Ultimate Cranberry Pudding Cake

Great cake! Changed a few things though. I really like cranberry and orange together, so instead of using 2 cups of milk, I used 1 cup of un-diluted frozen orange juice concentrate, and 1 cup of milk. I also added 2 tsps cinnamon, and 1 tsp nutmeg. The butter sauce was a little sweet for my tase, so next time I would deffinetly cut down on the sugar. We loved it though! Thanks for this recipe :)

Absolutely delicious - wouldn't change a thing in the cake recipe! I also made half of the butter sauce and that's plenty! I sliced the cake and placed on a Christmas platter with the sauce in a bowl in the middle - beautiful display. This is a keeper for holiday parties! Thanks!

Truly what makes this cake is the butter sauce!!! The cake itself is not very sweet. I infact, just added the cranberries to a yellow cake mix, and then topped it off with that wonderful butter sauce.....everyone loved it!! The butter sauce is also wonderful on just plain chocolate cake too!!!

The mixed reviews are interesting for this cake. It seems that people either love it or hate it. I thought it was excellent, although I made two very minor changes. First, I used 8 tablespoons of butter rather than six--there is just very little fat in this recipe, and I thought it would help. Since I haven't tried it with only six, I can't really compare the original with what I made, but the 8 tablespoons worked very well and I suspect that the cake is a bit moister as a result. I also did not want to open two cans of evaporated milk to get two cups. Instead, I used a 12 oz. can and added 4 oz of regular milk. Again, this worked well. I have a feeling that the people who don't like the cake are folks who were expecting a super sweet dessert. This cake is not super sweet, and that is what I prefer in a dessert. If you're looking for ultrasweet cake, you will probably be disappointed. However, this is why the sauce works so well--the sauce, which is excellent, is very, very sweet. I think the sauce pairs well with the tartness of the fresh cranberries. I'm also likely to use the sauce with other cakes--I have an apple bundt cake that would be perfect with the sauce. Overall, a very good recipe that I will add to my holiday arsenal.

I made this for Christmas last year and my family couldn't quit raving about it. I will definitely be making it again. I added rum to my butter sauce and it was DELICIOUS! Yum.

This was a hit with my family but add blueberry instead of cranberry and it was soooo good especially with the hot butter sauce, my four years old love it so much. And I bake it in muffin tins and it looks adorable.

This recipe was really good! The butter sauce is truly wonderful, and is a great companion to the cake. I took this to a church function, and got several requests for the recipe! :) Thanks, Lisa!

This cake is awesome and was a big hit! I was concerned because it does not have any eggs in it, but it turned out great! The butter cream sauce was an excellent topper and I use it for other cakes.

The sauce is what makes this cake so great. I took this cake to a Hanukkah party and a Christmas party last year and it got rave reviews at both. I can't remember when I've had so many requests for one recipie. I will be making this, by request :) every year from now on.

I'm glad I tried this recipe but don't think I'll make it again. The cake itself doesn't have great flavour or texture. The sauce is good and that's what seems to give it the flavour and moistness it needs. I couldn't bring myself to make the full sauce recipe so I cut it in half which is still ample. The guests I served it to last night only had 1 small piece...no seconds. Hey, you've gotta try!

This cake replaces my "former" favorite cranberry cake recipe! It's wonderful. The only addition I made after reading some of the reviews about lack of flavor was to add 1 1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract. I served this for a dinner party of ten. I made the full amount of Hot Butter Sauce and just passed it around, those that didn't take some the first time around soon put a spoonful on theirs when they heard all the oohs and aahs! Thanks for the recipe.

Very good! The hot butter sauce really makes it!

I made this recipe for Christmas ladies get-to-gether and served with coffee and they loved it. It was so delicious and perfect for the holidays. I followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect. Will definitely make again.

Made this for a dinner party and everyone had seconds. I made a couple of alterations: used 8 tbsp of butter in the cake, added one egg (only because I made my husband run to the store to get me some before I realized I didn't actually need them!), used a full pound of cranberries and 2 tsp of vanilla, baked at 350 for just over an hour. I also poked some holes in the cake and soaked it with about 1/2 cup of the sauce while it was cooling. Only made a half batch of the sauce and it was plenty, as others indicated. Served with an orange whipped cream. Yum!

I used 1 cup milk 1 cup o.j and a(big) dash of grand marnier(why not?) and cut sugar to 1.5 cups. As far as I know bundt cake should be good and dense, so I was happy with this and the flavour.

