Easy Cranberry Snack Cake (a.k.a. My Platonic Ideal for a Cake)

I kind of don’t know what to call this…the recipe is called “cranberry snack cake” but my waistline cannot take snacks like this.  Can it be cranberry coffee cake if it doesn’t have streusel?  I’ve been describing it as a cranberry vanilla cake, I guess?  But that sounds boring.

Regardless of what we decide to call, it GUYS I’M SO IN LOVE WITH IT. 

My sis brought this cranberry cake to Thanksgiving last year, and while most people went for the rich pies and bars, I zeroed in on this right away (and immediately begged her for the recipe).

Since then it’s gone into my regular comfort food rotation.  It’s also SO easy…you can have it in the oven in about 15 minutes and using only the bowl of your stand mixer, making it a perfect no-fuss dessert or treat.  

The cake can be made with either fresh or frozen cranberries.  I’ve only made it with frozen (since I had them in my freezer), but it’s worth knowing that frozen berries create one big issue—it can make the batter seize up and harden.  It’s totally fixable (you have to just use your hands to smoosh it into the cake pan), but good to be aware of.

I’ve made a few adjustments to the recipe, including lowering the sugar a bit and adding a little white whole wheat flour (both of which I think improves the taste a bit).  You don’t have to use the whole wheat flour if you prefer not to, but I think it gives it a nice depth of flavor.

The original recipe is for a 9×9 pan, but I’ve also included ingredient amounts for a 9×13 pan…basically you’ll want to increase the amounts by 50% rather than double them.  My pics below are a mixture of the two pan sizes.

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly spray a 9×9 inch baking pan (see instructions above for 9×13). I like to line mine with a two sheets of parchment paper criss-crossed, with long ends, so I can lift the cake out later for easy slicing.

Mix the half-and-half with lemon juice and set aside.

In your stand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together for about 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.  You’ll need to scraping the sides and bottom of your bowl occasionally. This step helps lighten and aerate the cake.

Then beat in the egg and extracts along with a tablespoon of flour (to keep it from curdling), followed by the baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Keep scraping the bowl.

Lower your mixer speed and blend in half of the flour, just barely mixing it in, then add the half-and-half, and finally the rest of the flour.

Blend until the flour is *just* incorporated, and then stop—don’t overmix.

Gently fold in the cranberries, making sure to get them evenly distributed but not crushed.  Be especially careful if you’re using fresh (not frozen) cranberries, because you want to keep them whole.  If frozen, you can briefly pulse the mixer, but if fresh I’d stir them in by hand.

Spread the batter (it will be quite thick) evenly into your prepared pan. Sprinkle the sparkling or demerara sugar over the surface of the cake

Bake for about 50-60 minutes, until risen, golden, and a toothpick comes out without wet batter on it.  Start checking at 40 minutes to be safe, but this always takes 50-55 for me (with frozen berries).  

Let cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan, then, if you used parchment, you can remove the cake to cool completely, or slice while still slightly warm. 

I like to pull it onto a cutting board, use a giant chef’s knife to cut it, then just lift the parchment easily back into the pan until I’m ready to serve.

You can store the leftover cake in the pan on the counter covered with foil.  It makes an amazing work break treat on like a Wednesday afternoon with a cup of herbal tea.

Other snack cake delights that you’ll love:

• Rosemary & Roasted Apricot Olive Oil Cake
• Fresh Apricot Cherry Coffee Cake (a.k.a. Buckle)
• Fresh Grapefruit Cake with Mascarpone Frosting
• Raspberry Skyr Cake with White and Dark Chocolate
• Chocolate, Cinnamon, & Almond Loaf Cake (gluten-free)
• Sweet Corn Cake with Tart Lemon Glaze
• Espresso Chocolate Coffee Cake
• Plum Pound Cake with Almond Crumble
• Easy Summer-y “Strawberry Shortcake” Cake

Original recipe from The View from Great Island

The recipe card below makes a 9×9 pan.  To make in a 9×13 pan, you basically do a 1.5x of the original recipe—here are the proportions:

• 3/4 cup of half-and-half, or a combination of milk and cream
• 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 3/4 cup of unsalted butter (12 tablespoons), room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar (I go light here)
• 2 medium or large eggs, at room temperature (I used 2 because my large eggs were on the smaller side)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of vanilla extract (I’m not usually exact)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of almond extract (I’m not usually exact)
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 tablespoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour (I usually sub a quarter or third with white whole wheat)
• 3 cups of whole cranberries (see notes)
• Sparkling sugar or raw sugar for sprinkling

Notes:  You can use either frozen or fresh (whole) cranberries for this cake. Do not use dried cranberries. If you use frozen, it’s common for the cake batter to kind of freeze/seize up. Just be patient and use your hands to press it into the pan to bake. It may take a couple extra minutes, but will come out fine.

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Cranberry Snack Cake (a.k.a. My Platonic Ideal for a Cake)

Yield: 1 9x9 cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

This delightful cranberry cake features a moist, buttery vanilla cake batter studded with fresh juicy cranberries...a perfect snack cake, dessert, Thanksgiving recipe, or even a lovely dessert for a baby or wedding shower.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of half-and-half, or a combination of milk & cream
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick), room temp
• 1 cup of granulated sugar (I go light here)
• 1 large egg, at room temp
• 3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon of almond extract
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour (sub some whole wheat)
• 2 cups of whole cranberries (fresh, or you can use frozen but don't thaw them; see notes)
• Sparkling sugar or raw sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly spray a 9×9 inch baking pan (see instructions above for 9x13). I like to line mine with a two sheets of parchment paper criss-crossed, with long ends, so I can lift the cake out later for easy slicing.
2. Mix the half-and-half with lemon juice and set aside.
3. In your stand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together for about 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.  You'll need to scraping the sides and bottom of your bowl occasionally. This step helps lighten and aerate the cake.
4. Then beat in the egg and extracts along with a tablespoon of flour (to keep it from curdling), followed by the baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Keep scraping the bowl.
5. Lower your mixer speed and blend in half of the flour, just barely mixing it in, then add the half-and-half, and finally the rest of the flour. Blend until the flour is *just* incorporated, and then stop---don't overmix.
6. Gently fold in the cranberries, making sure to get them evenly distributed but not crushed.  Be especially careful if you're using fresh (not frozen) cranberries, because you want to keep them whole.  If frozen, you can briefly pulse the mixer, but if fresh I'd stir them in by hand.
7. Spread the batter (it will be quite thick) evenly into your prepared pan. Sprinkle the sparkling or demerara sugar over the surface of the cake
8. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, until risen, golden, and a toothpick comes out without wet batter on it.  Start checking at 40 minutes to be safe, but this always takes 50-55 for me.  
9. Let cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan, then, if you used parchment, you can remove the cake to cool completely, or slice while still slightly warm.  I like to pull it onto a cutting board, use a giant chef's knife to cut it, then just lift the parchment easily back into the pan until I'm ready to serve.
10. Store the leftover cake in the pan on the counter covered with foil.

Notes

• You can use either frozen or fresh (whole) cranberries for this cake. Do not use dried cranberries. If you use frozen, it's common for the cake batter to kind of freeze/seize up. Just be patient and use your hands to press it into the pan to bake. It may take a couple extra minutes, but will come out fine.