A moist, fluffy, fruit-filled cake—this glazed orange cranberry bundt is vegan and gluten-free with a sweet citrus glaze. Perfect for the holidays!
SPONSORED BY NATURAL DELIGHTS
A fruit-flavored, fruit-sweetened batter with more fruit folded in and a subtly fruity glaze on top—we are truly FEASTING on fruit with this cake and it just makes my holiday heart so happy. Peppermint and gingerbread, MAKE WAY. Healthy-ish holiday-perfect Vegan Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake coming through.
Every time I bake a bundt cake I re-question why I ever bake cake cakes (non bundt that is). With a bundt you don’t have to divide batter between multiple pans, it bakes up better and fluffier and much more evenly than a loaf, you get to experience that moment of anxiety/awe when you finally flip it out and get to see your cake creation, and the glaze pools so majestically in all those sweet cake crevasses. Bundts are just better.
Deliciously Soft Citrusy Cranberry Cake
I read through quite a few orange-cran cake recipes before testing this one, and there are a few things I noticed: 1) some contain cinnamon, most do not, personally I like a little spice in there but it’s optional 2) most only have 1/4 to 1/2 cup orange juice for the while cake, which is just not enough citrus flavor for me and 3) you don’t want to over-cran the cake, this is not a blueberry muffin situation.
So with that in mind, here is what you will need for this deliciously soft, extra citrusy cake…
Vegan Gluten-Free Orange Cranberry Bundt Ingredients
- Orange juice. And like I mentioned, we are not being shy with it. Fresh squeezed would be amazing! But it’s the holidays and LIFE, so bottled is fine too.
- Medjool dates. If you know me at all you know I am turning to my trusted friends at Natural Delights for the sweetest freshest Medjool dates, of course. Whole or pitted is fine, just make sure you pit them before blending if they aren’t already. No other sweeteners required for this cake batter!
- Almond milk. Or whatever non-dairy milk you prefer.
- Tahini. Personally I love the tahini flavor with citrus, a really runny variety is best. If you are not a fan of tahini, I recommend one part nut butter to one part coconut oil instead.
- Gluten-free flour. Or all purpose flour if you are not gluten-free.
- Coconut flour. A little bit compliments the gluten-free flour to create a beautifully fluffy, non-squishy crumb.
- Cinnamon. If you want. Or a dash of ginger or cardamom would be lovely too.
- Cranberries. I used fresh, but frozen would be fine too.
- Baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and salt.
Tips For The Happiest Holiday Cake
- Measure by weight. I always always recommend using the gram measurements for the most precision. But especially during the holidays when the last thing you need is one more measuring cup to clean, break out the kitchen scale!
- Grease your bundt pan REALLY well because flipping your cake out and only getting 3/4 of your cake out is just a very un-cheery un-joyful moment.
- Cool the cake completely before glazing. Even overnight is fine, just wrap it up really well to prevent drying out.
- Pass a piece to all the humans you love in your life because everyone deserves a happy, sweet, citrusy berry slice.
More Date-Sweetened Holiday Recipes You’ll Love
- Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
- Healthy Chocolate Fudge
- Glazed Gingerbread Loaf
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mousse
Vegan Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices 1x
- Category: cake
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Description
A moist, fluffy, fruit-filled cake—this glazed orange cranberry bundt is vegan and gluten-free with a sweet citrus glaze. Perfect for the holidays!
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed (~200g) Natural Delights Medool Dates, pitted
- 1 1/2 cup (360g) orange juice
- 1/2 cup (130g) runny tahini*
- 1 1/4 cup (300g) almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- 2 1/2 cups (300g) gluten-free flour
- 1/4 cup (30g) coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Optional: 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups (140g) fresh cranberries
Orange Glaze (optional)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2–3 tbsp orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Blend pitted Natural Delights Medool Dates with orange juice until smooth.
- Add tahini, almond milk, and vanilla. Blend again until combined.
- In a bowl, whisk together flours, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients and stir until combined with no lumps.
- Transfer to a well greased bundt pan (10 cup capacity). Smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake 45-50 minutes until edges are browned and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool 15 minutes before flipping on a cooling rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze, whisk orange juice into the powdered sugar adding more orange juice if needed to get a thick but drizzle-able consistency.
- Drizzle glaze on cooled cake, slice, and serve.
Notes
*If you want to use another nut butter, use 1/4 cup nut/seed butter of choice and 1/4 cup coconut oil
Keywords: gluten free, holiday, christmas, healthy, dairy free, sugar free, healthy, cake
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I have spelt flour, can I replace that with the GF and coconut flour, 1 to 1? I really appreciate that this recipe does not use oil or sugar and hope I can sub my spelt flour somehow.
I haven’t tested with spelt, but yes I would recommend trying 2 3/4 total! Good luck 🙂
Would love to try this. Which gluten free flour did you use? Which one do you recommend?
I used the Bob’s red Mill one to one gluten-free flour!
Will it turn out the same with regular flour?
Yes regular flour in place of the gluten-free will be fine!
This recipe looks great and I plan on making it for a function next week. Will this cake freeze well?
I haven’t tried it, it will likely be a bit drier after defrosting vs fresh as oil-free vegan recipes tend to be, but should be okay!
Thank you for your reply. I will hold off until he weekend to make it for best feshnss and taste🙂
I just popped this in the oven for our Christmas Day dessert! I think you forgot a step – adding the cranberries. I assumed after everything was combined I should fold them in. I hope that’s right!
Yes that is correct! My bad, I hope it turns out perfect🤗
Made it, ate it, loved it! 😀 So fruity and yummy!! I couldn’t get hold of fresh cranberries so I used dried ones and soaked and drained them first. Love how much orange this has in it! It decanted beautifully from the bundt tin which is always a major win! My son regularly chooses this over a chocolate-based snack!
★★★★★
Over chocolate?!? That is quite high praise haha, I am so so happy you guys tried and love this one🤗 Good to know it works with dried berries too!