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!
Christina G says
This cake is really good! You take a bite and you get a pop of tartness from the cranberries. Yum! I didn’t have almond slices so I used slivers. I did toast them before putting them in the topping. It gives it a better, nutty flavor. This is definitely a keeper.
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Mickie says
I used a Bundt pan and it took 60 minutes to bake. This cake is delicious!!!
Rebekah says
Just wondering…when you used the Bundt pan, what did you do with the topping? Put it at the bottom then the cake batter on top?
Diane says
This recipe looks amazing, and my mouth is watering just thinking of it!
Can frozen cranberries be used for this recipe?
Allison says
Yes. You might just need to add a couple minutes to the bake time. Enjoy!
Germain says
This cake recipe is truly a keeper! The sour cream really makes for a moist cake along w the cranberries which also meld wonderfully w the almond flavoring. I added a small extra amount of almond flavoring to the cake and the topping bc my family loves the taste of almond! I also doubled the recipe and used a 9 x 13 inch cake pan and it does take extra time to bake bc this batter is thick and there’s a lot of it. You won’t be disappointed! My daughter requested that I make this cake especially for her birthday or she said that she’d be heartbroken if I didn’t!!
Allison says
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Amanda Grumbach says
Have you ever tested this recipe (or any of your cake recipes) with gluten free flour?
Allison says
I have here and there, but not this one specifically. I’ve had the most success with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free baking flour.
Lux says
Can I substitute applesauce for half of the butter, or will that ruin the texture?
Allison says
It will definitely change the texture. You’re welcome to play around with it.
Rose says
This is a very good recipe. The cake is light in texture love it. I will definitely make this again.
Allison says
I’m so glad! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Mary says
Can you use frozen cranberries?
Allison says
Sure. You’ll probably need to increase the bake time just a bit.
Lavetta Duhe says
Can you bake cake in a loaf pan?
Allison says
You’ll have too much batter for one loaf pan. I’m not sure if it will be enough for two.
Pam says
Do you think I could freeze this cake?
Allison says
That should be fine.