I made this for Christmas day dinner and it was a huge hit! My guests were clamoring for hot butter sauce by phone the next day! Really simple but cake took a full fifteen minutes longer to cook than instructions, Thanks!

This was DELICIOUS. A creamy rich cake and Beautiful too!! Perfect for the holidays.

this looks so fantastic and mouthwatering!

I followed this recipe exactly. It's delicious! I made this for a holiday party and received rave reviews. It's important to serve it right away. The warm butter sauce is to die for ... YUM! This is really different and perfect for the holidays.

This reminds me of a cake my mom used to make growing up every Christmas. It's weird that it doesn't have eggs in it. It makes for a dense cake if you like that. I didn't use evaporated milk, I used 1/2 milk and 1/2 orange juice. It's fine without the butter sauce, but the sauce does take it to another level. If you're going to bake in a bundt pan, I would recommend not baking it at 325. Bake it at 350. That lower heat will never get you a nice browned top of your cake.

Our family has made this recipe since I was a child half a century ago (and long before). In her memoirs my now late mother (who would have been 100 yrs old this year) wrote: "The least I ever got was a dollar a week, and your room and board. And I used to work all winter…usually, for the same party…I think one winter I changed jobs, ‘cause, while I was getting the dollar a week, I found a place where I could get three dollars a week. I’d work until, well, until it was time to get home again to help, usually it was the beginning or middle of April. The first year that I worked in there, it wasn’t so bad yet, the Depression. I think that was 1930. That cranberry pudding recipe came from Mrs. Bosworth’s in Milwaukee. I was working for them on Lake Drive, one of the first places I worked, when I went doing housework in Milwaukee. I got eight dollars a week, which was pretty good money at that time yet. She had warned me that I may not copy any of her recipes. Well, heck, she didn’t know what I was doing in the kitchen, and a lot of times she wasn’t home, so I copied the cranberry pudding recipe. I got a couple of other recipes yet, but I never make the other things. The cranberry pudding is still going pretty strong nowadays." And indeed it is. My traditional Christmas dinner job is the making of the cranberry pudding. I'll be making it again this Wednesday - Christmas 2013… …and thanks Mrs. Bosworth!

While this cake looked very pretty, it did not taste as good as I was hoping. It had an odd texture and even the butter sauce didn't add enough flavor for me.

Like many other reviewers, I found this cake to be very bland. I even followed the suggestion of another reviewer and used a cup of orange juice concentrate in place of one of the cups of evaporated milk because I like the orange-cranberry flavor... while that did add a mild orange taste, the cake was blah. I can't imagine what it would have been like had I not added the juice. The hot butter sauce did make it palatable, but to me, a good dessert shouldn't have to be smothered in a sauce to be good. Sauces should be optional and the cake should be able to stand alone. This one cannot, as without the butter sauce, it's simply not tasty. Do yourself a favor and save this recipe for the hot butter sauce, but find a suitable replacement for the cake.

Cake was dry and had little flavor. Hot butter topping was not good at all. It had an overwhelming buttery taste. One person said it tasted like popcorn, another said like rice crispie mixture. I then tried to put vanilla frosting, but there was no saving this cake

Delicious!! A must try!

What a wonderful combination of tart and sweet! The look of this cake is perfect for the holidays. It was a hit at the gathering I took it to. The batter was a bit difficult to work with, very stick and thick, but this has made it to the top of one of my favorites for the holidays. I'll definitely make it again next year!!

I've made this pudding two years in a row and my guests loved it! The texture and flavor were good but the sauce is really what makes it. I will definitely make it again next Christmas.

I made this as a practice run for the holidays-everyone loved it! The cake was moist and so pretty with the cranberries, but the real star was the butter sauce. This one goes in the holiday file!

The cake had very little flavor and required the sauce just for sweetness. I will not recommend nor make this recipe again.

really just okay, nothing spectacular, without the butter sauce, the cake would have been pretty bland. would not make again. The picture looks better than it actually tastes

This will definately replace my current recipe. The cake was moist. I used very small cranberries and it was a hit. The second time I made it, I substituted Almond Extract for the vanilla and liked it even better. Definately best when warm.

I really liked the cake, despite my mistake in my haste. Instead of 2 CUPS of evaporated milk, I put in 2 CANS of milk! When I tested it at 50 minutes, it was very battery, which was a clue. I kept it in the oven, checking every 5 minutes until it tested done. I didn't hold much hope, but resisted throwing it out. Amazingly, it turned out fine. The sauce is decadent. An unusual success.

