This chocolate cranberry cake is a perfect holiday centerpiece or Christmas cake! Layers of moist chocolate cake, brown butter cream cheese frosting and a fresh cranberry compote make for a decadent but bright dessert.

I love the ease of baking just one sheet pan of cake to make a four layer rectangular cake (just like this Southern Living carrot cake). I was dreaming up a winter version of the cake and this chocolate cranberry layer cake is it!

How I created this recipe

Chocolate cake: The base is a minimally altered version of Ina Garten’s chocolate cake (the winner of my chocolate cake bake off). I wanted a slightly tighter, more moist crumb so I decreased the coffee by 1/4 cup and increased the oil by 2 tbsp. I also use large eggs instead of Ina’s signature extra-large eggs.
Brown butter cream cheese frosting: I’m using the same ratios as the cream cheese frosting on my Southern Living carrot cake but using brown butter instead of regular butter for an extra toasty, nutty flavor.
Cranberry compote: I compared a bunch of cranberry compotes (including the one in the cake that inspired this one by Baker by Nature) and realized you really don’t need much besides something to sweeten the cranberries and a little flavoring. Cranberries contain so much pectin that you don’t *need* cornstarch or any kind of thickener. I added yuzu juice for a bright, citrusy note, but orange juice is a more traditional juice pairing that you could also use.

Ingredients

Buttermilk: Full-fat buttermilk is ideal, but skim buttermilk will also work in a pinch. If you don’t have buttermilk, there are lots of substitutions that will work well: half Greek yogurt (full-fat preferred), regular yogurt or sour cream plus half milk (any kind) is a great substitute. If you have nothing else, the same quantity of milk plus a tablespoon of vinegar will also work.
Coffee: Strongly brewed coffee preferred! I make mine extra strong with 1.5 packets of instant coffee.
Neutral oil: Vegetable, canola, grapeseed, safflower, refined coconut or algae oil are all good options. If you like the flavor of olive oil, you can also use a mild olive oil here.
Dutch-process cocoa powder: Valrhona, Guittard 100% Cocoa, Ghiradelli 100% Cocoa (Dutch-process) and Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa are all Dutch-processed cocoa. Because this recipe uses both baking powder and baking soda, you *can* also use a natural cocoa (such as Hershey’s regular cocoa) if that’s all you have–but I think the Dutch-process cocoa lends a deeper, more appealing color.
Fresh cranberries: I only tested this recipe with fresh cranberries, but in theory you can also use thawed frozen cranberries.
Yuzu juice: If you don’t have easy access to yuzu juice, you can easily substitute this with orange, lime or lemon juice (depending on which flavor profile you prefer).
Unsalted butter: I prefer baking with unsalted butter so you can control the salt level in the final baked good.
Full-fat cream cheese: Full-fat cream cheese will always give you the best, creamiest results.
Kosher salt: I typically bake with Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If you’re using table salt or Morton’s kosher salt, use about half the quantity called for in the recipe.

How to make this cake

This cake includes 3 components: the cake, cranberry compote and brown butter frosting. I recommend browning the butter first and allowing it to chill while you bake the cake and make the cranberry compote. Then, let the cake and compote chill while you make the frosting.

If you’re also making the sugared cranberries and rosemary for garnish, they can be made ahead of time (they take several hours to dry). Or if you’re not serving the cake for a few hours, make them at the end and let them dry fully before garnishing the cake.

Step 1: Brown the butter and chill it for using in the frosting later.

Step 2: Whisk all the wet ingredients for the cake together, then stir in the dry ingredients.

Step 3: Pour batter into a half sheet pan (13×18″) lined with parchment and bake at 350 for 20-24 minutes.

Step 4: Meanwhile, add the cranberries, sugar and yuzu juice into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Step 5: Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree the cranberry mixture until smooth. (You can also leave it chunky if you prefer.)

Step 6: Cream together the cream cheese, cooled brown butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt together until creamy.

Step 7: Cut the cooled cake into fourths and place one layer on a cake stand.

Step 8: Top with 1/4 of the cream cheese frosting.

Step 9: Top with 1/3 of the cranberry compote and repeat with remaining cake layers, frosting and compote.

Step 10: Top with candied cranberries and rosemary, if using.

Make the candied cranberries and rosemary

I used Baker by Nature’s simple syrup technique to make the sugared cranberry and rosemary garnish for the top. You’ll combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil to create a syrup and then quickly boil the fresh cranberries and rosemary before letting them cool, then rolling in sugar.

I found I only needed around 1/4 cup of sugar to dust the finished garnishes in sugar, not 1 cup as called for in the original recipe. You can always add a little more sugar if needed!

Storage and make ahead

This cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze well-wrapped slices of cake in the freezer for up to a month.

To make this cake ahead of time:

The cake can be baked and frozen for up to a week ahead of time. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before using.
The cranberry compote can be made up to a week ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge (or frozen for up to a month).
I recommend making the frosting the day you plan to assemble the cake. You can make the brown butter a week ahead of time and keep it chilled in the fridge until ready to use (take it out at least 15 minutes before you plan to make the frosting).
The assembled cake will keep in the fridge, covered well, for at least 2 days before you plan to serve it.