Nothing makes our mornings cozier than this freshly baked cranberry orange coffee cake during the holiday season! Its velvety orange glaze and tart cranberries make every bite a sweet, festive treat.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
This recipe is a buttery, tender breakfast cake that we like to enjoy with coffee, tea, or even a glass of milk. It's the perfect Christmas morning breakfast, and it's always a hit in our household! My daughter and husband say it's because of the crumbly streusel topping.
For more festive sweet treats, try my Banana and Pumpkin Muffins or 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins. They're quick, crowd-pleasing additions to your holiday menu. Now let’s bake up some dessert for breakfast!
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake Recipe
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- How to Make Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
- Variations
- Serving Suggestions & Food Pairings for Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
- Storage Tips
- Top Tips for Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
- FAQs
- Related
- Pairing
- The Best Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake with Crunchy Streusel
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake Recipe
This orange cranberry coffee cake drizzled with sweet orange glaze is my go-to recipe for sweet cravings early in the morning!
Quick to prep: Ready to bake in just 20 minutes.
Festive flavors: Cranberries, earthy cinnamon, and orange are a classic holiday flavor combination.
Perfect for sharing: Yields 16 slices for family and guests.
Versatile: Great for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon dessert.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This classic, buttery cake with cozy fall and winter flavors uses very simple ingredients! Scroll to the recipe card at the end of this post for the full recipe with ingredient amounts.
- All-purpose flour: You can also use ½ cup all-purpose flour and ½ cup whole-wheat flour for a nuttier flavor.
- Oat flour: Make your own by blending rolled oats into a fine powder. It gives the cake a tender, soft texture.
- Baking powder: Helps the cake rise. Sieve it if it has any large clumps.
- Baking soda: Don’t substitute it with more baking powder, as this can cause the cake to have a metallic aftertaste.
- Salt: Kosher or sea salt works best.
- Ground cinnamon: Infuses cozy warmth. Nutmeg is a wonderful substitute.
- Unsalted butter: If using salted butter, skip the salt in the rest of the recipe.
- Granulated sugar: Light or dark brown sugar can add a caramel-like depth.
- Eggs: They give the cake structure.
- Fresh orange zest: Lemon zest is a good alternative.
- Vanilla extract: Almond extract works too.
- Greek yogurt: Keeps the cake moist. Sour cream or plain yogurt are great substitutes.
- Frozen cranberries: Avoid fresh to prevent excess moisture in the batter.
- Almond flour: Makes the streusel topping extra nutty.
- Rolled oats: Adds crunch to the streusel. Avoid quick oats.
- Chopped pecans: Walnuts or almonds are great swaps.
- Powdered sugar: Add a little more powdered sugar if you prefer a thicker glaze.
- Fresh orange juice: Lemon juice is a good substitute.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
This cranberry coffee cake recipe with almond-oat streusel is quite easy to whip up! Mix, bake, and drizzle with glaze for a breakfast treat everyone will love.
Step 1: Mix flour, oats, pecans, cinnamon, sugar, and butter until crumbly for the streusel. Set aside.
Step 2: Whisk flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in another bowl.
Step 3: Toss frozen cranberries with a little flour to keep them from sinking.
Step 4: Whisk melted butter, sugar, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in yogurt.
Step 5: Gently fold dry ingredients into the wet mix.
Step 6: Fold in the cranberries to the batter.
Step 7: Pour batter into the pan and sprinkle the streusel evenly on top. Bake for about 40 minutes, then cool slightly.
Step 8: Whisk yogurt, powdered sugar, and orange juice for the glaze, and drizzle over the cooled cake.
Variations
Bake this cranberry orange coffee cake throughout the holiday season by occasionally switching up the add-ins! Try these yummy twists to make it your own:
Blueberry orange coffee cake: Swap cranberries for frozen blueberries for a less tart flavor.
Nut-free streusel: Skip the almond flour and pecans in the streusel. Substitute the almond flour with all-purpose flour.
Make cupcakes: Line a muffin tray with liners. Pour batter into each one until ¾s full. Sprinkle with streusel and bake for 12-16 minutes or until the streusel is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Spice it up: Add ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg or ground cardamom to the dry ingredients for extra warmth and spice.
Cranberry lemon coffee cake: Use lemon zest in the batter and lemon juice for the glaze for a bolder tang.
