Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake

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It’s never ever a bad time to make any type of coffee cake. This Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake is a favorite flavor combination of mine. Cranberries and fresh orange zest are mixed into a thick cake batter then topped with a crunchy crumble and orange almond glaze. This cake is absolutely delicious. 

I had every intention of getting this recipe up way before the holidays but life happened.

Two sick children, usual holiday scramble, hosting Christmas Eve. I just didn’t have the time. I’m sorry!

But…better late than never, right? And Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake can be enjoyed during any season and at any time of the day, RIGHT?

I tried and tried to make a muffin but they just didn’t turn out so I decided to make a cake instead and it yielded exactly what I was looking for. A fluffy and moist cake filled with tons of delicious fresh flavors.

I bet you could bake this batter into little mini cakes…when I have some extra time, I will try that, but for now….it’s in cake form and it’s perfect.

The cranberries are tart but the batter is sweet. The orange zest is so flavorful and the crumb topping is seriously everything! And for a little more sweetness, the entire cake is drizzled with an orange almond glaze.

My dad could not stop eating this…he said “Bug. This could be served in a bakery.”

Thank you, Dad. That’s all I needed to hear!!

This Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake is seriously a winner though. I would bake this up and bring it to your next get together. It’s delicious cold, warm, for breakfast, snack or for dessert.

You can easily switch up the flavors to…blueberry and lemon, peach and cinnamon. I’m liking the peach and cinnamon idea, A LOT.

Or keep it as is. Cranberries and oranges are the perfect pairing and the flavor combo is dynamite. It’s amazing that a little orange zest and some cranberries can make something so delicious!

Enjoy!

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Yield: 9 large pieces

Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake

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Cranberries and fresh orange zest are mixed into a thick cake batter then topped with a crunchy crumble and orange almond glaze. This cake is absolutely delicious. 

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

Coffee Cake

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• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (coconut oil would work, too)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
• Zest from 1 large orange (zest directly into batter)

Orange Glaze

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• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice (use the orange you zested)
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Crumb Topping

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• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9×9 inch pan with baking spray; set aside.
2. Make the crumb topping first – simply add all the ingredients into a bowl except for the butter and mix. Then add the butter and mix by hand until course crumbs form; set aside.
3. Now to the batter – mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl; flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes) scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
5. Add orange zest, vegetable oil, vanilla, almond and egg and mix on medium speef until incorporated, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
6. Next alternate mixing in the dry ingredients and the whole milk on low-speed. Start with dry and end with dry so you will mix about 1/3 of the dry, then half the milk, another 1/3 of dry, rest of milk, then the last of the dry ingredients. Do not over-mix during the increments or at the end. Mix until just incorporated and don’t worry about scraping down the bowl as you will do that when you mix in the cranberries. Lastly, fold in the cranberries with a spatula and scapre the sides and bottom of the bowl if needed.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and top with the crumb topping, pressing it down gently into the batter. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If crumbs are on the toothpick that’s okay, you just don’t want wet batter.
8. Let cool before drizzling the glaze. To make the glaze, whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl. If the glaze is too thick add, a teaspoon more of orange juice. If it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Notes

Cake will last at room temperature for 3-4 days in an air tight container or up to 5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

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