In this cranberry cake recipe, soft and fluffy vanilla butter cake is layered with vanilla buttercream and cranberry sauce for a festive show-stopping holiday dessert that's perfect for Christmas or Thanksgiving.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans. Place a piece of parchment paper that’s been trimmed to fit in the bottom of each pan.
Beat together the oil, softened butter, sugar, egg whites, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large bowl. Beat in the milk. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and beat to combine.
Pour the batter into the 2 prepared cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Run a paring knife along the outside of each cake to loosen them from the pans. Turn the cakes out onto wire racks, let them cool for 5 minutes, and peel off the parchment paper.
Cool each cake completely, and then carefully use a serrated knife to slice each in half horizontally, so you end up with 4 layers of cake.
For the Buttercream:
Beat together the butter, vanilla extract, butter flavor, and salt in a large bowl.
Beat in the powdered sugar, drizzling the milk in until it reaches a buttercream consistency.
To Assemble the Cake:
Place 1 cake round on a cake plate. Spread on a layer of buttercream. Top with 6 tablespoons cranberry sauce, and then spread it out onto an even layer on top of the buttercream. Repeat this process twice.
Place the final cake round on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake. I like to do a thin layer of frosting on the outside for a "naked cake" look.
Optional Decoration:
If desired, top the cake with fresh cranberries or sugared cranberries and fresh rosemary for decoration.
Notes
Storage: Store this cake wrapped in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutritional Information: The nutrition information listed doesn’t include the optional sugared cranberries or fresh rosemary garnishes.