Cranberry Crumb Cake

Fresh tart cranberries are layered between a soft, tender vanilla cake and a holiday-spiced streusel topping in this cranberry crumb cake: a simple coffee cake perfect for the holiday season.

NOTE: I originally developed this recipe for Rodelle as part of a holiday baking contest on Instagram, and I loved the cake so much that I asked them if I could publish it here too. This post is NOT sponsored but I do love their vanilla extract and recommend it!

If you like this cranberry coffee cake recipe, check out my cranberry crumb bars and leftover cranberry sauce sweet rolls.

Why you’ll love this recipe

I have plans for your holiday brunch this year. This cranberry crumb cake ticks all the boxes for the “sweet” course of a Christmas brunch!

You do this at your brunches too, right? You have the required cup of coffee and mimosa (or bloody mary). The egg course. The sides – bacon, sausage, crispy potatoes, fruits. Even some side pastries or rolls if you’re fancy.

But then – there’s the sweet course. The sweet, buttery cake course, in this instance.

Could be cinnamon rolls (always a weakness for me). Could be pumpkin muffins. Could be French toast. But you can’t go wrong with a good brunch cake.

And this, my friends, is a great brunch cake. It’s one of my favorite coffee cakes ever.

Also another addition to my growing collection of single layer cake recipes!

Ingredients

For the Cake

The vanilla cake base of this cranberry coffee cake is one you’ve seen before – I used it as the base of my rhubarb cake. This is a buttermilk-based cake and while you CAN substitute plain yogurt, Greek yogurt, or sour cream in its place, I highly recommend using buttermilk for best texture and flavor. There is something about that tang that just cannot be replicated!

You’ll also need:

• unsalted butter (substitute vegan butter or room temperature coconut oil if you need to)
• all-purpose flour
• baking powder and baking soda as leaveners
• granulated sugar
• large eggs
• pure vanilla extract
• and of course – fresh whole cranberries.

For the Cranberry Layer

Fresh cranberries are preferable for this cake, but you can definitely use frozen, defrosted cranberries instead. Make sure to thoroughly drain them before using or they will add too much moisture to the cake. These little winter jewels will bake down into a tart, jammy layer in the oven and their flavor is perfectly set off by the delicate crumb streusel we’ll sprinkle over top (more on that next!).

You could also use leftover cranberry sauce instead of fresh cranberries. Use enough to spread a thick layer over top of the batter – about one cup should do it.

For the Streusel Topping

This crumb streusel is what really takes this moist coffee cake over the top. We combine flour, just a bit of granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together with cold butter to create a crumb topping replete with warm spices. That’s what takes this from a simple cranberry cake to a HOLIDAY brunch cake. I’m here for it.

How to Make a Cranberry Crumb Coffee Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
2. Make the cake batter:
   • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
   • In a large bowl with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
   • Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed until fully incorporated after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat briefly to combine.
   • Add a third of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined, then add half the buttermilk and beat on low speed again. Repeat with remaining third of flour mixture, the rest of the buttermilk, and end with the last third of the flour mixture.
3. Arrange the cake: Scrape batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out with a spatula, then arrange the cranberries or cranberry sauce evenly over the top of the batter and press down gently to adhere.
4. Make the crumb topping: in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add cold butter and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingertips (my preferred method) until the mixture resembles wet sand with some pea-sized crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over top of the cranberries.
5. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, or until edges are browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving. Optional: dust top of the cake with a bit of powdered sugar to look like snow!

Storage

Room temperature: The cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours, although it is best the day it’s made with the crisp streusel topping. It’s pretty great the next day too, though 🙂

Refrigerated: You can refrigerate the cake for up to 5 days, tightly covered so it doesn’t dry out.

Frozen: Cake can be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, for up to 3 months. Leave on the counter to thaw for at least 2-3 hours, or thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.

Additions and Substitutions

Add orange zest to the batter to make this a cranberry orange coffee cake – the zest of 1 orange will do. Rub it into the sugar with your fingers before using to release the oils and make the cake fragrant.

Fresh cranberries: you can use frozen cranberries instead, but make sure to thaw them first. Or, you can use leftover cranberry sauce – about 1 cup, or enough to cover the cake batter with a thick layer. Top with the cinnamon streusel and bake as directed.

Replace the buttermilk with Greek yogurt, non-dairy Greek-style yogurt, or sour cream.

Make it gluten-free: substitute an equal volume (2 cups) or equal weight (250g) of a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix that contains xanthan gum. I tested and like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour.

Tips for Success

• Use room temperature butter in the cake, and very cold butter in the streusel. In the cake, butter gives it that light, delicate texture we love. In the streusel crumb layer, it gives the crisp, melt in your mouth texture similar to that of a shortbread. The results will not be the same if you don’t follow the directions – it all depends on the temperature of your butter! It takes at least 30 minutes for butter to come to room temperature – or you can give it 15-20 seconds in the microwave on 50% power.
• Weigh your flour: one of my best tips for success in all baking recipes is to weigh your flour with a kitchen scale. I cannot stress enough how important it is to accurately measure your flour for consistent, excellent results, and weight is the most accurate way.
• Stop mixing the cake batter as soon as the flour is incorporated. You can use a rubber spatula to fold in any remaining bits of flour at the bottom. Over beating cakes causes excess gluten formation, making them dry and tough – no one wants that!
• Use a springform pan with removable sides if you have it – this is definitely the best option for this cake, as having to remove the cake from a regular cake pan would be more likely to damage the fragile topping. If you don’t have a springform pan, you can use a 9″ round cake pan with at least 2 inch high sides, and I’d recommend serving directly out of the cake pan to avoid trying to flip it.

I hope you love this cranberry crumb cake as much as I do, and that it makes the sweet course of your holiday brunch a little brighter!

More Holiday Recipes

• Cranberry Crumb Bars
• Leftover Cranberry Sauce Sweet Rolls
• Snickerdoodle Cake
• Single Layer Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and review (it makes a big difference and allows me to get my recipes in front of more people!), and tag me on Instagram @katiebirdbakes – I love seeing your recipe photos!

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5 from 2 votes

Cranberry Crumb Coffee Cake

Tart, fresh cranberries are layered between a soft, light-crumbed vanilla cake and a holiday-spiced streusel topping in this cranberry crumb coffee cake.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: brunch, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: coffee cake, cranberry, crumb, holiday

Servings: 10 slices (9-inch cake)

Author: Katiebird Bakes

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs (100g)
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup (170g) buttermilk*
• 1 ½ cups (150g) fresh cranberries**

For the crumb topping:

• ½ cup (62g) all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 Tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter cold and cubed

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Make the cake: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed until fully incorporated after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and beat briefly to combine.
• Add a third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined, then add half the buttermilk and beat on low speed again. Repeat with remaining third of flour mixture, the rest of the buttermilk, and end with the last third of the flour mixture.
• Beat on low speed until the batter is smooth, but do not overmix.
• Scrape batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth it out with a spatula.
• Arrange the cranberries evenly over the top and press down gently to adhere to the batter.
• Make the crumb topping: in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add cold butter and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, two forks, or your fingertips (my preferred method) until the mixture resembles wet sand with some pea-sized crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over top of the cranberries.
• Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, or until edges are browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely before serving. Optional: dust with a bit of powdered sugar to look like snow!

Notes

*if you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute an equal amount of sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt, or use 3/4 tablespoon of lemon juice mixed with 3/4 cup of milk and leave to curdle for 5 minutes before using.

**you can also use frozen cranberries, but make sure to thaw and fully drain them first to avoid adding too much moisture to the cake.

Cake will keep, well-wrapped at room temperature, for up to a day. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

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