Cranberry Crumb Cake

5 from 2 votes

A soft sour cream cake, studded with cranberries, topped with a layer of cooked cranberries and a crumb topping, this Cranberry Crumb cake is perfect for a weekend brunch.

Prep Time30

Cook Time50

Cooling30

Total Time1 50

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, German

Keyword: coffee cake, Cranberry, crumb cake

Servings:

Calories: 388kcal

Equipment

9" x 9" square metal pan

Ingredients

Cranberry Layer

650 grams fresh cranberries
100 grams maple syrup or any other sugar you want!
100 grams water

Crumb Topping

80 grams salted butter soft
40 grams granulated sugar
40 grams dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
115 grams all purpose flour

Sour Cream Cake

150 grams granulated sugar
1 orange zested
200 grams all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
150 grams salted butter soft
100 grams sour cream
3 eggs large, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100 grams fresh cranberries

Instructions

Cranberry Compote

Rinse the cranberries and add them into a large heavy bottomed pot, with the maple syrup, and water. Cover with a lid and place over medium low heat.
Cook for about 10 minutes until the juices are bubbling and the majority of the cranberries have burst.
Keep cooking and stirring until thick and the mixture looks thick and all the cranberries have burst.
Once thick, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Transfer to a large shallow dish to let it cool completely while you move onto the next step. It doesn’t need to be fridge cold but it can be!

Make the Crumb

In a medium bowl add in the soft butter, both sugars, salt and vanilla. Use a fork to stir together until smooth.
Pour in the flour and use the fork to rub the flour into the butter mixture until fully combined.

Cake Batter

Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center.
In a medium bowl add in the sugar and orange zest, rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until fragrant and the sugar is orange. Then add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine.
Add in the butter, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.
Use the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer to mix the ingredients first on medium low until 90% combined.
Add in the remaining uncooked cranberries and use a flat rubber spatula to mix them into the batter and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
If not using a non-stick pan, spray the metal pan with your baking spray and line with a rectangle of parchment that is 15" x 8" from one side to another. Pour in the cake batter.
Smooth out the cake with a rubber spatula or a mini offset spatula.

Assemble & Bake

Carefully spoon the cooled cranberry compote on top of the cake layer. Use a mini offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it into an even layer. Do your best not to mix it with the cake batter.
Clump the crumb mixture and sprinkle it over the fruit layer.
Place the cake into the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Rotate the cake 180 degrees and bake for 20-30 more minutes.
The cake will be done when the streusel will be slightly more golden brown in some spots and the cake should only have a very slight or no wobble.
Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for at least 15-20 minutes on a wire rack. Run a knife along the edge between the cake and the pan. Then either lift the cake out with the parchment or slice the cake while it's still in the pan.

Notes

Tips for making a Cranberry Crumb Cake

Fresh or frozen cranberries will work for this cake! When cooking down the cranberries, be sure to cover the pot to allow the cranberries to break down without burning. I like to keep the cranberries tart but feel free to add more sugar to taste.
Make sure all the cake batter ingredients are at room temperature - this will help get a smooth and fluffy cake batter.
I recommend using this 9"x9" square pan from USA pan because it's non-stick, and the sides are nice and tall. If you want to be able to lift the whole cake out, I recommend adding in a rectangle of brown parchment paper that reaches from one side to the other to use as a sort of sling.
This cake can be difficult to tell when it is finished baking, but you'll know it's done when the streusel is golden brown and there isn't MUCH of a wobble left on the cake. It's ok if it still wobbles a little bit though.
Let the cake cool for at least 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition