A sweet and tart Christmas dessert, this vegan Cranberry Orange Pound Cake is bursting with holiday flavors. Serve it at your next holiday party or bring it as a hostess gift. Whatever you do, it’s guaranteed to be a hit!
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Christmas is almost here, friends!
Are you ready? Have you made your batches of Crinkle Cookies and Homemade Eggnog yet? Have you picked out all the presents for your loved ones? (If not, make sure to check out my vegan gift guide!). And, most importantly, have you watched all the Christmas movies yet?
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE Christmas. I love everything about it. The parties, the decorations, the food, the music, and, of course, the baking. I’ve been baking up a storm and my freezer is getting so full I can barely close it anymore. But it’s worth it and if you give this vegan orange pound cake a try, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Let’s take a closer look.
What is Pound Cake?
Traditionally pound cake is a cake made from combining equal parts butter, flour, sugar, and eggs. Over time the ingredients in a pound cake have gotten more complex. It is now common to add extracts (such as lemon or vanilla) and/or fruit, swap out some of the butter for sour cream, and even add a few teaspoons of baking powder to make the cake lighter and less dense.
My modern take on a pound cake has made many of these adjustments.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour – For gluten-free options, you can use a 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Baking Blend. (<<affiliate link)
- Baking Powder & Soda
- Salt
- Vegan Butter – Look for a high-quality non-hydrogenated vegan butter. I recommend Miyoko’s. If you can’t find Miyoko’s butter at your local grocery stores, I would suggest Earth Balance Buttery Sticks as the next best alternative.
- Granulated & Powdered Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements.
- Orange Juice & Zest
- Orange Extract
- Vegan Sour Cream – There are a lot of vegan cream cheeses and sour creams on the market. I suggest looking for Daiya or Tofutti brands. You can also make homemade sour cream.
- Oil – I recommend olive, avocado, or melted coconut oil. Vegetable or canola oil also work well.
- Cranberries – Fresh or frozen
Perfect Egg Replacer
Since traditional pound cake is made with a pound of eggs, we need to find the best egg replacer for this recipe. Eggs typically work both as a binder and a leavener in pound cake and originally my vegan pound cake relied on commercial egg replacers which I now prefer NOT to use because they:
- can be hard to find
- are made with all kinds of unpronounceable ingredients
- can be vastly different from each other, reacting to a recipe differently and leading to too much variation in the end result
Now my egg replacer of choice for vegan pound cake is a combination of sour cream and baking powder. Together these ingredients work as a binder and leavener, keeping the cake moist and light.
Recommended Equipment
For this recipe, you’ll need basic kitchen equipment such as measuring cups, utensils, a wire cooling rack, and a 10″ bundt cake pan .
It is also helpful to have a stand-up mixer. I have had mine for 15 years. I use in nearly weekly and it’s never once given me a problem. It makes baking SO much easier and it comes with so many attachments, I can make meringues, bread, and cakes by flipping a switch. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Vegan Pound Cake
Step One – Measure the Ingredients
In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. That’s the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Next, beat together the vegan butter, sugar, and orange zest and extracts in a stand-up mixer, scraping down the sides as needed.
Step Two – Combine the Ingredients
Once the butter and sugar are beat, we slowly add the sour cream. At this point, the batter might curdle a bit and that’s okay. It will come back together when the flour is added. Finally, we are going to finish the cake by alternating the dry and wet ingredients into the batter.
Step Three – Bake the Cake
Pour the batter into a prepared bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Serving and Storing
Serving – Let the cake cool at least 30 minutes in the loaf pan before turning it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Let the pound cake cool completely before pouring on the glaze. Otherwise, the glaze will melt off.
Storing – Pound cake can be stored, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this pound cake for up to 2 months. Take it out the day before to let it thaw.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t over-mix the batter. By alternating the dries and wets into the batter, we are ensuring the batter does not get over-mixed and gummy.
- Generously spray your loaf pan. We do not want any of this delicious cake sticking to its edges.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the cake starts to get dark around the edges, you can cover it with tin foil to bake the last 10 minutes.
- Want variation? Make my Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake by swapping out the orange juice/zest with lemon. Omit the cranberries and add 1 1/2 tbsp of poppy seeds to the dry ingredients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this recipe be made in advance?
Yes! This Orange Pound Cake makes the perfect holiday gifts and can be made in advance. To do this, bake the pound cake according to the instructions. Once the pound cake is cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer. These pound cakes can be frozen for up to 2 months.
When ready to gift or serve, let the pound cake thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
Why Alternate Wet and Dry Ingredients?
By alternating we are making sure the batter stays as tender as possible. By adding all the liquid ingredients first, the butter would start to separate from everything. Yet, adding all the dry ingredients first would cause the batter to get thick and require over-mixing in order for it so even out. And, as we know, over-mixing results in a gummy glutenous texture – not what we’re looking for in a cake.
