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.
Trying this dessert out for Thanksgiving, but I don’t have any pie dishes. I have a glass, square 8″ dish; an aluminum, square 8″ dish; or an aluminum, circle 8″ dish. Which dish would you recommend for this bake? (I realize I will have some extra batter – that’s okay!) Thanks for your help!
I think I would go for the glass 8″ square dish. :)
Thanks Beth!
mine took so much longer to bake, than the 35 minutes. the middle of the cake was not setting………..not sure what I did wrong……….
Very yummy! I substituted strawberries for the cranberries since I’m not a big fan of cranberries. I also reduced the sugar by 1/4. I did have to bake for about 20 minutes more though as the centre wasn’t completely baked through, Maybe the strawberries created more moisture. Not sure, but the result was super yummy! Thank you for your recipes :)
This was so good and easy to make. Made this for Christmas brunch and it was liked by everyone. Since I’ve got more cranberries I’ve decided I’m going to make another one before I start my diet! Delicious!
Yay!
Great recipe! I’m on my second cake and I think it will become one of my favourites. I used frozen cherries and 3/4 cups of sugar. Also, like others, had to bake for almost one hour. Love the result. Thank you for this recipe!
We’ll look into the bake time! Thanks Emilia!
Thanks for this great recipe. I have never used fresh cranberries before and loved the cake. I made this recipe as well as the cranberry cream cheese dip for my Friendsgiving, and both were well-received. One 99 cent bag of cranberries from Aldi was the perfect amount to make both recipes.
My only change to the cake next time will be a bit more almond extract, because I really like almond flavor. I plan to repeat for Thanksgiving.
This turned out great: tender and sweet, with a nice tartness from the cranberries and a toasty crunch from the almonds. (I substituted hazelnut liqueur instead of the extracts. I stopped buying extracts because they are expensive and I don’t use them often. I’ve enjoyed playing around with liqueurs. I usually use a whole tablespoon though.) I had to bake the cake much longer; 50-55 minutes. Perhaps my oven temperature is incorrect.
I also had to bake much longer – thank you Crystal for the heads up
Really yummy cake. Loved the delicate almond flavor. The cake itself was really light. I love fruit so upped the amount of cranberries and also put a lot more almonds on top. Because of this, the cake didn’t brown as well as it did in your pics, but it still tasted great. I also cut the sugar down to just over 1/2 cup of sugar in the cake, and then added about 1/4 cup turbinado sugar on the top before baking. This way, it’s light enough to eat for breakfast (and as a snack, and after dinner, and…)
The cake was amazingly fluffy and moist, and I liked the cranberry and almond combination. However, although I used 1/8 cup less sugar, it still tasted too sweet. I ended up making a bittersweet chocolate drizzle to balance it out. Next time I’ll use 3/4 cup sugar (or 2/3 cup).
I REALLY wanted to make this as is but couldn’t find cranberries so went with thawed frozen raspberries and cut the sugar by 1/4 cup to account for raspberries being sweeter than cranberries (i’m assuming!!!). The batter looked great but wish me luck! Tt’s in the oven right now and I hope it works!!!
I made this gluten-free and egg-free – I was skeptical if it would work, but still turned out great! For the flour, I subbed a blend of 2/3 white rice flour, 1/6 tapioca starch, and 1/6 arrowroot powder, plus 1/2 tsp xanthum gum. And for the eggs, I did 6 tablespoons of aquafaba (3 for each egg) – take the liquid drained off of chickpeas, tofu, or white beans, and then lightly whip it by hand until the consistency is more similar to an egg. The texture of the cake was amazing!
Wow, thanks for sharing those substitutions! I know that will be very helpful to a lot of people!
I made this (subbing gluten free flours, tiny bit of xanthum gum and vinegar) and it was fabulous. Do you have any pointers though on chopping those fresh cranberries? They kept rolling away!
😅 I just take my time and chase after them! Haha. Unfortunately I don’t have a hack for that. :)
I used a hand food processor (from pampered chef) and it only took a few seconds to get them all chopped!
That’s great Amy!
Try sandwiching the cranberries between two plastic lids, like the ones you get with takeout Chinese soup. Hold the top lid down securely and run a sharp chef’s knife between. Your cranberries will be cut in half. This is also a great way to cut cherry tomatoes.
This looks amazing!! How do you think you would adjust the time/temperature if you baked in a muffin tin instead? I can’t wait to try this next week.
The cooking time would definitely shorten if baked in a muffin tin, although I don’t know by how much.
What is the serving size, calories, proteins, carbs, & fat please?
I’m sorry, I do not have nutritional information.
I made this today and it was easy and delicious! I needed to substitute walnuts for the almonds because I was out of almonds and I liked it!
Good seasonal recipe!
So easy!