White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake – Topped with Whipped White Chocolate Ganache

White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake

Every year, as soon as December rolls in and the Christmas boxes come down from the attic, my kitchen becomes a little busier, a little cozier, and a whole lot sweeter. I LOVE Christmas baking!—gingerbread, peppermint treats, sugar cookies, cookie tins, and of course, a few festive cakes.

When I think about seasonal flavors, cranberry is definitely one that comes to mind this time of year. I wanted to create a cake that included these festive tart berries but was balanced with a delicate sweetness as well. Cranberries and white chocolate create a perfect balance of holiday flavors, tart berries, and sweet white chocolate. The almond extract adds a delicious and subtle flavor that ties it all together.

White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake Was Made for Christmas

This cake comes out beautifully golden, with a soft interior speckled with festive pops of red cranberry. Once you drizzle the silky white chocolate ganache over the top, it transforms into something that looks like it was made to sit beside a decorated Christmas tree—like a dessert straight from a Hallmark movie kitchen!

I’ve topped this cake with a whipped white chocolate ganache which adds a light, sweet, fluffiness to the dense, moist cake. The combination is delicious. Optional but highly encouraged! Top your cake with sugared cranberries for a festive flare.

A simple recipe, developed from a boxed cake mix

So, if you’re against doctoring a boxed cake mix you can stop reading now – ha! But let me make the case for using a boxed cake mix base for your cake recipes:

1. Consistent, Reliable Results

Doctoring a cake mix gives you the reliability of a standardized base while still allowing you to enhance flavor and texture. You have fewer ingredients to measure, leading to less potential variability in the recipe—your cake starts with a stable foundation that bakes evenly every time. This is perfect for novice bakers, or my friends who are intimidated by a long ingredient list!

2. Saves Time Without Sacrificing Quality

Using a box mix cuts down prep time. By adding simple upgrades—like sour cream, extra eggs, melted butter, pudding mix, or flavor extracts—you get a cake that tastes homemade with half the effort.

3. Easy to Customize for Any Occasion

Doctored cake mixes are versatile! You can adjust the flavor, richness, moisture level, and mix-ins to create different variations: holiday flavors, birthday cakes, Bundt cakes, cupcakes, or themed desserts. It’s a flexible starting point that encourages creativity without overwhelming home bakers.

If you love a simple cake recipe developed from cake mixes, check out my other cake mix base recipes here!

• Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Strawberry Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Lemon Bundt Cake
• Easy Cake Mix Donuts

Let’s get to baking this White Chocolate Cranberry cake!

Ingredients

Step By Step Instructions for this White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a classic-sized 12 cup Bundt pan and set aside.

In your mixing bowl combine the cake mix and pudding mix.

Add in eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, milk, orange zest, and almond emulsion. Using an electric mixture, mix until fully combined or you no longer see any streaks of dry ingredients (1-3 minutes).

Rinse cranberries. In a separate bowl, toss cranberries in 1 tablespoon of flour until cranberries are lightly coated with flour. This will help ensure the cranberries don’t sink to the bottom of the pan while baking.

Gently fold cranberries into cake batter, evenly dispersing cranberries throughout the bowl.

Pour cake batter into cake pan and bake cake for 45 minutes for a 10-12 cup Bundt cake. A toothpick should come out clean when inserted. If not, bake cake in 1 minute additional increments, checking the center of the cake with a toothpick each time.

Turn Bundt cake onto cooling rack, and allow cake to completely cool before topping with ganache.

While your cake is baking – make your whipped white chocolate ganache

Add your cream to a a small stovetop pan and heat over low-medium heat until simmering. Put your chopped white chocolate into a heat-proof bowl, and pour simmering cream over top. Cover bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Uncover bowl and slowly mix melted chocolate and cream together until fully incorporated. Congratulations! You just made white chocolate ganache! Allow ganache to cool slightly before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating for 2 hours. You will want the ganache to cool completely before whipping.

Once ganache is completely cooled, whip ganache using an electric mixer. I prefer my whisk attachment for this. Whisk ganache until light, fluffy, and spreadable (this will take about 2 minutes).

Spread whipped ganache on cooled cake. Top with sugared cranberries. Enjoy!