Absolutely delicious! I made this for Christmas, and everyone loved it. The butter sauce is a must. The cake is designed to soak it up, and is too dry without it. This will probably become a standard holiday recipe here.

This did not taste like cake at all. The dough and taste were bread-like, not light and flavorful but very dense and yeasty. It was not even good cranberry bread.

Incredible recipe. The cake drinks in the hot butter sauce and tastes great! My dad has been raving about it since we had it and he doesn't like cranberries. Definately a keeper.

This cake tasted like butter. Not the best cake I have ever made. My family liked it but I did not. There are way too many ingredients and it's too expensive to make for such poor quality. I will not be making this cake again.

Everyone loved this cake!! And the sauce was definately the best

I'm not sure what went wrong. I have never had a cake fail like this before. It was so heavy and bready (maybe meant to be) that I had to throw it out. I prefer my cakes moist and delicate. The concept is a good one though.. cranberries for a Christmas bundt cake with a gooey sauce. I would try to duplicate the ingredients in the Golden Rum Cake but instead of the Yellow Cake mix, use white and maybe some sour cream. Also, I suggest maybe trying an orange liqueur like Grand Marnier to the sauce to make it more interesting.

It was awesome, ended up eating half of it!

This cake was wonderful! It was a nice change from the usual desserts we have after Christmas dinner. The butter sauce takes this cake from good to great! I can't wait to make it again next Christmas!

Amazing recipe! We want to use the sauce on everything. I really like the cake, too. Without the sauce, it would definitely need something to add moisture or sweetness, but you can't judge the cake on it's own, if the butter sauce is part of the recipe.

This cake is fantastic! It wasn't quiet done after an hour but I took it out because I was afraid it would get dry. I shouldn't have, it needed to bake a little longer, but it was still great. I added a little whiskey to the sauce. So good.

The cake is really REALLY rich. it does have a really nice flavor however. for the topping I used half and half instead of cream due to resources and I thought it to taste even better. 3 bites was about all i could take this cake was just too rich for me and my family- have a big glass of milk nearby if you intend to eat a whole slice. otherwise very very very good!

I loved this cake! I substituted rum extract ofr the vanilla and it was fabulous! I would definately cut the butter recipe in half- it makes a ton! I thouht the cake was great too- the fresh cranberries are awesome!

I really wanted to LOVE this recipe, as I have tasted the steamed cranberry pudding and LOVED IT. The ingredients are similar but cooking methods must make the difference. This was ok, but I probably won't make it again. I did follow directions and it looks wonderful but the taste was just ok. Extremely heavy/dense cake. Guess I need to break down and buy a cake mold/steamer and try that.

the four stars are for the butter sauce..it's wonderful..i spoon this sauce over bread pudding...this sauce can make ANYTHING taste good.

This is a great recipe. The only thing I would change is making a half recipe of the butter sauce.

I meant to review this one before now, and forgot! I made this at Christmas, (without the butter sauce) and it was great. The cranberries are a little too tart for my taste, so I made it with blueberries at Easter and that was great, too! This one is a winner!

I made this for a birthday party (adults). It looked beautiful but it was very dense. I would recommend it for a breakfast cake or coffee cake but not for an evening or party dessert. The sauce while delicious is mostly sugar. The name of the recipe makes people think it is a pudding cake and moist but it is not. That being said if you warm it in the oven or toast it, it is delicious. Served cold even with the hot butter sauce it is not.

I really enjoyed this cake. Did add 1t vanilla extract and 1/2t nutmeg. I used a different butter sauce recipe to use up ingredients - 1/2c butter, 1/2c evaporated milk, 1/2c sugar (recipe called for 1c), 1/2t cinnamon. Thanks for the recipe... love cranberries!

This is a great recipe! If you don't like the tartness of the cranberries, just use dried cherries

delicious!!!!!!

I loved this recipie made a large cake and the sauce was great. Bette

The hot butter sauce is amazing but no one liked the cake that much. Everyone use the butter sauce for the other desserts on the Christmas buffet table. Also - I cooked my cake for 80 minutes and it was still somewhat raw in the middle.

Loved this, we made it for Christmas and it was so good, just the right amount of sweetness and very moist.

