Cranberry snack cake is a perfectly simple and delicious dessert for the holidays. Use fresh or frozen cranberries and cut into bars for a tasty treat.

two cakey bars dotted with fresh cranberries stacked on each other

This simple cake studded with fresh or frozen cranberries for a perfect way to celebrate cranberry season. It’s quick to make and perfectly straddles the line between sweet and tart.

Not to mention how pretty those fresh berries are. They are a fun treat around Thanksgiving or a perfect addition to your Christmas baking.

This cranberry snack cake is such a great simple recipe. The result is such a soft and flavorful snack cake that doesn’t require any frosting or glaze to be great. Just cut it into squares and enjoy.

mixer bowl filled with batter, fresh cranberries and orange zest ready to be mixed.

batter dotted with cranberries spread in pan ready to bake.

One of the most interesting parts about the recipe is there is no leavening agent. Instead you beat a lot of air into the batter and let that work its magic.

They store well at room temperature in an airtight container. For longer storage separate layers with wax paper and freeze for up to three months.

I hope you give them a try. If not this year, pin them for next year then let me know how much you enjoyed them!

Baking With Cranberries

During the fall and leading into Thanksgiving, it is easy to find fresh cranberries at the store. I always pick up several extra pounds when they are on sale.

I use several pounds to make things like fresh cranberry relish and this tasty snack cake. Then the rest I wash and freeze for later.

lifting piece of cranberry snack cake out of pan with bright berries showing.

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Just put them in a freezer safe bag and you can make cranberry treats all year long. Otherwise your grocery store is likely to stock frozen berries throughout the year.

Because the cranberries are so tart, you are going to want to make sure there is plenty of sugar in the batter to balance them out. One of the fun things about baking with whole berries like in this recipe, is you get both the sweet and tart when you bite into one.

This batter is thick, so there isn’t a need to coat the berries with flour before adding them. But if you try adding them to muffins, or a looser cake batter you may want to toss them in flour first.

About This Tasty Cranberry Cake

So that brings us to this snack cake. I think it might be one of my favorite cranberry recipes yet.

It has a sweet, dense, simple cake studded with those tart berries that burst and give beautiful color and flavor. You really can’t get much easier.

I made this batch and brought it in to my coworkers as part of my (probably obnoxiously) large spread of birthday treats. I will be sharing a couple more recipes of my birthday treats in the next couple weeks.

I thought the cookies I made would go quickly, but wasn’t sure about the cranberry snack cake. It seems like people have a love/hate relationship with the little gems.

two pieces of cranberry snack take stacked on each other in front of baking pan.

Those who don’t like cranberries were tempted, those who do were happy to devour them. They got rave reviews!

The cake is the perfect mix of tender and dense. Almost pound cake like, but in sheet cake form.

It is the perfect compliment to the berries that cook up to a tender garnet burst of flavor. The combination really makes your taste buds sing.

I probably shouldn’t have been too surprised, they really were delicious. Please promise me you’ll give them a try!

Why is it called a snack cake?

Snack cakes generally are more for snacking, as the name implies. They aren’t fancy special occasion cakes with lots of flourishes and frosting like a birthday or wedding cake.

4.84 from 36 ratings

Cranberry Snack Cake

Author: Carlee

Servings: Servings

This simple cake studded with fresh or frozen cranberries for a perfect way to celebrate cranberry season. It's quick to make and perfectly straddles the line between sweet and tart. Not to mention how pretty those fresh berries are. They are a fun treat around Thanksgiving or a perfect addition to your Christmas baking.

Prep: 15

Cook: 45

Total: 1

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch pan.
In your mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium high until they are light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
¾ cup butter, 2 cups granulated sugar
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on high for 6 more minutes. The mixture should be thick, creamy and voluminous.
3 large eggs, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Stir in the flour until just combined.
2 cups all purpose flour
Fold in the cranberries and orange zest.
12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, 1 Tablespoon orange zest
Spread the batter in your prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. The top should be lightly golden and an inserted toothpick should test clean.
Cool completely then cut into small pieces to serve.

Notes

If you don’t have orange zest, a splash of orange extract is a good option. Or, you can omit the orange altogether, though it really does add something nice to the cake.