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 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!
- Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick), unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- ¾ cup whole milk, room temperature (try to use whole milk, but if necessary low-fat milk can be substituted)
- 2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
- zest from 1 large orange, zest directly into the batter so all the oils get into the batter.
- Crumb Topping
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Orange glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9×9 inch pan with baking spray; set aside.
- 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 forms; set aside.
- Now to the batter – mix together dry ingredients in a bowl; flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- Using a mixer, cream together butter, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes) scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add orange zest, vegetable oil, vanilla, almond and egg and mix until incorporated, again scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Next alternate mixing dry ingredients and 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.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and top with the crumble 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. 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.
Ronak Mehta
Wow. It looks delicious. I love coffee cake. So, I will try to make it. Your recipe will help me. Thanks for sharing.
Jessica Erin
you’re welcome!