Leftover Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake Recipe
This Leftover Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake transforms your leftover cranberry sauce into a moist, spiced coffee cake perfect for breakfast or snack time. Featuring a tender crumb with a cinnamon streusel topping and swirls of tangy cranberry sauce, this cake is baked to golden perfection and delivers a delightful balance of sweetness and tartness.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-33 minutes
- Total Time: 45-48 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings (8x8-inch pan, 3x3 inch slices) 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Cake Batter
- 1 large egg (whisked)
- ½ cup avocado oil (or vegetable oil)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 TBSP milk
- ½ TBSP vanilla extract (1.5 tsp)
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour (180 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- ½ TBSP baking powder (1.5 tsp)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- lemon zest or orange zest (optional, for flavor boost)
- extra ground cinnamon (optional, can be added to the cake batter)
Streusel Topping
- ¾ cup plus 2 TBSP all purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 TBSP granulated sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 3 TBSP butter (melted and cooled)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Additional
- 1 cup leftover cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Prepare Ingredients: Measure out all ingredients. Bring the milk, sour cream, egg, and leftover cranberry sauce to room temperature for best results.
- Flour Measuring Tip: Fluff the flour with a spoon, then gently spoon it into a dry measuring cup until slightly overfilled. Use a butter knife to level off the excess flour for accurate measurement.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Make the Streusel: In a medium-small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle the warm melted butter over the mixture and gently toss with a fork until combined but still clumpy. Avoid overmixing to maintain a crumbly texture.
- Mix Dry Ingredients for Cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, avocado oil, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Combine Wet and Dry: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently until just combined. The batter will be thick, so avoid overmixing to keep the cake tender.
- Assemble Cake: Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. Spoon the leftover cranberry sauce in spaced dollops across the batter and gently spread into an even layer; some mixing with the batter is fine.
- Add Streusel: Evenly sprinkle the prepared streusel topping over the cranberry sauce and batter layer.
- Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 33 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool and Serve: Allow the cake to cool slightly before slicing. It can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Using room temperature dairy and eggs helps the batter mix more evenly and produces a better crumb.
- Take care not to overmix the batter to keep the cake tender and avoid toughness.
- The streusel topping should remain clumpy for a delightful texture; overmixing will create a pasty topping.
- You can add lemon or orange zest to the batter for bright, citrus flavor enhancements.
- This cake keeps well for up to 2 days at room temperature, stored in an airtight container, or can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
- Rewarming slightly before serving enhances the flavor and softens the cake.
Keywords: Cranberry sauce coffee cake, leftover cranberry recipe, streusel coffee cake, holiday breakfast cake, spiced coffee cake
