This delicious cranberry coffee cake is light and moist, studded with cranberries and topped with an almond streusel topping. A great cake to enjoy any time of day and especially nice holiday cake!
I have been making this cranberry coffee cake for many years. It is the perfect thing to have on your counter as family arrives or friends drop by for the holidays. It’s a wonderful way to welcome them!
Perfect for any time of day, this light and moist cake is full of cranberries and topped with a delicious almond streusel topping. Enjoy this cranberry cake with morning coffee, with afternoon tea or as a dessert with a dollop of whipped cream.
Ingredients and substitutions
Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. If frozen, use from frozen, but expect the cake to take a bit of extra baking time.
Sour Cream – full fat sour cream is recommend, for the best texture, moistness and flavour. Full fat Greek yogurt would be a good substitute, but the lower fat of yogurt will make some difference in the cake.
Almond Extract: I am not a fan of the taste of almond extract in baking, so I always opt for pure vanilla ahead. You can use either, as you like.
Recipe tips!
- I garnished my cake with some fresh cranberries and a few sprigs of rosemary. I would suggest not leaving the rosemary in the cake if it will be sitting on the counter for a bit, as the flavour of the rosemary will transfer to the cake.
- You can change this one up a bit flavour wise by using orange zest and juice instead of the lemon.
Variations
Change it up! You can use any nut for the topping, such as substituting chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts if you like. For a nut-free version, omit the nuts altogether and use large flake rolled oats instead.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
Since it is so moist, this cake will keep well stored covered on the counter top for several days, so it can be ready for any time or for any one who drops in.
This cake would also freeze well for several months, if you want to bake it ahead or preserve leftovers.
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Get the Recipe: Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Almond Topping:
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- Pinch cinnamon
- Pinch salt, omit if using salted butter
- 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup flaked almonds
For Cake:
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, less if you used salted butter
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup sour cream, full fat recommended, or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
For garnish:
- 1 Tbsp confectioners/icing sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the Almond Topping: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir until moistened and clumpy. Pour in the flaked almonds and with fingers, mix together until crumbly. Place bowl in the fridge while you prepare the cake.
- Preheat oven to 375F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted). Grease and 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice and mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the almond extract (or vanilla) and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream and mix until well combined.
- With a spoon, gently stir 1 cup of the cranberries into the batter. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Scatter remaining 1/2 cup of cranberries over the top. Sprinkle almond topping over the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. *Using frozen cranberries will lengthen the baking time. **Check cake after about 40 minutes and if the top is browning too quickly, loosely lay a sheet of aluminum foil over-top for the last part of baking.
- Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the outside and remove the outer ring. Transfer cake to a cooling rack, sliding off the base of the pan (with the parchment) and onto the cooling rack. Let cool completely.
- Serve dusted with icing sugar.
Notes
More cranberry cake recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I have made this recipe several times, it is a family favourite!
I have this beautiful cake in my oven now as I type. I’m a very seasoned baker. I’m alarmed that the batter of the cake has risen from the bottom and folded itself over the topping. Not a pretty look. I had wanted to take this to a gathering tomorrow morning. I’m looking for a way to save it…will try making more streusel and adding it on top before it finishes baking…would love your thoughts.
Hi Jacqueline, I have never had that issue. How did it come out in the end?
I quickly made more topping using very cold butter and my fingers to combine the ingredients and put it on top of the cake with just 10 minutes before it needed to come out of the oven. It isn’t nearly as pretty as your photo—the topping mostly melted. But due to an unexpected change in plans I didn’t need it so I’ve wrapped it and frozen it. I suspect the cake will be good—hard to go wrong with good ingredients. I am wondering whether the problem has something to do with perhaps beating too much air into the egg—-the cake did rise beautifully in a 9” springform. My plan is to garnish the cake with a sprinkle of sugared cranberries and almonds and serve with a smile. ;)
Sounds like a good plan, Jacqueline! Sometimes I have unexpected outcomes and am never quite sure where it went awry. Sounds like you had an extra bit of rising going, so yes, could be the in the beating.
Delicious cake – I will be making it regularly !! Didn’t have an 8 ” springform pan so baked for 35 minutes in a 9″ springform pan.
So glad you enjoyed it, Linda! Thanks so much :)
Can I replace butter with oil and Greek yogurt for sour cream. ? If yes do I need to reduce the amount ?
Hi Pina, you should be able to do both of those substitutions in the same amount as stated, though I have no idea how it will affect the cake texture/flavour over-all. Let me know how it works out.
Hi! Does this recipe keep well if made in advance? Hoping to make it and serve two days later.
Thanks :)
Hi Linda, I think one day ahead is very do-able, but for two days, I might be inclined to freeze it. While it does keep fairly well, if you’re making for company and want it to be at its best, freezing is probably the better option for making that far ahead.
I cannot find any fresh or frozen cranberries in my area Can I use frozen black berries or blue berries
Hi Felicity and yes, I think any fruit would work with this cake, so just go with what you enjoy :)
I’ve just tested this weekend and this cake tastes really really good ^^
It’s perfect for a nice break after a workday – post xmas season :-)
Best wishes from Belgium :-) Thanks for sharing!
Glad you are enjoying it :) And yes, perfect any time of year! Thanks so much.
I couldn’t stop thinking about this lovely cake! I made it yesterday, and we had it for brunch today. It is delicious, with great texture and flavour. I’m going to make it again for Christmas morning – it has a nice festive look! Thank you for the inspiration.
So glad you enjoyed it, Karen and enjoy at Christmas, as well :) Thanks so much!
Hello,
You cannot imagine how happy I am to have discovered your site!
G
Thanks Guy :) Happy cooking!
This s a question, not comment. Do you put the cranberries in flour prior to adding so that they don’t sink to the bottom,like one does with blueberries in blueberry buckle? Thanks.
I’ve never floured cranberries, as they have a very dry outside, so any flour wouldn’t stick to them anyway.
I love this cake and have made it often. I didn’t have any lemons the last time I made it, so used lemon juice (Bottled yikes!) and threw in a handful of almonds. The cake was even more delicious, I loved the nuts in it. Your recipe is now being used in South Africa Jennifer.
Thanks for all you wonderful recipes.
So glad you are enjoying it and love the sound of the nuts in the cake, too :) Thanks so much!
All I can say is that this is the most Wonderful coffee cake!! I have made this cake more times than I can count. Every time, I have been asked for the recipe. Thank you for your fab recipes.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Great New Year.
Thanks so much, Ava! And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, as well :)
Hi. This looks amazing, I’m going to have a go at one this weekend. But I can’t see how much coffee to put in? Have I missed that?
Hi Lenny, Even though it’s called a coffee cake, there isn’t any actual coffee in the cake. The name is intended to suggest that you would eat it with coffee, for breakfast or as an afternoon treat etc.
OH MY! This was so easy to prepare….it turned out moist, not overly sweet, and so delicious! I’m definitely keeping this recipe and making it often! If you want it sweeter, just top it off with more powdered sugar! Thanks for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
Made this the other day for my friends birthday and it was a total hit! Forgot to thaw the cranberries but it didn’t seem to alter anything otherwise followed the directions, definitely on my make again list!
Hi Emma, Glad you enjoyed it. I think using frozen cranberries may just affect the cooking time as they cool the batter and slow the baking a bit. Otherwise, no problem.
I’ve made this several times. It’s absolutely delicious!! Your website is my go-to website for recipes. I have yet to have one of your recipes fail me. Thank you :)
So glad to hear! Thanks so much, Ryan :)