Cranberry Breakfast Cake

4.34 from 6 votes
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This Cranberry Breakfast Cake is the perfect breakfast, snack or dessert for the holidays. Fresh cranberries and almond extract are such a great pair for this soft, tender, and delicious cake.

stacked cranberry coffee cake on a white plate

 

The holidays are a busy time of year, so having a few staple recipes you can make in no time if you have a house full of people are a must! This breakfast cake is definitely fitting for breakfast or brunch, but can also work for an afternoon snack or even dessert.

This is based off of my Blueberry Breakfast Cake that has been on my site since 2012, but for this I used fresh cranberries. You really could use most fruits or berries in this recipe. Cranberries just make it festive for the holidays!

Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Breakfast Cake

  • Fresh Cranberries – this is a great use of fresh cranberries. You can use frozen if you are making it out of season, but we all seem to have an extra bag sitting in our fridge this time of year, so this is a great use for it!
  • Easy – I am all about easy, and this cake has no layers, a mixer does all the work to bring the batter together, and then it bakes in a single 8-inch baking pan.
  • Multipurpose – Yes, it is called cake, which implies dessert. But it is one of those, like a Coffee Cake that you really could serve for breakfast, brunch, snack time with a cup of coffee or break out for dessert. Very versatile and you are going to be making it again and again.
adding cranberries to cake batter

What You’ll Need

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.

  • Butter – you want room temperature butter, I always bake with unsalted butter
  • Sugar
  • Egg
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Almond Extract
  • All-Purpose Flour
  • Baking Powder
  • Salt
  • Cranberries
  • Vanilla Yogurt – buttermilk works as well
sugar sprinkled over bake batter in baking pan

How To Make Cranberry Breakfast Cake

  • Mix Wet Ingredients. Cream the butter and sugar together until it is nice and fluffy. Beat in egg, and both extracts until everything is fully incorporated.
  • Mix Dry Ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the cranberries with 1/4 cup flour, tossing to fully coat.
  • Combine. Add remaining flour, baking powder and salt to the butter mixture. Stir in the yogurt until well combined.
  • Add Berries. Using a spatula, gently fold in the cranberries and the flour until they are evenly distributed.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan. It will be a little sticky. If you get your hand damp, you can use them to evenly spread out the dough. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top of the batter. 
  • Bake. Place pan in the hot oven and bake until the cake starts to turn golden brown and a tester comes out mostly clean. Remove and let it cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
baked cranberry cake on a pan

Recipe Tips

  • Pull out your butter to soften the night before, or soften it carefully in the microwave (you don’t want to melt it!).
  • Prepare your baking pan before you start mixing, so it’s ready when your batter is. 
  • For even more crunch on top, try sprinkling with coarse sanding sugar instead of regular sugar. 

Can I Use Frozen Cranberries

I like fresh cranberries better, but frozen berries work as well. I think it works best to thaw them first, so they don’t “bleed” quite as much. It is super easy to just leave them out overnight in the fridge, or put the bag under cold running water until they’re ready. Drain off the excess liquid and pat the berries dry with a paper towel before tossing with the flour and adding to the recipe.

cranberry coffee cake on a plate

Storage

Store leftover cranberry breakfast cake in an airtight container for 2-3 days. It does not need to be placed in the fridge, but it will last an extra day if you do store it chilled. You can reheat in the microwave if you want a warmed slice of cake.

More Delicious Holiday Breakfast Recipes

close up cranberry breakfast cake on a white plate
4.34 from 6 votes

Cranberry Breakfast Cake

By Erin
This Cranberry Breakfast Cake is the perfect breakfast, snack or dessert for the holidays. Fresh cranberries and almond extract are such a great pair for this soft, tender, and delicious cake.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Servings: 9

Video

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350º F. Prepare a 9 in baking pan with parchment paper, or spray with non-stick spray.
  • In an electric mixer, cream together butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  • Beat in the egg, vanilla and almond extract until the egg is fully incorporated
  • In a separate bowl combine the cranberries with 1/4 cup flour, tossing to fully coat.
  • Add remaining flour, baking powder and salt to the butter mixture. Stir in the yogurt until well combined.
  • Using a spatula fold in the cranberries until evenly distributed
  • Pour batter into prepared pan. It will be a little sticky. If you get your hand damp, you can use them to evenly spread out the dough. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top of the batter.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake starts to turn golden brown. A toothpick inserted should come out clean when done.
  • Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 442mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Author: Erin
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Course: Breakfast Recipes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 9
Calories: 230
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About Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and Iโ€™m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, youโ€™ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.

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4.34 from 6 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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7 Comments

  1. Oh, that looks so good! This is the perfect special breakfast for Christmas morning or just the holiday season in general. I have to try it!

  2. Can you double this recipe and put in 9 x 13 pan? Would that work and about how long to cook? Thanks so much, this sound so delicious!

    1. Yes you can. I am not sure on the baking time as I haven’t tested it, but I would start testing around the 40 minute mark to see how much more time it needs.