I love Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars. I’ve made them, and I’ve made them into cookies.
I took those flavors and made a cake, using my favorite foolproof, one-bowl, easy cake base.
The batter comes together like muffin batter in 5 minutes flat. A bowl of dry ingredients and a bowl of wet. Pour the wet over the dry, stir, pour into a pan, and bake. No mixer, nothing complicated or fussy.
I loathe dry cake and used a trifecta of tricks to keep it super soft, moist, and tender. Buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and oil.
If you don’t routinely keep buttermilk on hand, I highly recommend this Powdered Buttermilk. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t use buttermilk much, but you’ll see a recipe that needs a half cup, but because you feel you won’t use the rest of the jug before it goes bad, you opt of trying the recipe. This powder is your new best friend. Shelf stable, keeps for ages.
For this recipe that calls for 1/2 cup buttermilk, use 2 tablespoons of the powder placed in the bowl with the dry ingredients. Use 1/2 cup water, added with the wet ingredients.
You can also make buttermilk by souring your own milk. Add about 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1/2 cup milk, wait for 10 minutes for it to curdle, then use as indicated.
Why obsess over buttermilk? Because it makes cakes soft, springy, bouncy, tender, with the perfect balance of density and fluffiness. The results are unparalleled and so worth it.
I used Trader Joe’s dried cranberries, which are slightly sweet with plenty of tartness. Dried fruit like Craisins or dried blueberries will work, but of course the flavor of the cake will be different.
For those who are wondering if the cake will work with fresh or frozen cranberries, feel free to experiment. Fresh or frozen berries will release their juices into the batter, thereby watering it down, and you may need to add more flour; and/or bake longer. They’ll also be prone to sinking and you’ll want to follow these tips to prevent it. Additionally, they may be on the tart side and you may need to increase the amount of sugar in the cake to compensate. Lots of variables, which is why I used dried.
I’m a huge white chocolate fan, but most of the year I don’t love my choices for white chocolate chips. A popular namebrand tastes like white wax to me. Blech.
Every fall Trader Joe’s gets white chocolate chips in for the season. I literally buy about 25 bags, but no matter how many I buy, by June I’m usually out. I was thrilled to see them back in stock. I’ve been told by readers that they’re stocked year-round in other parts of the country, but not in San Diego.
After folding the cranberries and white chocolate chips into the batter, I sprinkled on 2 tablespoons of each on the top of the batter. This gives a nice visual pop and makes your cake look pretty and more inviting. Some of the white chocolate chips sunk slightly, leaving these cool moon crater-ish divots on the top of the cake.
I dusted it with confectioners’ sugar because I was going for a snowflake, wintery vibe, but you could glaze it. In the recipe section, I provided links to 3 different whisk-together, easy glazes.
The cake is light, soft, fluffy, and moist. It’s springy and bouncey, with just enough density to give it some heft and dimension.
The tartness of the dried cranberries, coupled with their chewiness, are great little surprises to bite into amidst the tender cake crumb.
The white chocolate chips add another burst of texture, while providing a pop of sweetness, in the way that only white chocolate can do.
With all the baking I do, most weeks it feels like I’m running a bakery out of my kitchen, and my family has become increasingly picky over the years. With most recipes, I have to coax or prod for some feedback other than, ‘Yeah, it was good.’
My husband said this is the best cake I’ve ever made. He says that about every 6 months, so I don’t necessarily put that much stock into those statements anymore. However, he also said it about this blueberry cake and this one, which are clones of this cake, so at least he’s consistent.
He hoarded this cake. I got my 1 piece and the other 8 disappeared.
I guess I’ll have to make another one. There are worse things.
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Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Bliss Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk (or Powdered Buttermilk
- ⅓ cup vanilla Greek yogurt, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream may be substituted
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips
- confectioners’ sugar, optional for dusting (or see glaze suggestions below)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, optional salt; set aside.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the next 5 wet ingredients (through vanilla).
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon until just combined. Small lumps will be present and this is okay. Don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth; set aside.
- Fold in 1 cup cranberries and 1 cup white chocolate chips.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan.
- Evenly sprinkle 2 tablespoons cranberries and 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips over the surface, pressing them down very lightly with a spatula or your fingertip.
