Cranberries are the new pumpkin. I want fresh cranberries in everything lately. I had half of a bag of cranberries stashed in the freezer and almost made a second batch of Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal, but then I decided I wanted something a little sweeter. So I threw together this super festive and visually stunning Cranberry Almond Cake.
The concept is super simple, almond flavored white cake topped with fresh cranberries and almonds, but the flavor and presentation are nothing short of elegant. If you’ve never made a cake from scratch (in other words, not from a box), you might be surprised at just how easy it is. It literally took minutes. You don’t have to be “good” at baking to make this Cranberry Almond Cake, although you’ll probably want at least a basic hand mixer to help you get the light, fluffy texture going.
If you’re in charge of dessert for Thanksgiving, this Cranberry Almond Cake is simple and festive… and as for the rest of party season, this would be a really quick fix if you don’t want to show up at someone’s house empty handed. I just kept it all to myself in my fridge and have been sneaking a slice here and there all week (oops, now my coworkers are going to be mad). ;) NOM!
Cranberry Almond Cake
Servings 8Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ($0.20)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder ($0.06)
- 1/2 cup butter (salted, room temperature) ($1.04)
- 1 cup white sugar ($0.32)
- 2 large eggs ($0.54)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract ($0.14)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract ($0.14)
- 1/2 cup milk ($0.16)
- 6 oz fresh cranberries (about 1.5 cups) ($0.50*)
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds ($0.66)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking powder until very well combined. Set the flour mixture aside. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with a mixer until they are light and fluffy (start on low speed, then increase to high). Add the eggs, vanilla, and almond extract and beat again until the mixture is very light and creamy in texture (start on low speed again, then increase to high. Beat for about one minute on high).
- Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low until the flour is incorporated. Add half of the milk and beat until incorporated (it may look a little lumpy at first). Repeat with the second half of the flour and then with the second half of the milk. The end product should be a light, fluffy cake batter.
- Rinse the cranberries and then roughly chop them so that that each berry is at least cut in half. Fold 1/2 of chopped cranberries into the cake batter. Spread the cake batter into a 9-inch pie plate coated with non-stick spray, the sprinkle the second half of the cranberries over top. Use your fingers to slightly poke the cranberry pieces down into the top of the batter. Sprinkle the almonds over top and press them lightly into the cake batter. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the cake and almonds are lightly browned on top.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Cranberry Almond Cake – Step by Step Photos
Stir together 1 1/2 cups flour and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder until they are well combined.
In a separate bowl, beat together 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar until it looks light and fluffy. Make sure the butter is room temperature or else it won’t incorporate with the sugar. Also, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times as you beat the mixture together so that there aren’t any large lumps of butter left behind.
Add 2 large eggs and a 1/2 tsp each of vanilla and almond extracts. Beat again until the mixture is very light and creamy, on high about one minute. (This is my favorite stage of any cookie or cake batter. I have to use all my will power not taste…)
Next, beat in half of the flour mixture. It will get pretty thick, so just beat it until it looks well incorporated (30 seconds or so). Then add half of the milk (1/4 cup) and beat it until it’s incorporated (it may look a little lumpy, that’s okay). Beat the rest of the flour in, followed by the rest of the milk (1/4 cup). In the end, it will look super light, creamy, and velvety like this. This is when I thought to myself, “Who decided to ruin cake batter by baking it?”
Lightly chop 6oz (1/2 of a standard 12 oz bag) of cranberries so that each berry its at least cut in half. I didn’t take the time or care to slice them all in half individually. You just want to make sure they’re at least cut so that they don’t swell and pop while they bake. Fold half of the chopped cranberries into the batter.
Spread the batter into a 9″ pie plate coated with non-stick spray. Sprinkle the rest of the cranberries over top, then push them down into the batter.
Sprinkle 1/3 cup sliced almonds over top and kind of push them down into the batter so that they stick. Then just pop the whole thing in the oven for about 35 minutes at 350ºF. When it’s finished, it should be golden brown on top (the cake AND almonds).
