Food and Recipes Desserts Cakes Cranberry Filling Be the first to rate & review! Add a festive color to your layer cake this holiday season. By Southern Living Test Kitchen Southern Living Test Kitchen The Southern Living Test Kitchen has been publishing recipes since 1970, four years after the first issue of Southern Living Magazine appeared on newsstands. The Southern Living Test Kitchen team includes a team of professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians. Together, the team tests and retests, produces, styles, and photographs thousands of recipes each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on April 1, 2022 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Torie Cox Active Time: 20 mins Chill Time: 4 hrs Total Time: 4 hrs 20 mins Yield: 1 ½ cups Jump to recipe Ready to make Southern Living's 2020 White Cake? For this year's 25th anniversary cake, we pulled out all the stops, not only giving you a recipe for decadent Coconut Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting, but also giving you three different filling options: Lemon Curd Filling, Cranberry Filling, or Whipped Chocolate Ganache Filling. It's a choose-your-own-adventure layer cake for the holidays. If your home is bursting with holiday spirit, our Cranberry Filling is for you. This smooth Cranberry Filling boasts a rich, ruby-red color that's appropriately festive for the season. Use fresh or frozen cranberries for this filling, which comes together rather quickly—the cranberries get stewed on the stovetop with sugar, lemon juice, water, and corn starch to make a thick and fruity jam that pairs beautifully with the coconut cake. Your guests will be wowed when you slice into your stunning layer cake. Prepare the filling at least four hours before you plan to make the cake so it has time to chill completely. The Cranberry Filling can sit in the fridge for up to 3 days, so this is a step you can execute ahead of time. Ingredients 2 ½ cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries 1 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon) 2 tablespoons water 1 tablespoon cornstarch Directions Stir together cranberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, 2 tablespoon water, and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium. Boil, stirring constantly, until berries have popped and softened and mixture has thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour cranberry mixture into a blender. Secure lid on blender; remove center piece to allow steam to escape. Place a clean towel over opening. Process until smooth, about 1 minute. (Or process mixture in saucepan using an immersion blender.) Return to saucepan. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until very thick and slightly reduced, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a small heatproof bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of mixture (to prevent a film from forming). Chill until mixture is firm, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. Rate it Print