whisk cream cheese and milk in medium bowl until combined and no lumps remain. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Drizzle evenly over top of cooled cake and let sit until glaze is firm, about 1 hour. Serve.

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