A delicious coffee cake perfect for holiday breakfast, brunch or dessert! This cranberry eggnog coffee cake is full of flavor from the cranberries and all the warm spices from the eggnog.
Make ahead of time and reheat to serve warm for Christmas breakfast.
Cranberry coffee cake
Cranberry season continues, at least in my house! I'm telling you, I can't resist those packages every time I cruise through the grocery store. I keep grabbing a few more bags and baking up more deliciousness. This delicious coffee cake is my latest creation.
To make it even more amazing, I've added eggnog to the batter! Talk about delicious!
This coffee cake makes a perfect dessert or a breakfast treat!
Key ingredients
- Cranberries - fresh or frozen. If using frozen cranberries, no need to thaw before using. Increase baking time 5-10 minutes.
- Eggnog - or whole milk if you don't have eggnog
- Sour cream - could substitute low fat plain yogurt
- Butter - I use salted butter
- Spices - ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg
Step by step directions
- Combine butter and sugar together until creamy
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, eggnog, sour cream and vanilla
- In a third bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
- Add half of the flour mixture into the creamed butter
- When mixed in, add the egg mixture and mix
- Add the remaining flour and stir until mostly combined
- Fold in cranberries
- Continue folding batter until all flour is incorporated
- Place in a greased baking dish
- Begin make streusel topping by combining brown sugar, flour, melted butter and spices together
- Sprinkle the topping over the top of the unbaked coffee cake
- Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 60 minutes
- Allow cake to cool before serving
Recipe tips
- Make certain butter is softened, not melted before combining with sugar.
- Add half the flour mixture, then the egg mixture and then the flour mixture again.
- Once the final flour has been added, do not overmix. Stir just until most of it is incorporated and then finish mixing when folding the cranberries in
- Fold cranberries in gently with a spatula
- The streusel topping will appear dry when mixing. Use the back of a spoon to really mash the mixture together.
- When adding the streusel, squeeze topping together in your hand and then drop clumps onto the unbaked cake
- Test coffee cake with a toothpick inserted into the center to test to see if it's done
Baking times for different sized pans
Baking times are approximate and will vary from oven to oven and will depend on the type of pan you are using. A glass pan tends to take a few extra minutes while a dark metal pan will take a few less mintues.
Always test your cake to determine if it needs additional time in the oven.
| 8 x 8 inch pan | 55-60 minutes |
| 9 x 9 inch pan | 50-55 minutes |
| 8 x 11 inch pan | 45-50 minutes |
Recipe Faqs
Gently cover with foil, leaving a few gaps open on the side. Place in a preheated 300°F oven for 15 minutes or until heated through.
Once the coffee cake has fully cooled, cover with plastic wrap or foil and leave at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Yes, this coffee cake can be frozen. Allow coffee cake to fully cool and then cover with plastic wrap and then foil. The cake will remain fresh tasting for up to one month. The coffee cake will still be good after that amount of time, but may lose some of its freshness.
To thaw, simply remove from the freezer and allow coffee cake to thaw at room temperature.
More recipes with cranberries
- Cranberry Sweet Rolls
- Cranberry Scones
- Cranberry Muffins
- Cranberry Sauce
- Jellied Cranberry Sauce
- Sugared Cranberries
- Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Cranberry Bread
- Cranberry Swirl Cookies
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my holiday recipes!
Cranberry Eggnog Coffee Cake
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (softened)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup eggnog
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups cranberries (whole, fresh cranberries)
Streusel Topping
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter (melted)
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Combine butter and sugar together and mix until creamy.½ cup butter, ¾ cup sugar
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.2 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- In a third bowl, combine eggs, eggnog, sour cream and vanilla.2 eggs, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup eggnog, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Mix half the flour mixture into the butter mixture.
- When mixed in, add the egg mixture. Once it is incorporated, add the final half of flour.
- Fold in cranberries.1 ½ cups cranberries
- Place in a greased 8 x8 inch baking dish.
- Mix streusel together by placing brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour together. Stir until combined.⅔ cup brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons butter, 2 Tablespoons flour, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- Sprinkle streusel on top of cake batter.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 55-60 minutes.
- Allow cake to fully cool in cake pan
Video
Notes
- Add half the flour mixture, then the egg mixture and then the flour mixture again.
- Once the final flour has been added, do not overmix. Stir just until most of it is incorporated and then finish mixing when folding the cranberries in
- Fold cranberries in gently with a spatula along with any unmixed flour
- The streusel topping will appear dry when mixing. Use the back of a spoon to really mash the mixture together.
