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
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.
Would I be able to make this cake without fruit? It looks delicious and I have everything to make it, except for the cranberries! Thank you!
I’m not exactly sure how it would turn out since we haven’t tried it that way. But it would probably be fine! I would choose a smaller dish and decrease the baking time slightly. You will lose a lot of volume without the cranberries. They could also be substituted with another berry (fresh or frozen) or diced apples. ~Marion :)
I can’t wait to make this for Christmas!
Could I add some orange juice / zest?
Laura! That sounds like a wonderful addition! Since we haven’t tested it this way, I can’t promise equally successful results. But adding 1/2 tsp of zest would add TONS of flavor and likely wouldn’t impact the outcome of your bake at all. And if you wanted to add juice as well, that could be done in place of either the vanilla or almond extract — only making sure the ratio of added liquid remains consistent with what’s written in the recipe. It really just depends on what flavors you want to be most prominent alongside the cranberries. Vanilla is important but really more of a supporting player here. On the other hand, almond extract is extremely strong and a little goes a long way. I hope that helps you decide how you want to bake this up. Please let us know how it goes! ~Marion :)
I substituted a 1:1 gluten free flour blend, but followed all the other steps and ingredients, and it turned out light, fluffy, and delicious!
So delicious! Thank you! Perfect for a Christmas party.
This is such a delicious and versatile recipe–a lovely small vanilla butter cake that can stand alone with no fruit at all. I’ve made it at least half a dozen times since it was first posted almost a decade ago. It’s been a couple of years, so last weekend was past time for another. We love it best with cranberries, but I’ve also used both sweet or tart cherries, raspberries, or blueberries. Another tip–I use 1-2 T of the sugar to macerate the fruit while mixing the batter, so that a bite into a cranberry is slightly less tart. The cranberries are too firm to release juice into the batter and discolor the cake prior to baking. I’ve tried other nuts–chopped hazelnuts or walnuts are good–but we like almonds best. I increase vanilla extract to 1 tsp. No nuts?–this is also nice with a light streusel topping–Beth has recipes here on site. Thanks for reposting this wonderful recipe.
Was just coming here to ask if I could sub a streusel topping for the almonds (we don’t have any and we’re in a huge winter storm). Thanks!
this looks great! do you think it would work with dried cranberries as well? frozen/fresh ones aren’t really a thing here in Germany (at least not where I am!)
Hi, Tanja! That’s a great question. I wouldn’t recommend using dried fruit in this recipe because you need the moisture from the berries to achieve good results. Since I don’t have much insight on the kinds of produce that are available to you — I would say that any fresh, tart berry will work in place of cranberries. Good luck! – Marion :)
I think lingonberries which are used a lot in Scandinavian countries are very similar to North American cranberries. I LOVE this simple and not overly sweet recipe!
I have made this cake twice already. Once when my son came home from college with his girlfriend and they ate most of it and then asked if they could take it back to the dorm and of course I hesitated but said yes lol. Then made it again the next day and did what Beth did, Took slices for myself through out the week and told no one!! This cake was delicious!!
I only have unsalted butter so I should probably add some table salt. How much do you think?
Add 1/4 to 1/3 teaspoon for every stick or for every 8 tablespoons. XOXO -Monti
Oh this one is a loved treat in our home! Sometimes I have left over whole cranberries frozen from fall…but I don’t right now. I’ll try another store to see if they have some in the freezer — if not — could I make this with frozen cherries instead? Hoping you have an idea that will still let this requested cake be on our Easter feast table. You are the BEST!!
Cherries would probably be great! I would use tart cherries instead of sweet, though, to maintain that sweet-tart balance.
Tart cherries is what I selected too and I’m looking forward to giving this a whirl. I “think” I should thaw and drain the juices from the berries before adding to the cake batter for baking (or else it’ll turn the whole cake pink, which is ok so long as you expect that)
I tried this recipe with a few substitutes and it still came out great! My family doesn’t eat eggs so I replaced that with egg replacer mix, I used almond milk instead of regular milk, I didn’t have enough all purpose flour so half of the flour I used ended up being almond flour to make it 1 and 1/2 cup, and I also didn’t have the almond or vanilla extract so I simply added a dash of sugar to replace it. Overall it came out amazing even with these adjustments. I highly recommend this recipe, however, maybe not with as many risks as I took. I might have just gotten really lucky with my replacements.
I love this recipe! I’ve made this many times and it’s so easy but has a big impact. Everyone loves it! I’ve made it with blueberries in the summer too. It’s a great potluck dessert, but it’s also delicious for a brunch. Highly recommend this recipe!
U said to sprinkle sliced almonds on top of cake my whole was ruined burnt I couldn’t even take it out of the oven because it wasn’t cooked horrible recipe disaster my hard work and money all gone down the drain
Can you use frozen cranberries??
Yes, that would probably work.
How would timing be affected if this recipe were to be split into 2 ramekins or 6” pie plates?
Unfortunately, I’d need to test it to find out for sure. I don’t think I could make an educated guess with that one.
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