I have shared my love for this coffeecake before when I made a version of King Arthur Baking Blueberry Buckle Coffeecake into a Spiced Apple Coffeecake. Their blueberry version was our go-to cake of the summer, which got transitioned into the apple version which has been our go-to cake of fall. Honestly, this cake is just so good. I will continue to create different toppings and eat all year round. Which is where Cranberry-Orange came from.

If you remember, for Thanksgiving I made Claire Saffitz Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie, which might just be on our Thanksgiving menu permanently going forward it’s that good. From making that pie I learned about how to make a simple cranberry-orange compote, which I then turned into these super yummy ricotta toast! And here you have it, my new topping for the most perfect coffee cake. Cranberry-Orange Coffeecake!

This process of falling in love with one recipe, which gets adapted for another, and then re-adapted for another is the base for how I like to cook. Take something great and just keep re-creating it into new dishes. So thank you King Arthur Baking for the most delicious cake recipe, and for Claire’s beautiful mousse pie to get me to my Cranberry-Orange Coffeecake!

Also, make sure to head to my Instagram for a month long series of Holiday Giveaways, including this amazing Hedley & Bennett Carryall Apron in Turmeric! I have been a long time fan of H&B aprons for home, Lola and especially photo shoots. They are sturdy, fit perfectly, great pockets, and are so comfortable. When you are on set for 10+ hours wearing an apron, comfort and functionality are key!

Cranberry-Orange Coffeecake
One 9” Round/Square Cake

INGREDIENTS

Cranberry-Orange
2 wide strips orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler
1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of kosher salt
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pomegranate juice

Streusel
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup All-Purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2” chunks

Cake
2 cups (241g) All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (149g) sugar
4 tablespoons (57g) butter, softened
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (113g) milk, room temperature

STEPS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a 9” square or round cake pan (you can also add parchment to help lift out the cake, which is what I did).

Make the Cranberry-Orange Compote: In a small saucepan, combine the orange zest, cinnamon, salt, cranberries, sugar and pomegranate juice. Bring to a boil, and stir often to scrape the bottom. Adjust heat to control a constant boil for 10-15 minutes until thick and jammy. Remove from the heat, and allow it to cool. You can speed up the cooling process by scraping the cranberry sauce into a glass container and placing in the refrigerator.

Make the Streusel: In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the chopped butter, and using your fingertips, rub the butter into the dry mix until you create a crumbly texture. Set aside.

Make the Cake: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar, butter, egg and vanilla together. Begin adding the milk and the flour mixture to the sugar bowl, alternating between each one. A little milk, mix, a little flour, mix, repeat. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, the batter will be thick, use an offset spatula to smooth the top. Now begin adding your cranberry-orange compote and streusel to the top. I alternated this by doing a little cranberries, a little streusel, more cranberries, more streusel, to create layers of goodness.

Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a tester comes out clean, do not over bake (please). Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pan, slice and serve.