- When adding the streusel, squeeze topping together in your hand and then drop clumps onto the unbaked cake
- Test coffee cake with a toothpick inserted into the center to test to see if it's done
- If using frozen cranberries, add frozen and increase baking time by 5-10 minutes
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
Martha J Kreider says
What kind of cranberries did you use? fresh, frozrn, whole or chopped.?
Kathy says
Hi Martha,
I used fresh whole cranberries. You could use frozen cranberries, but increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy,
Kathy
Tanya says
Do you think this could be baked in a stone bundt pan? So excited to make this cake 😁
Kathy says
I think a bundt pan would work! Enjoy 🙂
Tanya says
Thank you baking it with my mom can’t wait 😁
Kelli says
It really should be baked in a 9 by 13 pan. Preferably metal. Add one cup of sugar and one and a half times the streusel. Also make a glaze with one cup powdered sugar and eggnog to get the perfect result and a prettier finish. The bones of this recipe are great. The video even shows the correct size pan. 🙏🏻
Kathy says
Hi Kelli,
Thank you for your suggestions. I have made this coffee cake in different sized pans and in the post itself, I give options for different sized pans along with the different baking pans. I'll add that info to the recipe card too so it's easier to see. The picture in the video is an 7x11 pan. A 9x13 pan also works.
Thank you,
Kathy 🙂
Kelli says
You’re awesome. Thank you for the recipe. Happy Holidays!
Kathy says
You are the sweetest! Thanks so much!!! 🙂
John says
Hi Kathy
I followed your recipe exactly - except - there are NO fresh Cranberry's Anywhere!
So, & this is probably where the problem comes in - I used dehydrated cranberry's.
About 1/2 way through the baking time the batter overflowed the 8x8 baking pan!
What a mess! I pulled the cake out of the oven & quickly scraped up the overflow, put the cake (still in the 8x8) on a baking sheet & continued baking.
It came out a little gooey but it still tastes good.
What do you think I did wrong - except substituting the dried cranberry's for fresh?
Kathy says
Hi John,
There certainly has been a shortage of fresh cranberries this year. I was able to purchase a couple of extra bags right after Thanksgiving and threw them in my freezer. I have made this coffee cake several times in an 8x8 (2 quart) sized baking dish without issues. I'm wondering if yours had shorter sides) and doesn't hold 2 quarts thus causing the overflow. I'm not certain why it would come out gooey.
Kathy
BRIANNA says
I had quite a time making this recipe simply because I didn’t have some of the ingredients I thought I had. Had to use a baking powder substitute of yogurt and almond extract instead of vanilla. It wasn’t as sweet as it should’ve been, but the cranberries saved the day. Fantastic flavor saver! I’ll have to make it again to see what it is supposed to taste like. I must say, the batter was divine.
Kathy says
Hi Brianna,
So glad you were able to improvise! I do love the tart taste of cranberries - so much flavor in those berries! 🙂
Kathy
Cheryl says
Wow! That cranberry eggnog coffee cake looks great. Only a small time frame when it can be baked though! Fortunately, now's the time!
Kathy says
This is cranberry season...time to get baking!
Melanie says
What a great combo! This treat is full of delicious flavors and looks amazing 😍 It´s perfect for christimas 😊
Kathy says
I do love everything cranberry!
David @ Spiced says
I'm a huge fan of baking with eggnog! In fact, I think we should do it way more often...of course, the fact that I drink it before it makes it to the recipe usually is a problem. 🙂 You probably know about my love for coffee cake by now. Combining coffee cake flavors with eggnog and then cranberries for that tart flavor sounds like the perfect holiday breakfast to me! (Heck, I'd eat this for dessert, too.) Looks amazing, Kathy! I hope you and the family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Kathy says
I've been know to eat this for breakfast and for dessert after dinner 😉
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Wowww Kathy! So delicious with the cranberries and eggnog! A lovely cake, and that streusel bakes up into the most wonderful texture!
Kathy says
Thanks, Kelly!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
You know my love for anything streusel-topped Kathy, right?! And add some eggnog and cranberries and game over! Save me a huge hunk!
Kathy says
I'll save some for you!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Cranberry AND eggnog? Talk about a deliciously festive treat! This would be so awesome Christmas morning with an eggnog latte! Pinned 🙂
Kathy says
Oh yum, I need to make an eggnog latte to go with this!