Excellent! I made it as one of my Christmas desserts this year and when the hostess wants the recipe you know it's good. P:)

I took this to a gathering of friends the other night, and every single one wanted the recipe. It is terrific! I baked one with the orange juice variation offered by one reviewer, and one without, and they were equally delicious. The sauce is really, really rich, and "just a dab will do you."

I followed the recipe without alterations. The cake was far too dense. Even the butter sauce could not save it! My family did not care for it at all.

Loved this, but with one little change.... the result?.... well, we're a bit different here.... we didn't care for the sauce - it was *way* too sweet for us. The change we made for the cak was simply to use dried, powdered milk in double strength instead of condensed milk. I also wonder if I miscounted and added a half cup of sugar extra. I'm not sure about that, since I don't really care for uber sweet desserts anyway. The way it turned out was the perfect amount of tart and sweet for us. I really don't know if the milk substitution made much of a difference, but my husband and I loved this cake. Since he's not a big cake fan, I'm very pleased to find a cake we both really enjoy together. Thanks so very much for sharing this lovely recipe!

Oh my! This cake is wonderful!! I didn't have any cranberries and either did our local store, so made with frozen blueberries. It is so dense and moist....the cake is so good by itself....and then you add the butter cream sauce...and then it is outrageously good!! Made it for a Christmas get together and everyone raved at how good it was!!! Hubby just wanted to drink the butter cream sauce :) The only thing I did is use 8 Tbsp instead of 6 Tbsp of butter in the cake. No need to change anything else. Wonderful recipe that I will use over and over and change up the berries in it. Think blackberries and raspberries would be superb too. Thanks for the great recipe!!!!

I have to admit that I cheated and started out with a butter batter cake mix, yet followed the directions given with the rest of it. The cake is delicious! Try it either way, its worth the time and effort!

No changes! Cake can be eaten without the sauce (i.e. it's still yummy) - but the sauce makes it. Be warned it's VERY rich!!!

Definitely a keeper. The tartness of the cranberries were a pleasant compliment to the sweet butter sauce. And it's easy to put together.

Exquisite! The sauce is incredible. However, I would like to play with reducing the butter and sugar used in this recipe as amounts for both are very high.

Found this cake to be too excessively sweet. I did however like the infusion of the cranberries, but will not be making it again.

The sauce is absolutely positively wildly amazing. It's perfect with any dessert. We put it on Apple-Cranberry Crisp for 66 people on Wednesday, then on Thursday we served it on Pumpkin Spice Cake and Poppyseed Cake for 36 people. It was such a hit, we're serving it to 140 next week for our Sr Ctr Christmas Dinner dessert. We'll put it on the Cranberry Cake. It freezes well, if by some weird fluke you have any of the sauce left over;-)

Made this for dessert last Christmas. It was delicious! The sauce is incredible.

Made it for the last 2 Christmases. Love it. Freeze well to eat rest of year. It is not a pudding almost like bread (at least that's my results). This year, making 2 ...one to share and one to keep.

I would definitely make this again. The sauce sounded a little too sweet for me so I only used half the sugar, still turned out great.

This was somewhat dry so when I made it a 2nd time I added one 8 ounce can crushed pineapple. Much better.

This has been a Holiday family tradition in my family for generations! On a cold winter night, it is especially wonderful! I'm so glad I found the recipe here...I can't wait to make this for my dad!

I had some leftover cranberry sauce in my freezer from Thanksgiving. I didn't know what to do with it until I came across this recipe. What I did was use a box of yellow cake mix and added a box of vanilla pudding. I poured 1/2 of the mixture into a bundt cake pan, piped 1/2 of the cranberry sauce, poured the remainder of the cake mix then piped the remainder of the sauce on top. I baked it as directed on the cake mix box. I them made the sauce. Everyone was WOWed at the flavors. This method was very simple and time saving.

This is absolutely a keeper! I made this for a Christmas party without trying it out first and was a bit worried. This was so, so quick and easy to make with very few ingredients, but it doesn't look or taste like it. I read other reviews and followed some suggestions. Instead of 6 TBS butter, I just put in the whole stick, an extra 2 TBS. And since one can of evaporated milk is only 1 1/2 cups, I added OJ for the extra 1/2 cup. It added just a hint of flavor. I might get daring and add more next time. The thought of "butter sauce" didn't sound very appealing, but it was incredible! The sauce on the cake made for a great presentation and was so delicious. Everyone loved it, many had seconds. I didn't see one bite left on a plate. There was a little left over and I couldn't keep myself from having it for breakfast. I just had the cake, no sauce. It was very moist despite other reviews, really good on it's own with a cup of coffee. I wouldn't serve it without the sauce as a dessert, it really is the sauce that makes they cake.

