Monday, November 11, 2013

Cranberry Crumb Cake

Cranberry Crumb Cake

One of my very favorite winter dessert flavor combinations is orange and cranberries.  I can smell that sweet aroma in every bakery and pastry shop I pass this time of year and it always calls my name.  And crumb topping?  Well, that's a treat I love pretty much every day of the year!

Cranberry Crumb Cake
Most of the bakeries around here make orange cranberry scones at this time of year but I was in the mood for a great crumb cake and it was the perfect marriage of all these flavors.  A tall, moist coffee style cake, studded with tart cranberries, perfumed with orange zest and topped with generous layer of buttery crumb.  I may not like winter all that much but this helps make it bearable.  Enjoy!










Ingredients

Cake:
3 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 1/2 Sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1 1/2 Cups sour cream
2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon salt
2 Cups cranberries

Crumb Topping:
1/2 Cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 Teaspoon salt

Cranberry Crumb Cake
To make the crumb topping, combine the sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.  Stir in the melted butter and let sit while you assemble the rest of the cake.

To make the cake, cream the eggs and sugar together using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer.  Beat in the butter.  Add the vanilla, orange zest and sour cream and continue mixing until combined.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Place the cranberries to a small bowl and add a tablespoon of the flour mixture.  Toss the berries in the flour to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.  Stir the flour mixture into the wet batter and mix.  Add the cranberries and stir just until combined.

To assemble the cake, pour the cake layer batter into a buttered and floured spring-form pan.  If you know your oven cycles too much and leaves cakes wet in the center, you can also bake this in a tube pan for better results.  With your fingers, crumble the crumb topping evenly over the batter and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 50 - 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.  Dust the top with powdered sugar, if desired.  Makes approximately 10 servings.

23 comments:

  1. Such a beautiful cake - Holli has asked me to start making some of your crumb cakes because they don't have icing (she's not a fan) and I think this is one I may start with because I love cranberries and orange too!

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  2. I really just want to throw my face into that crumb topping, Anita. You won't mind, will you? :)

    GORGEOUS cake, m'dear!

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  3. Wonderful cake Anita! Crumb cakes get me every time. I've been waiting on this recipe. I love that it uses fresh cranberries.

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  4. FINALLY, we've been waiting for this cake you and as usually your crumb cakes do not disappoint.

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  5. About damn time you posted this cake after teasing us ;)

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  6. I love the combination of orange and cranberry too, Anita. What a beautiful cake!

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  7. Anita, this is absolutely beautiful!!! I love how the color of the cranberries really make the photos just pop. I am definitely going to give this recipe a try!

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  8. are the cranberries raw or cooked ? dumb question im sure but I have never cooked or baked with fresh cranberries and would love to try this recipe.

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    1. Hi Jeanette - The cranberries are raw when they go into the cake. Even though they're such a hard berry, they will soften quickly in the oven. Come back and let me know how you liked it.

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  9. I think I found one of our desserts for Thanksgiving! Sounds yummy to have with a cup of coffee after a big meal - not too sweet. Thanks!

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  10. Made this today and it turned out perfect! Thank you for posting!

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  11. What size springform or tube pan do you use?

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  12. Center seemed wet I've left it in the oven for an extra 15 minutes. Hopefully that will set the center.

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  13. hey there. Would this recipe go well in a loaf pan..and if so, would you change the cooking temp/times? Lastly, do you have problems with the crumb sinking down into the batter ?

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    1. Hi there - This is actually quite a large cake and I don't know if it would fit into a standard 9x5 loaf pan. If you have an over-sized loaf pan, then I would think it should work quite well. I wouldn't change the temperature but start checking on the cake at 45 minutes and see from there. In terms of the crumb sinking, I actually cut into this cake when it was still too warm so the crumb collapsed a little. If you have any doubts, try baking it in a tube (angel food) pan. Here are a couple of examples of crumb cakes I've made in my tube pan. Both rose beautifully.
      http://www.hungrycouplenyc.com/2013/10/caramel-apple-sour-cream-coffee-cake.html
      http://www.hungrycouplenyc.com/2012/07/lemon-coffee-cake-with-crumb-topping.html

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  14. could I try this with raspberries and lemon?

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    1. Hi Rachel - I'm sure it would be quite delicious with raspberries and lemon (I would use lemon zest). If you try it, let me know how it turned out!

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  15. Thanks for this yummy cake receipe. I plan to bake it during the holidays.

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  16. Thanks for this yummy cake receipe. I plan to bake it during the holidays.

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  17. Can you make this in a bundt pan? In that case would the topping go in the pan before the batter?

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    1. Rather than a bundt, I would suggest a tube pan. That way you get the benefit of the center column helping cook the cake in the middle while still baking the crumb on top. If a bundt is all you have, then yes, the crumb goes in first. I'm sure the cake itself will bake fine but the crumb is more likely to melt partly into the top. Still good but not as much defined crumb.

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