Can this recipe be gluten-free?
Yes. I have had a lot of luck with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. That is the only gluten-free flour I’ve tried for this cake but I’m sure other 1:1 ratio flours would work as well.
More Vegan Cake Recipes
- Classic Lemon Pound Cake
- Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
- Gingerbread Bundt Cake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Orange Cranberry Pound Cake
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange Poundcake
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup vegan butter, I use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp. finely grated orange zest
- 1/2 tsp. orange extract
- 1 1/4 cup vegan sour cream
- 3 tbsp. coconut or olive oil
- 2 tbsp. orange juice
- 1 1/2 cup frozen cranberries
Orange Glaze
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp. orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 10" bundt pan and set aside.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
- In a stand-up mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat together the vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add orange zest, orange extract, and vegan sour cream and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Combine oil and orange juice. Alternating wet and dry ingredients, add flour mixture and oil to the batter in three batches until just mixed. Fold in cranberries.
- Transfer into prepared bundt (or loaf) pan(s) and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes then flip onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make Orange Glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and orange juice until it reaches a thick but pourable consistency. Top cake just before serving.
Notes
- Don’t over-mix the batter. By alternating the dries and wets into the batter, we are ensuring the batter does not get over-mixed and gummy.
- Generously spray your loaf pan. We do not want any of this delicious cake sticking to its edges.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the cake starts to get dark around the edges, you can cover it with tin foil to bake the last 10 minutes.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Jen says
Can I do this recipe in 6 mini bundt cakes? They are approximately 4 inches deep. How much batter should I fill them?
Emily says
The thick batter made me nervous, so I added a little more OJ, but it turned out great! Everyone loved it at Thanksgiving and making it again for Christmas!
Anthony says
About the Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
Is it really 1 Tablespoon for the Baking Powder?
Sarah McMinn says
Yep
Anthony says
Wish I had gone for it.
The batter seems stiff to me. Hope I didn’t do something else wrong. See that the batter needs that much leavening ?
Lisa McMinn says
A beautiful festive cake, Sarah! Thanks for explaining why wet and dry are alternatively added. I’ve always wondered…
Willow says
If I make this using a loaf pan, would the bake time still be the same? And what about if it needs two loaf pans? Thank you! Really looking forward to trying this.
Sarah says
Yes, you can use two standard size loaf pans and bake for about 50-60 minutes
Lauren says
Are fresh cranberries alright to use instead of frozen?
Sarah says
For sure!
Avice Berry says
May I substitute pure Stevia, (1/2 tsp=1 cup sugar), in this recipe.
Also, recipe for triple chocolate beet cake, would almond flour work?
Sarah says
For the triple chocolate cake, I recommend using a 1:1 gf flour mix. Almond milk alone wouldn’t work. I’m not very familiar with stevia, it would definitely affect the texture to remove the sugar which adds to the tenderness, but I think it should still work pretty well. Let us know if you give it a try!
Lil Sobosan says
I made this cake for my office Christmas Party. For my non-vegan friends, it was a hit. Several people wanted the recipe. My son (non-vegan) requested this should always be in fridge. I will be making this for Christmas. Thank you!
Tiffani says
Is the chickpea flour in this recipe being used as a thickening component? If I don’t have any what would I be wanting to replace it with? More flour or egg replace, applesauce ect
Thanks!
Sarah says
Hopefully I am catching you in time! Try subbing the chickpean flour AND water for 1 cup applesauce then add 1/2 tsp baking powder.
Angela Taraskiewicz says
This cake recipe is the best, most versatile, vegan cake I’ve ever attempted. Not only is it good as printed here, but the icing can be kicked up a notch by substituting Grand Marnier for the OJ. I just made a summer version yesterday using lemon and blueberries, (Lemoncello) in the icing. So, so, good.
Tahlia says
The cake is in the oven right now! i made it with lime instead of orange. I made a lime glaze which i can’t stop sticking my finger into and licking hahah. This was a great recipe! It turned out really thick, which i don’t know if it was meant to. Maybe i will add a splash of vinegar next time. thanks for the recipe!
Kathryn Dilligard says
Oh wow! I’m so trying this recipe..
luminousvegans says
This pound cake is simply gorgeous! I concur with Kristy that you should not be so hard on yourself. I am quite amazed at your ability to churn out such lovely posts, pictures and recipes while pregnant. I know it is a lot of work, so remember to take time to yourself and enjoy the pregnancy.
Sarah says
Thanks Ketty! I am working on taking some time to myself. Perhaps a prenatal massage…
Kristy says
This cake looks absolutely perfect! I love cranberry and orange together. 🙂 Don’t be too hard on yourself. I’m just astonished that you’re able to blog while pregnant, let alone while taking care of another baby! You’re amazing! xx
Sarah says
Thanks for your encouragement Kristy. I try to be easier on myself, it’s just not my nature 🙂