It's the only dessert I've ever made where everyone asked for seconds!!!! Made it as per the original recipe. I did stir the sauce the whole time - and sprinkled some powdered sugar over the cake after placing it on the stand. Just fabulous. I plan to make it again before this holiday season is over!

I decided to give it a try and have it tested by family. So glad I did! Didn't change a thing. All of my 'testers' as well as myself even loved it plain without the sauce. The cake isn't sweet & the cranberries gave perfect tartness. Loved it topped with sweet butter sauce as well! Great combination of tart and sweet. Baking another for Christmas Eve party.

I wanted to make this recipe to take along on a family party. I followed the directions and the cake popped out of the pan. It appeared nice and moist....but flavor just tasted pasty to me. Maybe an addition of some flavoring to the mix. Orange extract, vanilla,or just cover the cake with glaze before it's served. Suzibell818

Big hit at Christmas dinner.

A little dense. Cranberries were yummy. Did without the glaze. Just an ok recipe.

An "O.K." cake... The taste was alright... basically it was much nicer to look at then it was to eat. I'm not saying it was bad... it just wasn't so great. A bit disapointed. I wouldn't make this again, but it was a nice recipe to try out.

Very very heavy and dry without the sauce.

Made this for Christmas and it was a hit! I can't seem to get enough! What a fantastic dessert!

Will make it a bunch of times. Husband loves it! Added a little orange zest.

Delicious! I was looking for a holiday dessert that wouldn't be too sweet. This was perfect. The cake was dense with the right about of tart and sweet. For those who wanted it sweeter, the sauce did the trick. As recommended by others, I used have evaporated milk and half orange juice. I will definitely make this again.

The only thing I changed was the butter sauce. Instead of vanilla extract, I added Orange extract, what a wonderful addition this is going to make this Christmas season!!! Yumm!!!

This was an instant favorite! No waiting on the holidays in my house, Hubby asks for it about once a month!

The fresh cranberries make this a hit. Pick up some vanilla powder and use it instead of extract and you'll bring in more of the cake flavor that others have said it missing. You could also probably half the hot butter sauce recipe and still have leftovers.

1.29.19 ... https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/25556/ultimate-cranberry-pudding-cake/ ... As repeated, the sauce! The sauce is like warm,melted vanilla ice cream! :D Yumm! :D I didn't want to wash the bundt pan so used a 9x13, glass, 50 minutes. I poked cake with a toothpick & poured warm sauce over warm cake. 'Think having the sauce barely warm would be the better way to go. Then, it would stay on top & give a better look. 'Course you aren't making it to look at now, are ya?! :o This made a high, two inch, & dense, but light cake as in an Angel Food cake. 'Think making as a bundt, slicing & laying slices flat, pouring or brushing sauce over, allow to absorb, shingle on serving platter, try not to eat would be a good plan for the holidays. I reduced the sugar in the cake to 1 1/2c, added a t almond extract & only made half the sauce. Did you see the calorie count? Woooo! Be sure to not look away while preparing the sauce or it will boil over before you know it. Trust me. This may be more pretty than it is good without the sauce. With the sauce, a once-a-year indulgence.

It took a little longer to bake. But it was wonderful. I took it to my family Christmas dinner, I always do the dessert, and everybody loved it. The amazing butter sauce is the key otherwise the cake is a little to heavy and tart. We’re all trying to come up with other things to use the butter sauce on!

Very good taste - the tartness of the cranberries balanced all the sugar nicely. I did use 1/2 evaporated milk and 1/2 orange juice as some reviews said the cake was just ok or bland, and I did use Grand Marnier instead of vanilla. My family loved this cake; said it was great. I thought the cake seemed a bit doughy more so than like pudding but maybe I should've cooked it another 5 minutes (I did 55 minutes). It still tasted really good. The sauce was yummy and essential to this cake.

I love to bake and bake all the time and this was one of my favorites! The tart cranberries with the rich butter sauce make a great contrast with the moist not overly sweet cake.

I have made this a few times now and everybody loves it. One of my daughters is at Ft. Campbell with my son-in-law and was upset she couldn't get home this Christmas for this cake. Delicious!

This cake came out excellent and was easy to make. I used fresh cranberries and found it delicious and very tart. The butter-sugar sauce alleviated some of the tartness nicely. Beautiful presentation!