White Chocolate-Cranberry Coffee Cake

A moist coffee cake with a cranberry filling and white chocolate glaze. Great to serve to holiday house guests.

Have I mentioned my cookbook hoarding tendencies to you before? It’s real… and the 100+ cookbooks that I currently have on my bookshelves aren’t enough for me… I’m constantly checking out 4-6 new cookbooks every week from my local library.

The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion All Purpose Baking Cookbook made it into my last library checkout and when I leafed through it and found this super moist coffee cake made with leftover cranberry sauce, I did a fist-pump. It makes SO MUCH SENSE.

I changed up a few things in the recipe and used a trifecta of extracts (instead of just almond): vanilla, lemon and almond in equal measure. (Fun fact: this combination is actually the basic flavor of most wedding cakes). I nixed the glaze for something a bit more decadent and used the sliced almonds I had on hand instead of running to the store for the slivered variety.

This moist coffee cake gets mixed in one bowl, then transferred to a prepared bundt pan. Fill the pan about halfway, then spoon in the leftover cranberry sauce. Top with remaining cake batter and bake. How easy is that? You can absolutely glaze this with a standard powdered sugar and milk glaze, but — you know — food blogger and all… I melted white chocolate and drizzled it over the top of the cranberry coffee cake then topped it off with toasted almonds — you know — for crunch.

This cranberry coffee cake is just packed with flavor. My lighting director and official taste tester (Emily) couldn’t wait for me to finish my last shot so she could dive into this particular slice of cranberry coffee cake. It was decimated in seconds. This coffee cake is moist and tender with a great balance of sweet and tart. Emily implored me to make another cranberry sauce, so we’d have more leftover cranberry sauce for another cranberry coffee cake…

Click here for the white chocolate and almond glaze.

White Chocolate-Cranberry Coffee Cake

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Lisa Lotts
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 12 servings 1x

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Description

A moist coffee cake with a cranberry filling and white chocolate glaze. Great to serve to holiday house guests.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce (whole berry sauce preferred)

White Chocolate Glaze:

• 4 oz white chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp coconut oil or neutral oil (to thin)
• 1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

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Instructions

For the cranberry coffee cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour a tube pan or bundt pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
3. Add the buttermilk and beat to combine. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan.
6. Spoon the cranberry sauce over the batter and top with the remaining batter. Smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 40–60 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the white chocolate glaze:

1. Melt the white chocolate and coconut oil together in a small microwave-safe bowl in 20-second bursts, stirring between each, until smooth. Let cool for 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened.
2. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake in a zigzag pattern. Immediately scatter the toasted almonds over the top before the chocolate sets. Let the glaze firm up for 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

A standard powdered sugar and milk glaze works equally well here if you prefer a simpler finish — just whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with 2–3 tablespoons milk until drizzleable. The triple-extract combination (vanilla, lemon, almond) is the same flavor base used in most traditional wedding cakes, and it gives this coffee cake a wonderful floral sweetness.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Baking, Cake
• Cuisine: American

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