Skip to Content

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Use leftover cranberry sauce to make this tender, sweet-tart breakfast masterpiece. This recipe for Cranberry Coffee Cake is delightful.

After Thanksgiving, the leftovers loom. We devour plates of reheated foods, make sandwiches, craft turkey enchiladas and so much more. But despite all the leftovers we eat, it seems we never can quite finish all the cranberry sauce I make for Thanksgiving and other meals.

Unless, of course, I do something really creative with the leftover sauce.

Like make Cranberry Coffee Cake. With a swirl of cranberry sauce ribboning through this tender breakfast cake, it’s a delightful way to enjoy the leftovers in a whole new way.

Are you making any cranberry sauce or conserve soon? If so, keep this in mind when you do.

I adore the sweet-tart combination of this coffee cake (though I should mention that it’s neither overly sweet nor overwhelmingly tart — just a nice mix of the two).

How to Make Cranberry Coffee Cake

For this recipe, you’ll need a cup and a half of cranberry sauce. I prefer homemade cranberry sauce though you could use canned in a pinch too.

Start by preparing the batter. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. And then sift together the dry ingredients — using a whisk makes quick work of this. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating between the two, to the batter until incorporated. Stir in vanilla extract.

Now, it’s time to assemble the coffee cake. Pour a little less than half of the batter into the pan. Top with the cranberry sauce, spreading it gently to cover as much of the surface as possible. Then add the other half of the batter. Again, spread it gently to cover.

Now, it’s time to bake. Cook this for about 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tender inserted into the cake comes out cleanly.

Let it cool for about 30 minutes before inverting it to remove from the pan. Then it’s ready to enjoy. Slice into wedges and serve. I love it when it’s still warm from the oven, but it’s tasty cooled too.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

If you have leftover cranberries after the holidays, try this recipe for Cranberry Coffee Cake. You won’t be disappointed.

Cranberry Coffee Cake made with leftover cranberry sauce

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Use leftover cranberry sauce to make this tender, sweet-tart breakfast masterpiece. This recipe for Cranberry Coffee Cake is delightful.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups whole berry cranberry sauce, (leftover homemade sauce recommended)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.
  2. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the mixer set to medium speed and the paddle attachment whirling, cream together for about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time to the bowl and continue mixing on medium until incorporated.
  3. In a small bowl, sift together baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, flour and salt. Turn mixer to its lowest setting and add about one-third of the flour mixture to the bowl a little at a time. Add one-third of a cup of the buttermilk. Continue, alternating between the flour mixture and the buttermilk, until fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract. 
  4. Pour a little less than half of the batter into the prepared pan. Top with the cranberry sauce, gently smoothing out into a layer that covers the batter. Top with the remaining batter, again smoothing it out to cover the cranberry sauce as best as you can. It's okay if it doesn't completely cover. 
  5. Slide the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean.
  6. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes before inverting the pan and releasing the cake. You may want to loosen the edges with a knife before doing so to make removal easier. Enjoy!

Kate

Wednesday 14th of November 2018

This makes me feel like the sauce would be great in muffins too.

Sarah Walker Caron

Wednesday 14th of November 2018

I bet it would!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe Round-Up | stetted

Friday 11th of September 2015

[…] Sweet/Tart Cranberry Coffee Cake from Sarah’s Cucina Bella […]

Sara

Saturday 27th of December 2008

This looks great, I always stock the freezer with cranberries during this time of the year. Hope you had a great holiday!

maris

Friday 26th of December 2008

I made a verrrrrrry similar cake for Christmas morning! I'll be posting it soon but yours looks delicious also! Great minds think alike :)

j

Friday 26th of December 2008

Forget about the guests, I made this for myself and love having a slice in the morning. Nothing beats cranberry cake and a nice hot coffee in the morning!

Skip to Recipe