Description
A festive and elegant Sparkling Cranberry White Chocolate Cake featuring layers of moist cranberry cake paired with a rich, fluffy white chocolate ganache frosting, topped with sparkling sugared cranberries for a delightful holiday centerpiece dessert.
Ingredients
Scale
Sparkling Cranberries
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups (310g) sugar, divided
- 1 cup (240ml) water
Cranberry Cake
- 3 1/3 cups (433g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (414g) sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups (336g) salted butter, room temperature
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) sour cream
- 1 cup (240ml) milk
- 3 cups fresh cranberries
White Chocolate Icing
- 12 oz white chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 cup (168g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8–9 cups (920-1035g) powdered sugar
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Make Sparkling Cranberries: In a saucepan, bring 1 cup sugar and water to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and pour into a heatproof bowl; allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Add 2 cups fresh cranberries to the cooled syrup and stir to coat evenly.
- Refrigerate cranberries in the syrup overnight, stirring occasionally to keep them coated.
- Remove cranberries from syrup and roll them in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar multiple times to build a sparkling sugar coating.
- Set sugared cranberries aside to dry for about an hour.
- Prepare Cranberry Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line three 8-inch cake pans with baking spray and parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and baking powder.
- Add butter, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, and milk to the dry ingredients; mix on medium speed just until the batter is smooth. Avoid over mixing to maintain tenderness.
- Gently fold in 3 cups fresh cranberries to the batter.
- Divide batter evenly among the prepared cake pans, spreading it smoothly.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool cakes in pans for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make White Chocolate Icing: Place white chocolate chips in a metal bowl.
- Heat heavy cream in the microwave until it begins to boil, then pour it over the chocolate chips.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 5-7 minutes to melt the chocolate.
- Whisk the chocolate and cream together until smooth and glossy.
- Allow the ganache to cool until mostly thickened but still spreadable.
- Beat the ganache with a mixer for 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Add unsalted butter and beat until fully combined.
- Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until the icing is fluffy and spreads easily, adding more cream if necessary for desired consistency. Season with salt to taste.
- Assemble the Cake: Use a serrated knife to level the domed tops of the cakes.
- Place the first cake layer on a cake plate and spread an even layer of white chocolate icing on top.
- Add the second cake layer, then ice the top evenly again.
- Place the final cake layer on top and cover the entire outside of the cake with the remaining icing.
- Top the cake with sparkling cranberries and optionally scatter some around the cake’s edge for decoration.
Notes
- Be careful not to over mix the cake batter to keep the cake tender and moist.
- The sparkling cranberries can be made a day ahead to save time and ensure they dry properly.
- Use room temperature ingredients, especially butter and eggs, for better batter consistency.
- If the ganache becomes too thick, add a splash of cream to loosen before beating.
- Store leftover cake refrigerated and bring to room temperature before serving for best texture.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus overnight refrigeration for cranberries)
- Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cranberry cake, white chocolate cake, holiday cake, festive dessert, sugared cranberries, white chocolate ganache