Let it cool a bit before slicing in.
Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Love love love the almond flavor–thanks for sharing!
Made a similar cake the other day from the Stacey Snacks website without any nuts, also no milk and one tsp of almond essence the other day. Found the almond flavor too strong, so this looks better. Don’t have any almonds, wonder if pecans would be good?
Yum, I think it would be :)
I made this to take to Christmas dinner at the inlaw’s . I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9 x 14 glass pyrex. I was a bit worried that all those cranberries would make the cake too tart. I worried for nothing. The cake was moist and delicious with just the right tartness in it. It was a big hit at the party. Thank you so much for the recipe. I love your site. Thank you for sharing all these wonderful, delicious and cost effective recipes.
Delish! I didn’t have any almond extract, so I added an extra 1/2 tsp. vanilla and the zest of one orange. Love the tart cranberries. Overall, it is not a very sweet cake, so I could see some sweet-toothed factions wanting a powdered sugar glaze on top, but the crumb texture is soft and moist. A perfectly-sized showcase for fall cranberries!
This cake is one of the best cakes I have made. It is a favourite in the Samovar tea house Ely
If I wanted to use unsalted butter instead (it’s what I typically have on hand), how much salt would you recommend I add? 1/2 tsp?
Hmm, that’s tough to estimate, but I think I would guess a 1/2 tsp as well.
That’s what I used and it came out delicious. Just a little soft in the middle so next time I’ll give it another couple of minutes. But it was great. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this tonight to share at movie night at a friend’s house and it was so, so, so good! The cake itself is delicious and light and the cranberries cooked nicely, it was really just a great dessert in general. Do you think it could be made with cherries (either pitted fresh ones, jarred Morello ones, or drained pie filling ones)? The almond flavor was so nice and I love the combination of cherry/almond in other stuff.
Yes, I think cherries would be awesome in this! Frozen (pre-pitted) cherries would probably be best/easiest.
I’d been thinking about this recipe since you first posted it and finally got a chance to make it for Thanksgiving. It was amazing! I had the same problem as a commenter above, my cranberries were a bit sour. I would also probably sweeten them next time. However, the cake seemed to get BETTER the second day (if that is even possible), especially when we threw a few slices in the toaster oven. Not sure why it got better, maybe the cranberries had a little time to simmer down & think about their choices? Regardless, I have lots of almonds and cranberries left over, so a 2nd cake may be in order this week.
Made this this morning & I just took a bite. It is a great cake. I made it with cake flour cuz that’s what I had on hand. Followed everything else. All of your recipes come out great. I’ve been married & cooking for a very long time, but I love the simplicity of your recipes. Thank you!
I kind of have a feeling that I can’t…but I have some almond flour in my fridge waiting to be used for something.Do you think that could replace all or some of the flour in this with almond flour? I’ve never worked with it before so I’m not so sure
Hmm, I honestly have no idea. :( I’ve never cooked with almond flour before.
I don’t have cranberries on hand (must be the pre-holiday rush ;) but I do have tons of frozen cherries, which I plan to use for this cake. I am making it to bring to my family’s Thanksgiving, and I can’t wait to see how it comes out. Thank you Beth!!
This looks amazing!! Can’t wait to try it.
I had leftover cranberries from your cranberry apple baked oatmeal, too–I cut them up and stirred them into your pumpkin pie baked oatmeal and it’s been the PERFECT breakfast for Thanksgiving week!
Thanks for the recipe! Was simple, easy, and fun to make!
The only complaint I got was that the cranberries were surprisingly sour (I probably bought an unripeneded bag). A friend of mine recommended to sweeten them beforehand by soaking in sugar water!
Great recipe! I’ve made this 2x now and the family loved it both times. I put a full tsp. of almond extract in and only put the nuts on half the top as some here don’t like them. Served it warm with lite Cool Whip. Deelish!
Love your blog and have been lurking for a while. It is fun to add some new life to my usual meal routines. Thanks, Beth!
Made this tonite, it is awesome! Thanks