A soft and moist almond cake filled with fresh cranberries and topped with a buttery almond streusel and almond icing.
This is a delicious breakfast or dessert for the holiday season with the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors. The combination of almond and cranberry is a match made in heaven!
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What sets this recipe apart
Almond + cranberry: Instead of the typical cranberry and orange pairing this recipe features the flavor of sweet and nutty almonds with tart cranberries. It’s incredible!
Versatile: This cake can be served for breakfast, dessert, or snacking.
Two pan sizes: You can make this recipe in a 9×9 square pan or an 8×11 rectangular pan.
Visual recipe overview
Full recipe below in recipe card
Cake batter
Prepare the cake batter and stir in the cranberries.
Almond topping
Stir together butter, sugar, flour, almond extract, and sliced almonds for the topping.
Bake
Spread the cake batter into a greased pan. Sprinkle the topping over the cake batter and bake.
Almond icing
Whisk powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake.
My recipe testing tips
Butter or oil: This cake can be made with butter or oil. I do notice that it stays moist longer when made with oil. If using butter, it should be room temperature so that it blends easily.
Sour cream: Use a thick sour cream so that the batter isn’t too thin. Daisy brand is my favorite. It can be full fat or light.
Cranberries: 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 or with moist (not wet) crumbs. This is a thick cake so it will bake for at least 30 minutes.
Pan size: This recipe is made in a 9×9 square pan (or 8×11). Do not try to squeeze it into an 8×8, you will have too much batter.
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Recipe
Almond Cranberry Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 ⅔ cups (210g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled or weighed
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (85g) softened unsalted butter OR 6 tablespoons (90ml) vegetable oil, see note
- ⅔ cup (134g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ teaspoons pure almond extract
- ⅔ cup (160g) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 generous cups (204g) fresh cranberries
Almond topping:
- 3 tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- scant ¼ cup (28g) all purpose flour, spooned into the measuring cup
- ⅛ teaspoon pure almond extract
- ½ cup (55g) sliced almonds
Icing:
- ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons milk
- couple drops pure almond extract
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 9×9 square baking pan or an 8×11 baking pan (no smaller!) and set aside.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter OR oil and sugar. If using butter this should take a minute or two. If using oil, just mix for about 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla extract 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.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Proceed with the 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 28-38 minutes (begin checking at 28 minutes), until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs, no raw batter. Place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool.
Icing:
- Whisk all icing ingredients. Adjust the consistency if needed by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or milk to thin. Drizzle over the top of the cake.
Video
Notes
Pan size:
Use a 9×9 or 8×11 pan for this recipe, do not try to squeeze it into a smaller pan. I prefer a metal pan because it bakes more evenly. If using a glass pan, bake time will likely be on the shorter end.Butter/oil:
This cake can be made with butter or oil. I do notice that it stays moist longer when made with oil. If using butter, it should be room temperature so that it blends easilyServing and storage:
Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, refrigerated for up to 4 days, or frozen (double wrapped) for up to 3 months. Recipe updated November 2025 with weight measurements, a few small tweaks, and more detailed instructions. Original recipe here.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 says
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 says
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 says
This was a delicious recipe… We slightly modified the topping by adding 2 extra tbsp flour and 1/3 c oatmeal
Celebrating Sweets says
Thanks for sharing your changes. I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Kym says
I made it last night. Delicious!! Instructions were great! Thank you!
Celebrating Sweets says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Layla says
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 says
Thanks for sharing your tips. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Paula Warren says
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 says
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 says
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 says
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing your changes, too – sounds delicious! Thanks for stopping by.
Niyati Parikh says
Can I use 1/2 cup of almond meal? In what proportion should I add?
Allison says
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 says
Hi how long should I beat the batter after adding eggs. Till doubled? Can you advise in terms of minutes please
Allison says
No, not until doubled. Just until combined. Probably about 1 minute.
Francesca says
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 says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind review. 🙂
Lee Anne says
This cake is delicious!! I will definitely make again.
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