Make it a bundt: Grease a bundt pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle in the streusel. Pour in the batter and spread it out evenly. Adjust baking time to 45–50 minutes.
Serving Suggestions & Food Pairings for Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
This cinnamon-spiced breakfast cake with pecan streusel is our favorite Christmas morning breakfast! Here are our favorite ways to enjoy it:
- Serve with a glass of milk, a cup of tea, or coffee.
- Pair with a yogurt granola bowl, Banana Chia Overnight Oats, or Pineapple Coconut Chia Pudding.
- Enjoy with my Slow Cooker Mulled Wine or hot cocoa for an afternoon dessert.
- Bring to a holiday brunch with my Pumpkin Bread With Cake Mix and Banana Mini Muffins With Chocolate Chip.
- Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for an extra indulgent treat.
Storage Tips
Prepping this buttery cranberry cake in advance or saving leftovers? Here’s how to keep it fresh and delicious for later:
Refrigerator
It tastes even better the next day! Store in an airtight container or wrap tightly with aluminum foil for up to 5 days.
Freezer
Wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Top Tips for Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
These simple tricks will make your pecan-almond streusel cranberry coffee cake a holiday showstopper every time:
Toss cranberries with flour: Don't forget this step, otherwise, the cranberries will sink to the bottom of the baking pan and bleed color. The cake will be just as yummy, but the cranberries won't be evenly distributed throughout.
Don't overmix: Only mix the wet and dry mixtures until just-combined. It's okay if a few small clumps or streaks of flour remain. Overmixing causes cakes to turn out dense.
Cover it: If the streusel is already golden after 15-20 minutes of baking time, cover the cake with aluminum foil for the remaining oven time to prevent burning.
Make a thicker glaze: Add ½ tablespoon extra powdered sugar at a time until thickened to your desired consistency. Pour or spread over the cake.
FAQs
Here’s what other home cooks are asking about this tender coffee cake with a tart holiday twist!
No, this recipe uses frozen cranberries to prevent excess moisture and color bleeding.
Absolutely! Bake a day ahead and store in an airtight container. Glaze it before serving.
Yes! A bundt pan or muffin tray works, but adjust bake time slightly.
Swap all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free blend for great results.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with this Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake:
This spiced cranberry coffee cake with pecan streusel and orange glaze is our family’s favorite way to welcome Christmas morning! Share your creations on social media with Hungry Whisk, and don’t forget to subscribe for more holiday breakfast recipes and recipe cards!
The Best Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake with Crunchy Streusel
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 cup frozen cranberries do not thaw
For the Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup All purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Yogurt-Orange Glaze
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Mix all purpose flour, rolled oats, pecans, cinnamon, sugar, and melted butter in a small bowl until crumbly. Set aside the prepared streusel topping.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside 1-2 teaspoon of the flour to coat frozen cranberries.
- In a separate medium bowl, toss frozen cranberries with 1–2 teaspoon of the flour from the recipe to prevent sinking and reduce color bleed.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk melted butter with sugar, eggs, fresh orange zest, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in Greek yogurt.
- Gently fold dry ingredients into wet mixture until just combined. Fold in cranberries carefully so the cranberries stay whole.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and evenly sprinkle the streusel mix on top.
- Bake for 38–42 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Frozen cranberries may release extra moisture, so check at the 38-minute mark and adjust slightly if needed. Let the cake cool 10–15 minutes.
- Whisk together Greek yogurt, powdered sugar, and orange juice until smooth and pourable. Drizzle over the sliced and cooled cake before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Risa says
This cake looks so festive and delicious! I just bought some cranberries at the store (they are finally here) and will be trying this soon. Can't wait to make it!
Madhu (Author) says
That's wonderful! I'm so glad you found some fresh cranberries, they really do bring such a bright, festive flavor to holiday baking.
Tina says
Cranberry and orange are my fav combo! So delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Madhu (Author) says
That is such wonderful taste! Cranberry and orange is truly a classic combination, especially this time of year, it is bright, festive, and perfectly balanced. I am delighted you found this recipe delicious!
Madhu (Author) says
I had so much fun making this one! The cranberry and orange combo turned out so fresh and cozy, and that little yogurt glaze on top just makes it extra special. It’s the kind of cake you want to enjoy with a warm cup of coffee on a slow morning.