Rich Cranberry Coffee Cake
When our children come home for the holidays, I make sure to bake this coffee cake. I always use fresh berries in season, then put a few bags in the freezer for later on. That way, we can enjoy this moist cake anytime we want! —Mildred Schwartzentruber, Tavistock, Ontario
Ingredients
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, patted dry
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- Confectioners' sugar
Reviews
A fabulous seasonal coffee cake! I used fresh, organic cranberries and I added a streusel filling (and cut back on the sugar by 1/3 cup). After spooning half the batter into my "Heritage style" bundt pan, I added the streusel filling (1/4 cup butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon), and then added the remaining batter. My oven only required 58 minutes of baking time.
I turned the kitchen over to my husband this afternoon, and he wanted to make this. We enjoyed it warm from the oven. What a wonderful flavor! A real keeper. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I fixed this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it!!
I've been making this coffeecake for holiday gifts for years. But I make it year-round also. I always use frozen berries - but they need to be incorporated very quickly into the batter otherwise the batter gets too chilled to mix properly. The easiest way to do this is to mix the cranberries and nuts with the 1/4 c flour in a large metal bowl; then dump the batter into the bowl and fold the batter with the berries and nuts. So much easier than trying to blend in the mixer bowl. The one difference in my recipe versus this one is the baking temperature. I bake mine at 325 degrees for about 60 min. Comes out perfect every time.
This was a big hit at our Christmas Eve dinner. I added a little orange zest to the batter along with 1/2 cup of sour cream. I also created a glaze using strawberry orange juice and confectioner's sugar to pour over it. The dinner guest said the cake was moist and the glaze was awesome.
This is a go to Christmas recipe for our family. Everyone loves it, my husbands coworkers particularly and I love how easy it is to make. It freezes extremely well also.
Very good cake - lovely taste. I will however add more cranberries 1/2 cup to a cup and bake for only 50 minutes next time as it was slightly dry.
This recipe is great to take to a club meeting or church lunch because you will get raves and recipe requests.
This cake is easy to make and a good reason to keep frozen cranberries in your freezer. I baked it for about 65 minutes and it was perfect. I did forget to put the confectioner's sugar on after it was baked, but it really didn't need it. I like this cake because it is not overly sweet. It is perfect with a nice cup of coffee and satisfies a sweet tooth without being too much. I used a little more cranberries and nuts than called for because I didn't feel like taking the time to measure accurately on those ingredients. So I went with close enough and a few extra berries and nuts never hurts anything :). I used real butter and real cream cheese because if you are going to take the time to bake, skimping on ingredients is just plain silly. If you are looking for something to serve company, feel confident in making this recipe. Your guests will be glad you did.
Wonderful and delicious!