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With a tender, moist crumb that’s absolutely bursting with with tart cranberries, this Cranberry Coffee Cake is topped with a brown sugar streusel and a sweet vanilla glaze. Is this the perfect potluck dessert? My current favorite holiday brunch treat? A fabulous Christmas breakfast? Yes, yes, it is.
Cranberry Coffee Cake
There’s something about coffee cake that feels like home for me. It was one of my dad’s favorite desserts, so this is one of the few desserts that my mom used to make. And, sweet childhood memories are to be savored. As a kid, those tiny squares of cake, topped with cinnamon and sugar, were the highlight of an evening with my parents’ friends.
But, add some tart berries to the mix? Then, an ordinary coffee cake becomes an unforgettable cranberry coffee cake. Sure, everyone loves cranberry once a year when it’s tucked in beside the turkey. But, bake cranberries into cake and they totally steal the show. They are incredible little flavor bombs, bright, juicy, and unapologetically tangy.
Exceptional coffee cake! Next time I might add a few chopped pecans to the streusel topping and extra vanilla just for a richer more caramel taste. But this was wonderful for our Thanksgiving breakfast! Thanks for a great recipe!
Coffee Cake With Cranberries
My baking list this weekend included chocolate mint cookies, gingerbread cake, and this coffee cake with cranberries. Can you tell that I’m fully in the swing of the holiday season? Sharing the goodies with other people is a big part of why I love baking. It just makes it so much easier to reconnect with my friends around the holidays.
That kind of connection is dear to me. So, this cake is a chance to slow down, sip a hot beverage, and catch up on life together. And speaking of hot beverages, did you know that coffee cake gets its name from the way that people always seem to pair it this way?
This cake practically begs for company. It’s a match made in heaven with freshly ground coffee (especially with eggnog coffee creamer). Hot and cold, bitter beans and sweet cake. It’s beautiful. But, don’t worry if you prefer chai tea leaves over roasted coffee beans. Those warm spices are just as good at balancing the cranberries.
Cranberry Coffee Cake Recipe
I think the best cakes are the ones you can eat for breakfast. And, coffee cake counts! So, this cake is the perfect way to greet the day, regardless of whether you serve it with tea or coffee. And, if you’re a fan of this cranberry coffee cake recipe, you’ll probably love these other custom coffee cake recipes, too!
The pumpkin coffee cake is layered inside with mouthwatering brown sugar cinnamon pecans in the middle, and topped generously with a crunchy pecan streusel. You can even leave the nuts out on this one, if you have a food allergy. It’s still delicious.
And, this old-fashioned coffee cake is moist and light, topped with cinnamon sugar and pecans. It’s called an overnight coffee cake, perfect for a lazy weekend morning or a holiday brunch, because you mix it the day before and let it chill overnight in the fridge.
If you have never tried baking with rhubarb, why not? It’s a classic for a reason. This rhubarb coffee cake is a fabulous way to use up any extra rhubarb you have from the garden, and it’s the perfect excuse to always eat cake for breakfast. Plus, it’s so important to get enough servings of vegetables.
Cranberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Streusel Ingredients
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup melted butter
Cake Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
Glaze Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk divided
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Streusel Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, sinnamon, and 1⅓ cup of flour. Stir with a fork to combine and then drizzle in the melted butter. Stir with a fork to form large streusel crumbs. Set aside.
Cake Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. In a medium-sized bowl, combine 2¼ cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk them together and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine between each one. Add the vanilla extract.
- Add half of the flour mixture, beat just to combine. Add the sour cream, mixing again, just until combined. Add the remaining fold and mix just to combine. Fold in the cranberries.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and top with the brown sugar streusel crumbs. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes back out clean. Cool completely.
Glaze Instructions
- Place the powdered sugar in a small mixing bowl and along with 2 tablespoons of milk and the vanilla extract. Whisk well and add more milk, just a teaspoon at a time, until the desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 12/14/15 – recipe notes and photos updated 11/25/25}
Great recipe. Only note that the coffee cake did need 15-16 more minutes to bake. It was very underdone at the 22 minute mark. Great flavor though, and loved the strusel topping! Such a festive coffee cake for Christmas morning! My kids also loved it!
I’m glad you were able to make it work for you and happy to hear that the cake was a hit!
Exceptional coffee cake! Next time I might add a few chopped pecans to the streusel topping and extra vanilla just for a richer more caramel taste. But this was wonderful for our Thanksgiving breakfast! Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m thrilled that you love it!
Beautiful batter and quality ingredients but I thought baking time was not going to be enough and indeed the center was not done for another solid 10 to 12 minutes. Just pulled it out of oven and can’t wait to serve it. Smells divine! Will try to make it back to comment on results. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for sharing, Victoria.
I love crumb cake so much!! This looks like a beautiful fusion of crumb cake and those cranberry bliss bars I have a deep love for at Starbucks. Awesome!!
Mmmmm!!! My favorite recipe during the holidays is Buckeyes!!!
My favorite two recipes to share are The Pioneer Woman’s Moist Pumpkin Spice Muffins and Liz Curtis Higg’s More Grandma Cookies. Both are delicious and seasonal favorites at our house.
My favorite recipe to share is my homemade pfeffernusse! It’s a traditional German spice cookie which I make every year in memory of my German grandma. She had them for us every Christmas, and they are SO GOOD.
Delicious! Coffee cake is the best 🙂
I could eat thay whole cake. I love cranberry. My favorite Christmas recipe to share with people is my. sticky pecan rolls on Christmas morning.