Nothing’s quite as festive for breakfast as coffeecake. During the holidays, make it extra special with this moist, sweet Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffeecake. It makes a glorious centerpiece on a Christmas breakfast buffet with its thick, buttery streusel topping hiding a layer of bright red cranberries.
Fill out the menu with soft scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, a big bowl of winter fruit, and toast or granola for those who want something lighter. If you’re serving a big crowd, add a cheese platter or maybe smoked salmon with mini bagels. Presents can wait.
The batter for this coffeecake is really thick, and will look a little puny like it’s not taking up as much room in the pan as it should – but don’t worry, it will rise impressively in the oven.
Disappointingly, John doesn’t like cranberries. But since the cranberries are sprinkled on top of the batter – not stirred in – I sometimes make half the cake with cranberries and the other half plain, and everyone’s happy.
Or, swap the cranberries for blueberries (or raspberries or blackberries), trade the orange zest in the batter for lemon, and add a pinch of nutmeg for a great summer version. For those softer, sweeter berries I’d also switch out the pecans for sliced almonds or maybe chopped hazelnuts.
This recipe makes one 8-inch coffeecake but it can easily be doubled to make two cakes or one larger one in a 9 x 13-inch pan. If you’re baking it in a larger pan it will need an extra 5 to 10 minutes to bake.
To make the sugared cranberries for the garnish, start by making a simple syrup with 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, heated on the stove until the sugar dissolves. Let the syrup cool, then toss fresh cranberries in the syrup to coat them. Move the cranberries to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet to catch drips. Let the cranberries dry for 45 minutes, then roll them in more granulated sugar to coat. Once they’re dry, store them in an airtight container for up to a couple of days. If they start to soften before you use them all, throw them in a saucepan with a splash of water and cook them down to make a simple cranberry sauce to serve with poultry or cheese.
Making this coffeecake ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- You’ll have to get up early if you want to bake this Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffeecake in the morning before breakfast. Go ahead make it the day before – it may even taste better the second day.
- It will keep for several days, well wrapped at room temperature. It also freezes well.
If you like this coffeecake, you might also like this Apple Streusel Coffeecake with Bourbon Glaze.
Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffeecake
Ingredients
- 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1¼ cups (5¼ ounces or 150 grams) all-purpose flour, divided, plus additional for the pan
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (preferably European-style), at room temperature, divided, plus additional for the pan
- ½ cup roughly chopped pecans
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/8 teaspoon Morton's)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons freshly grated orange zest (from 1 orange)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw if frozen)
Directions
- Step 1 Heat the oven to 375. Generously butter an 8-inch round cake pan and dust it with a thin layer of flour. Set it aside.
- Step 2 In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and ¼ cup (1 ounce or 30 grams) of the flour, and toss with your fingers until the mixture is thoroughly combined. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and rub the butter into the mixture with your fingers until it’s incorporated. Toss in the pecans. Set the streusel topping aside.
- Step 3 Combine the remaining 1 cup (4¼ ounces, 120 grams) of flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a whisk to thoroughly mix the ingredients.
- Step 4 In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter with the granulated sugar until it’s light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until the mixture is smooth. Add the orange zest and stir it in with a couple of rotations of the beater.
- Step 5 Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer and stir on low speed just until the mixture is combined. Add the sour cream and stir on low speed to combine. Add the remaining flour and stir on low speed to combine. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a rubber spatula to finish stirring in all the flour and make sure the batter is smooth. Don’t over-mix it.
- Step 6 Use the spatula to spread the batter into the prepared pan. It will be stiff, so don’t worry about making the top smooth, or about the fact that the batter makes what seems like a thin layer at the bottom of the pan. Scatter the cranberries evenly over the batter, and top with the streusel in an even layer.
- Step 7 Bake the coffeecake on the center rack for 35 to 40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the top and edges of the coffeecake are a nice medium brown.
- Step 8 Cool the coffeecake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. To take it out of the pan, gently turn the cake upside down onto your hand, remove the pan, then flip the cake right side up and back onto the rack. Some of the streusel will fall off – just scoop it up and sprinkle it back over the cake. Let the cake cool a few more minutes if you want to serve it warm, otherwise let it cool completely, then wrap it and store it for up to a few days.
