Vibrant Orange Cranberry Vegan Cake Recipe

Vegan orange cranberry cake – a moist vegan orange pound cake studded with tart fresh cranberries. Tender, flavourful and perfect for snacking. Egg-free and dairy-free.

This vegan orange cranberry cake—often called orange cranberry bread in the US—is a fragrant, tender loaf with a dense, pound-cake-style crumb. The orange zest and juice give bright citrus notes while bursts of cranberry add a pleasant tartness. It’s an ideal treat for the festive season, a sweet snack, or a cosy brunch addition.

The cake is made using the reverse creaming method, which produces a soft, fine crumb. Reverse creaming simply means rubbing or mixing the fat into the flour before adding the wet ingredients. Coating the flour with fat reduces gluten development and helps create a tender texture.

Key Ingredients

Silken tofu: Firm silken tofu is used as the egg replacement and gives a moist, tender crumb. Drain any excess liquid but there’s no need to press it.

Orange juice and zest: Use finely grated zest for concentrated orange flavour and orange juice as the liquid. Freshly squeezed juice from the zested oranges is ideal, but carton juice works too. The juice’s acidity helps the raising agents.

Vanilla extract: Adds depth—use extract rather than synthetic essence for best flavour.

Cornflour (cornstarch) and plain flour: A mix of cornflour and plain flour gives a delicate texture. If you have cake flour you can substitute it for both.

Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda: Essential for lift.

Vegan block butter: Use a firm block-style vegan butter (not the spreadable tub) for correct fat content. Naturli, Stork, Vitalite or Tormor block varieties work well.

Neutral oil: A small amount of neutral oil (sunflower, vegetable, canola or mild olive) keeps the cake soft and moist.

Caster sugar: Golden caster sugar adds flavour; white caster is fine too. If you only have granulated sugar, pulse it briefly in a blender to make caster.

Cranberries: Fresh cranberries are used here. Frozen can be used straight from the freezer (do not thaw first); dried cranberries are an alternative but will be sweeter.

Overview — How To Make Vegan Orange Cranberry Cake

(Full quantities and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below)

Blend the silken tofu with orange juice and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl whisk together plain flour, cornflour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar.

Add the melted vegan block butter, oil and finely grated orange zest to the dry ingredients and stir until the flour is coated and no dry patches remain. Gradually whisk in the blended tofu and orange mixture until a smooth batter forms.

Toss the cranberries with ½ tablespoon of plain flour to prevent them sinking, then fold them gently into the batter. Pour the batter into a greased and lined loaf tin and bake for around 75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the cake browns too quickly, loosely cover the top with foil for the last part of baking.

Allow the loaf to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Top Tips

• Weigh ingredients in grams for consistent results—cup measures can be unreliable for baking.
• Use firm silken tofu (shelf-stable variety such as Mori-Nu or Clearspring in the UK) rather than regular refrigerated tofu.
• Use block vegan butter, not spreadable tub butter. Tub spreads have higher water content and can affect texture.
• If using frozen cranberries, add them straight from the freezer; the bake time may increase slightly.
• If desired, finish with an orange glaze for extra shine and flavour, though the cake is delicious plain.

Storage

Store the cooled cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. It freezes well whole or in slices—wrap tightly to avoid freezer burn and freeze for up to three months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.

Recipe Card

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