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.
This was the best cake I have ever made, although I did make it with dried cranberries, I am going to try it with frozen raspberries.
Made this cake tonight. Turned out very well. Like cakes with no icing the best. Did not have the almond extract, so just used a little more vanilla. Could have definitely eaten more than one piece, but resisted. Ha!
Do you think I could substitute cranberries for frozen raspberries? I’m not a fan of cranberries and would like to use up the raspberries I already have on hand. Love your site btw! Fantastic recipes :)
Raspberries would probably be pretty good! :)
I’m dying to make this but I don’t have a hand mixer – it’s on my list but I don’t want to run out and get one this minute. Do you think it might come out okay using an immersion blender? Maybe with the whisk attachment? I want to give it a try since I wouldn’t even have to buy any of the ingredients, I have them all! Thanks
Hmm, I’ve never seen an immersion blender with a whisk attachment, but it sounds like it would be similar to a hand mixer! :D The batter does get pretty thick, though, so just be sure it has enough power.
Hi Beth! I just added your Cranberry Almond Cake to my Recipes to Try cookbook on your app and was wondering if you have ever frozen it after baking? I’m trying to make ahead all I can so I can enjoy time with family this Christmas.
I haven’t tried that, but in general baked goods like cake tend to freeze well. :)
I am not a big cake fan but this cake was absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly as it says. I brought it to our family thanksgiving dinner and it was a huge hit. Everyone is now asking for the recipe. Will definitely be making this over and over again.
This was such a hit for my family dinner the other night and it was easy to make! This was my first time using almond extract so wasn’t expecting it to be so thin (I definitely put more than 1/2 tsp), but the almond taste came out amazing!
This recipe was delicious! I loved the subtle sweetness mixed with the tart cranberries and crunchy almonds. Definitely a great way to use that other bag of cranberries you have!
Luv
I love this cake. It is light, buttery and tart. Very easy to make and looks beautiful. It could be a great brunch side dish or a dessert.
I added a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the recipe. The chocolate worked perfectly with the cranberries. Took the cake to a party and got lots of complements!
I made this recipe this past weekend. I have found excellent prices on dried cranberries (since it is clearly not fresh cranberry season where I live)
If you put the dried cranberries in a bowl and then pour enough boiling water to cover them, leave sit for about a half an hour and then drain excess water, they rehydrate to a nice size. I then use them in the recipe as directed and they work great.
I used a little less than a cup of dried (I buy them in packages of 7/8 cup for about a $1.20 from a popular ‘discount’ grocery chain) for this recipe and it worked great.
I’ve used the same for your cranberry apple baked oatmeal and it also works well.
I think this weekend I will try this with lemon extract and frozen mixed berries for a 4th of July ready dessert.
I tried this recipe last sunday and it turned out amazing! Normally, I have really poor baking skills but this time the cake was soft and tasty. I replaced butter by 1/4 cup of coconut oil, half white sugar half maple syrup and milk by soy milk and everything was perfect! This recipe is sure a keeper! Kisses from Montreal:)
I was planning on making this during the holidays, but time got away from me. I forgot to freeze my cranberries and committed the sin of wasting food. (I really hate it when that happens!) Anyway, since January is all about tightening the belt to pay off December, I wasn’t going to purchase another ingredient to replace the cranberries, so I made a plain almond cake. I called it an almond tea cake and served it with tea. It was a big success – both for taste and good looks. I received several comments about how pretty it was. So, you can leave the fruit out altogether and still really enjoy this recipe. Thanks again Beth!
I just made it! Thank you so much for a wonderful and simple recipe – very delicious :)