- Bake for about 36 to 38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter (I baked for 36 minutes). Watch your cake, not the clock, and always bake until done, whatever that means in your oven with the brands of ingredients you used.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Optionally, dust with confectioners’ sugar or a simple glaze. This vanilla cream cheese glaze, this buttery vanilla glaze, or this browned butter glaze are all excellent, quick, and easy glazes. Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Fan of cranberries? White chocolate? Cranberry Bliss Bars?
I love those cranberry bars – but this cake looks even better – now I need to find that buttermilk powder
Many groc stores carry it in the baking aisle. Not all, but lots do!
This cake is beautiful Averie! So festive. I’ve never had the cranberry bliss bars at Starbucks, but I know, just looking at this, that this wins hands down. Oil and buttermilk definitely are the best for producing moist, tender cakes!
Love it.
Oh you’ve gotta try the Starbucks version at least once and then you can try the DIY versions :) And yes to oil and buttermilk!
I’ve never tried Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars but this cake looks beautiful. The color is gorgeous, perfect and festive for the holidays!
Thanks, Pamela!
Love this cake! It looks easy enough that even I could maybe pull it off and I’m notoriously bad at cake!
You’re bad at cake? Ok well this one is impossible to screw up. No mixer, just a whisk-together easy one-layer cake, no frosting even needed! Super easy!
I love you version,… I too cannot get enough of the starbucks version
I love those things and have to ‘forget’ they’re for sale this time of year or I’d want one every day!
I am imagining this on Christmas morning. Maybe warm out of the oven, the tree lit. You officially have me in the holiday spirit!
Oh that’s great that I have you in the holiday spirit! Means I did my job with the recipe/photos. Thanks for saying that!
This cake is gorgeous, Averie!! So festive for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. It kind of makes me really excited for things to come! I too love using buttermilk, oil and greek yogurt in my cakes. It always keeps everything so moist! And cranberries and white chocolate are made for each other. Such a perfect cake!
Didn’t love the pics, but thanks for saying you think it’s gorgeous. And yes to buttermilk, oil and greek yogurt! Oh and just saw 2 of your recipes on Tasteologie. Speak of the devil :)
I recently bought some KAF buttermilk powder, and it’s been so handy to have in the kitchen! Perfect for recipes like this that call for it. Cranberry and white chocolate is always a fabulous combo, and it certainly looks amazing in this cake! Love the look of powdered sugar sprinkled over top.
That’s great that you have some on-hand and it’s so handy, I agree! For those times when you need like a half-cup, it’s the perfect solution! Always there, doesn’t spoil!
Starbucks immediately popped into my head when I read this title. Deliciousness!
White chocolate and cranberries are one of my favorite combinations EVER <3
I love cranberry bliss bars too! I can’t believe how fast these come together! Great recipe!
I remember those cranberry bliss bars–and now a cake! I’d be very tempted to pour the vanilla cream cheese glaze over it. I have used Saco powdered buttermilk–it’s great to have on hand when you just need a little. I also remember you saying white cc’s are seasonal in your area. My husband was in Indy on Fri. and called to tell me TJ’s was right down the road so he decided to stop in. I couldn’t think very fast at that moment but should have had him get me a bag of those. He did surprise me with some random goodies, salsa, and coconut oil spray.
That’s pretty remarkable he brought home coc oil spray and salsa. I’m impressed! And if I wasn’t taking pics of this cake, a cream cheese glaze all over it would have been awesome. But a thick, white, gloppy liquid is a photography nightmare that I wasn’t in the mood for…haha! But it would have been amazing :) And yes, stock up on those white choc chips. They’re light years ahead of other brands!
I AM a fan of all those things-although I am on a mission to rename white chocolate since it isn’t chocolate, haha.
This cake looks deeeeeelightful:)
Well good luck on that one :)
These look so good. I went to Trader Joe’s last week and picked up the dried cranberries and 2 bags of the white chocolate chips. The funny thing was I ultimately did not know what I was going to do with them. Now I know :) Thanks for the recipe.
No way. That is too ironic!! White choc chips AND cranberries? It’s fate! LMK if you try this what you think!
The combo of cranberries and white chocolate is so perfect, no wonder people have tried to create this at home. I might not have star bucks in Australia but I am sure going to try these.
Wonderful! LMK your thoughts!
Can I use fresh cranberries do you think or frozen? Not a fan of dried :)
Good question and I addressed it under the 3rd photo in the post – lots of variables to ponder in doing that. LMK if you try!