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This cranberry white chocolate cake is incredibly stunning, moist, and best of all, super easy! Absolutely perfect for the holidays, I started making this cake years ago as a quick but impressive Christmas dessert, and the tartness of the cranberries is just delicious with the easy white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Made using a box mix to keep it simple, or use your favorite white cake recipe.

Don’t let the recipe card fool you (or scare you) – this cranberry cake is SUPER easy to make! We were just really thorough with the instructions. Below you’ll find methods for both frosting the cake without freezing AND for freezing the cake then frosting it, which is what I recommend you do.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

White chocolate. Cranberry. Cake. Do I even have to say anything else?? This incredible dessert is Christmas in every bite. The decadent white chocolate cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement to the tart, juicy cranberries and the fluffy, moist white cake. It doesn’t just taste good, though – it’s gorgeous, too!
Not only is this a great make-ahead recipe, I actually prefer to make it ahead of time! If you bake the cranberry cake in advance, you can freeze the layers until you need them, which makes them more moist and MUCH easier to frost. Plus you’re not stressing over the cake at the last minute during the holidays!

Key Ingredients

Cake Mix – I make this using a basic old box cake mix, but you could totally use your favorite from-scratch recipe instead. I’m a big fan of the ease and convenience of the boxed mixes, and no one can tell the difference in this cranberry cake!

Cranberries – You can fresh or frozen cranberries. If you’re using frozen, be sure to let them thaw first so they don’t throw off the texture and consistency of the cake batter.

White Chocolate – Use your favorite brand of white chocolate chips. I like to grab 2 bags, or a bag of chips and a bar that I can shave with a grater, to decorate the top of the cranberry cake with extra white chocolate. You can’t have too much!

Chef’s Tips

Do not, do not, do not skip the crumb coating process! Crumb coating keeps the crumbs from getting in the outer layer of frosting, guaranteeing you a beautiful finish that’ll have people wondering what bakery you got this cake from.
I can’t recommend enough that you freeze the cake. It’s just so much easier to work with when it’s frozen. Freezing it also locks in the moisture, making the cranberry cake unbelievably rich and tender. And did I mention that you can bake the cakes weeks in advance and freeze them until you need them? Goodbye, last-minute dessert stress.
Melting white chocolate is really tricky. It’s just so temperamental! I find it easiest to just pop the chocolate in the microwave and heat it in 30 second bursts on 50% power, stirring between each one. The key is to stop microwaving it once it starts to melt, NOT when it’s completely melted. Once the chocolate starts to melt, the residual heat will take care of the rest of the chocolate, without making it seize. OH, and it’s SUPER important that your bowl and whatever you use to stir the chocolate are COMPLETELY dry. Any moisture whatsoever will also cause the chocolate to seize.
If your white chocolate seizes, stir in a little oil to help it liquify again. Just don’t overdo it! Add the oil in small increments and stir well until you’ve got a workable consistency.