A lovely moist cranberry streusel cake, with streusel both in the middle and on top of the cake. Lightly sweet, so it’s perfect any time of day!
With fresh cranberries still plentiful at the markets, it is a great time to bake up cranberry cake!
This cranberry streusel cake is topped with cranberries and has streusel both in the middle of the cake and on top. As this cake is full of fruit and lightly sweet, it’s perfect to enjoy any time of day.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries for this cake. If starting with frozen, thaw and pat dry before adding to cake.
Sour Cream: I always use full-fat sour cream when specified. I don’t recommend a reduced-fat or no-fat sour cream in baking, as it doesn’t perform the same way in baking and can produce different results. If you want to use a lower fat product, I’d recommend a full-fat thick yogurt, which usually checks in at 3.5-5% butter fat, as opposed to the 14% sour cream.
Butter: I haven’t specified salted or unsalted butter here. You can use either. I generally use unsalted myself. If using salted butter, reduce the added salt by a bit.
Recipe Tips
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- This cake is also great baked as a 9×13-inch sheet cake, if you’d prefer that shape. The thinner 9×13 cake will bake more quickly – somewhere around 1 hour. Watch closely and test regularly after about 50 minutes of baking.
- I baked my round cake in a 9-inch springform pan. If you don’t have that size, move up to a 10-inch springform. An 8-inch springform would be too small, I think. Expect a slightly reduced baking time if using a 10-inch pan.
- If you have a black or very dark springform pan, consider lowering the oven temperature by up to 25 degrees F, as the darker pan will cook more quickly. Baking time will be close to that stated, even when lowering the temperature.
- In all cases, watch closely and test often. Difference in pans and ovens can affect the amount of time it will take to bake in your oven. Test in several spots in the centre of the cake to be sure it’s cooked right to the centre
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Making Ahead, Storing and Freezing
This cake is best enjoyed on the day it’s baked, but will keep well for 2-3 days stored at room temperature.
This cake will also freeze well for 2-3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Cranberry Streusel Cake
Ingredients
Streusel:
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
Cake:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, reduce slightly if using salted butter
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
For Garnish:
- Icing/Confectioners' Sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted). Grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
- Make the streusel: In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Add the butter and blend into dry ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.
- Make the cake: 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 the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternately with the sour cream (add 1/3 flour mixture, then 1/2 sour cream, then 1/3 flour mixture, then remainder of sour cream, then remainder of flour mixture). Stir in cranberries.
- Spread 1/2 of the batter into prepared pan. Cover with 1/2 of the streusel mixture. Top with remaining batter and top with remaining streusel.
- Bake at 350F for 65-75 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.
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 made this cake today it was absolutely fabulous. I made a couple of changes… instead of lemon I used orange rind and juice along with one teaspoon of vanilla bean paste and a quarter a teaspoon almond extract. It was wonderful! Everyone raved about the tart the sweet and how moist it was. A keeper for sure!!
Sounds lovely Debra and so glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks so much!
I have made this cake for years but for some reason in the last couple of years
my streusel in the centre of my cake is wet and on the top of my cake it is sinking.
Why? Help!
Hi Carmela, there are so many reasons why the middle of a cake would sink, but if you have only had this issue recently, I would look closely at what is different from previous successful bakes. Different pan, new oven, old baking powder? Over-mixing after adding the dry ingredients or opening oven door/testing too early or simply being under-baked can also cause this issue. Anything you can pinpoint?
Awesome cake. Followed the recipe exactly. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
So glad to hear, Jayne :) Thanks!
I made this cake yesterday in a 10″ springform, it rose nicely so that size works well too. It’s very good, nicely tart in some bites but sweet enough too.
So glad you enjoyed it, Cheryl! Thanks so much :)
Of all the baking I do this time of year, baking with cranberries is my favourite thing! I love their tart taste and vibrant colour. They work beautifully in these streusel cake!
Thanks Leanne and yes, I keep a freezer full of cranberries so I can bake with them often. Hard to beat that tart/sweet thing :)
I bet you know my love for anything streusel Jennifer, so this cake is right up my alley. And I’m always looking to use cranberries this time of year. Adding to my baking list!
Thanks so much, Mary Ann!
Love anything with ‘streusel’ because those buttery, golden bits are SO good! Such a lovely cake for the holidays with some vanilla ice cream!
Thanks so much, Dawn :)
I happen to have everything I need to make this beauty! I love it when a plan comes together! Delicious!
Thanks so much, Annie!
I made a similar cake a few weeks ago and love it! The rich sour cream batter is perfect against the tart cranberries. Your cake is a beauty and must be wonderful with a cup of tea or coffee. Perfect for Christmas morning :)
Thanks Tricia! I never tire of cranberry cakes :)
Hi Jennifer. Looking forward to trying this lovely cake but I have a question: I just got my first mixmaster and am getting used to it… you mention the option of mixing the butter and sugar in a mixmaster, and I’m wondering if the subsequent steps (mixing in the dry and wet gradually) are also OK to do in there, or is that better done by hand to avoid over-mixing?
Thanks!
Sue
Hi Sue, I do everything in my stand mixer up to the cranberries. I usually remove from the mixer at that point and fold the fruit in with a spatula. Not such a big deal with cranberries, as they are hard, but softer fruit would get mushed up :)