Mandarin Orange Bundt Cake with Cranberries

This cake looks beautiful when you pop it out of the pan with its bright reds and oranges from the fruit. Gone are the days of the boring plain Bundt cake. When you serve this to guests or bring it to a holiday party, people will think you spent a lot of time making it but I promise it’s so simple and easy to make. The really great thing is that you can update the recipe to meet your needs; use a gluten-free flour blend to create a gluten-free dessert and use vegan butter, yogurt and milk to make it friendly to those who don’t eat dairy. A gorgeous, flavourful and vibrant way to celebrate the holidays with a healthier sweet treat.

⅓ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter, divided
6 oz fresh cranberries, rinsed
1 (11 oz) can Mandarin orange slices, drained and roughly chopped
¼ cup coconut oil
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
5 oz vanilla Greek Yogurt
½ cup milk dairy or nondairy
¾ cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. sea salt

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Grease and flour a Bundt pan.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine brown sugar and ¼ cup of butter. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then pour it evenly into the bottom of the Bundt pan. Add the cranberries and mandarin oranges to the bottom of the pan over the brown sugar mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the remaining ¼ cup butter, coconut oil and sugar. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, yogurt and milk.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture until batter is combined.

Pour the batter into Bundt pan over the cranberry mandarin mixture. Bake it for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the top comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then quickly and carefully invert the cake over onto a serving plate.

Makes 8 servings.