Home » Recipes » Desserts » Cakes » Almond Cranberry Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

Almond Cranberry Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

Almond Cranberry Cake is flavored with fresh cranberries and almond pasta and topped with an ultra rich mascarpone frosting. Perfect for the holidays!

Mini Almond Cranberry Cake on a gold-plated plate.

Festive Holiday Dessert

Mini Almond Cranberry Bundt Cakes with Mascarpone Frosting are the perfect festive dessert for the holiday season. A hefty dose of almond paste gives these cakes an intense almond flavor and helps keep them moist. Chopped fresh cranberries not only add little bursts of tartness, but a gorgeous visual as well. The beautiful red color of cranberries just can’t be beat. They were absolutely made for Christmas.

Almond is my absolute favorite flavor for cake. We served almond pound cake at our wedding and this fabulous Almond Cake with Amaretto Frosting was my very first post on this blog. I find I can’t let a Christmas season go by without making some sort of almond cake. To me  almond cake to be absolutely, positively heavenly.

Almond Cranberry Cake with Mascarpone Frosting on gold-plated plate.

Rich Mascarpone Frosting

A slightly sweet mascarpone frosting gives a beautiful and rich finishing touch to these cakes, but they are absolutely delicious with no frosting. I made individual cakes in a Bundtlette Pan but you could also make 1 big Bundt cake. I made 6 mini-Bundts and used the remaining batter to make mini-muffins which were also delicious. The recipe I adapted supposedly yields 12 mini-Bundt cakes but to me it didn’t quite look like there was enough batter for 12. Ten is probably more like it.

Storage

Unfrosted cakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Frosted cakes should be stored in the refrigerator.

Mini Bundt Cake decorated with fresh cranberries.

More Holiday Cakes

Almond Cranberry Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

Mini Bundt cakes with an intense almond flavor, studded with fresh cranberries, and topped with a Mascarpone frosting are a delightful holiday treat.
PREP: 20 minutes
COOK: 20 minutes
SERVINGS: 10

Ingredients

  • 6 3/4 oz (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour; more for pan
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened; more for pan
  • 7 oz almond paste (about 2/3 cup), not marzipan
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries, rinsed and coarsely chopped
  • Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Mascarpone Frosting

  • 8 oz Mascarpone, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon Amaretto
  • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with an oven rack in the center.
  • Butter and flour 10 mini Bundt pans or 1 large Bundt pan. Tap out excess flour.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  • Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and almond paste on medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Beat in eggs 1 at a time, stopping between each addition to scrape down sides of bowl.
  • Beat in vanilla.
  • Turn mixer to low speed and add in flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stop mixer halfway through to scrape down sides of bowl.
  • Turn mixer to medium speed and beat until batter is smooth, about 20 seconds.
  • Fold in cranberries.
  • Spoon batter into prepared pans (or pan) and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.
  • Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes for small cakes and 40 to 50 minutes for large cake.
  • Place pan on a rack to cool for 20 minutes. Invert pan onto rack to remove cakes.
  • For frosting, using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat mascarpone, heavy cream, and amaretto until combined and smooth.
  • With mixer on low add in confectioners’ sugar then turn to medium-high until thickened. Place in a pastry bag and fill centers of cakes with frosting. If making a large cake, top each slice with a mound of frosting when serving.
  • Dust with powdered sugar.

Notes

Cakes can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature.
Frosting should be refrigerated until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 616kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bundt cake, Christmas

Want to Save This Recipe?

Recipe Source: adapted from Fine Cooking

Originally posted December 8, 2013.

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.

Almond Cake with Mascarpone Frosting. These festive cakes have little bursts of tartness from fresh carnberries.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




I accept the Privacy Policy

24 thoughts on “Almond Cranberry Cake with Mascarpone Frosting”

  1. Really delicious cake (I made cupcakes and half the recipe) but next time ll use more berries.. I enjoyed the tang but wanted more. Thanks for this one.

Scroll to Top