A soft and moist almond flavored cake filled with fresh cranberries and topped with a sweet almond streusel. A delicious breakfast or dessert for the holiday season. Choose between two pan sizes and whip up this incredible cake anytime you choose.
Get ready to sink your teeth into the very best Cranberry Cake! The combination of almond and cranberry is a match made in heaven! This soft almond cake is studded with fresh cranberries, topped with an almond streusel, and drizzled with almond icing.
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Recipe overview
Cake: The base of this cake is an almond-flavored cake that is soft and moist and filled with fresh cranberries.
Topping: An almond streusel topping gets sprinkled on top of the cake before baking. This crumb topping adds a sweet almond crunch to every bite.
Bake: Bake this cake in a 9×9 or 8×11 pan for 30-40 minutes.
Icing: After cooling, drizzle the cake with an almond icing made from powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Texture: Thanks to the butter/sugar creaming technique as well as the addition of sour cream this cake bakes up ultra soft and moist. The crunchy almond topping contrasts wonderfully with the tender cake.
Flavor: The combination of sweet almond and tart cranberry is incredible!
Versatility: This cake can be served for breakfast alongside a cup of coffee or tea. It can also be dessert, topped with a dollop of freshly whipped cream.
Ingredient spotlight: almond extract
Aside from the cranberries, almond extract is the star of this recipe. It adds the perfect almond flavor to every layer (cake, topping, AND icing). Be sure to use pure almond extract, not imitation, for the best flavor. Almond extract is much stronger than vanilla extract, so use it sparingly.
More almond recipes: Almond Cake, Almond Croissants, Almond Cherry Crumb Bars.
Recipe tips
Butter should be room temperature so that it blends easily.
Use thick sour cream (full fat or low fat) so that the batter isn’t too thin. Daisy brand is my favorite.
Don’t overmix. In order to keep the cake light and tender make sure to mix the cake batter until just combined.
Stir in the cranberries by hand (using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon). This ensures that they don’t get broken up by the mixer.
Don’t overbake. As you approach the end of bake time watch the cake closely, pull it out of the oven as soon as a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Pan size options
This recipe can be made in a 9×9 square baking pan or an 8×11 rectangle baking pan.
9×9: This makes a slightly thicker cake. It will take a little longer to bake than the 8×11 pan.
8×11: This is my preferred pan size. The cake is thick, but not too thick. It bakes a few minutes faster than the 9×9.
Do NOT try to squeeze this batter into an 8×8 pan. There will be too much batter and the edges will dry out before the center is cooked through.
Can you freeze cranberry cake?
Yes. Double wrap leftover slices of this cake and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw a slice anytime you need a sweet treat.
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Recipe
Almond Cranberry Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour*
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ teaspoons almond extract
- ⅔ cup sour cream, thick sour cream is best
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 scant cups fresh cranberries
Almond topping:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup sliced almonds
Icing:
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons milk
- drop almond extract
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 6 tablespoons butter and ⅔ cup sugar for several minutes, until creamy and well combined. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Beat until just combined. Add the sour cream and 2 tablespoons milk, beating until combined. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Add the cranberries and use a rubber spatula to gently fold them into the batter.
- Grease a 9×9 square baking pan or 8×11 rectangle baking pan**. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Make topping.
Topping:
- Combine butter, sugar, flour, and almond extract. Use a fork to stir and mash the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the sliced almonds and mix until combined. Sprinkle the topping over the top of the cake batter. Bake for 30-40 minutes (begin checking at 30 minutes, see note), until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool.
Icing:
- Whisk all icing ingredients. Adjust the consistency as necessary by adding more powdered sugar or milk. Drizzle over the top of the cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Tofu Kid
Since October of this year I have made this delicious cake 7 times. It is delicious.
Question: Can I substitute the flour for gluten free all purpose flour?
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I would assume that you could swap an equal amount of cup-to-cup all purpose gluten free flour. Thanks for stopping by!
Nicki
This was a delicious recipe… We slightly modified the topping by adding 2 extra tbsp flour and 1/3 c oatmeal
Celebrating Sweets
Thanks for sharing your changes. I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Kym
I made it last night. Delicious!! Instructions were great! Thank you!
Celebrating Sweets
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Layla
I’ve made this twice now and it really is delicious.
For those of you who want to cook this in something smaller than a 9×9 pan, I’d recommend baking it for 30 minutes before loosely tenting it in foil and baking for a further 15-20 minutes. This is how I baked mine and it came out perfect and soft.
Celebrating Sweets
Thanks for sharing your tips. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Paula Warren
I have made this cake twice. First time I had to leave it in for a few extra minutes due to the center not be done. I made a second one today and after 30 minutes it was soupy in the middle. I have a gas oven that cooks all other cookies and cakes perfectly. Any ideas on what I’m doing wrong? What was done was soooo good.
Celebrating Sweets
Hi, Paula. What size pan are you using? Did you see my note in the recipe card regarding pan size? Also, one reason it could take a bit longer is if you use frozen cranberries. If you’re baking it in the same oven that you made the first cake in it should be done in the same amount of time…unless you changed something the second time around.
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Allison
Vee
Bless you! My family doesn’t like nuts in bakery items so I faked them out and made almond dust. That cake lasted ONE day! It was sooooo good. I did increase the vanilla and added orange zest and half of the dour cream and the other half was orange yogurt.
Celebrating Sweets
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing your changes, too – sounds delicious! Thanks for stopping by.
Niyati Parikh
Can I use 1/2 cup of almond meal? In what proportion should I add?
Allison
I have only made the recipe as written, so I can’t say. You can try swapping it for some of the flour, but I think 1/2 cup might be too much. You’d just have to play around with it.
Navneet
Hi how long should I beat the batter after adding eggs. Till doubled? Can you advise in terms of minutes please
Allison
No, not until doubled. Just until combined. Probably about 1 minute.
Francesca
We loved it! I cut down by half the sugar and replaced the sour cream by vanilla yogurt to healthify it. I didn’t make the icing. It was still sweet, soft and delicious. We loved the contrast between the sour cranberries and the sweet cake and crumble. Will make again with icing next time. ?
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind review. 🙂
Lee Anne
This cake is delicious!! I will definitely make again.
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