Description
This Cranberry Orange Breakfast Cake features tender, moist crumb studded with tart cranberries and bright citrus flavor. Not too sweet and perfect for breakfast or brunch, it stays fresh for days and actually improves as the flavors meld. A festive morning treat that’s simple to make and impressive to serve.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon orange zest (from about 2 oranges)
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (full-fat)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from about 2 oranges)
1/3 cup melted butter, cooled slightly
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract (optional)
1.5 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon flour (for tossing cranberries)
Optional Topping:
2 tablespoons coarse sugar for sprinkling
Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square or round pan thoroughly, line bottom with parchment paper.
2. Bring eggs to room temperature (place in warm water 5 minutes). Zest oranges before juicing – need 1 tablespoon zest and 1/2 cup juice.
3. Toss cranberries (fresh or frozen, don’t thaw) with 1 tablespoon flour to prevent sinking.
4. In large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Rub zest into sugar with fingers to release oils.
5. In medium bowl, whisk Greek yogurt, orange juice, melted cooled butter, eggs, vanilla, and orange extract until smooth with no yogurt lumps.
6. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Fold gently with rubber spatula just until combined – don’t overmix. Some small lumps are fine. Batter will be thick.
7. Add flour-coated cranberries and fold gently to distribute evenly without crushing berries.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly and smoothing top. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
9. Bake 35-45 minutes until top is golden brown, edges pull from pan slightly, and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with just moist crumbs.
10. Cool in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. Run knife around edges, invert onto rack, remove parchment, flip right-side up.
11. Cool completely before slicing for best flavor and easier cutting. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
Don’t thaw frozen cranberries – use directly from freezer to prevent color bleeding.
Toss cranberries with flour before adding to prevent sinking during baking.
Mix just until combined – overmixing creates dense, tough texture.
Use full-fat Greek yogurt for moistest results – low-fat creates drier cake.
Cake improves on day two as flavors meld – perfect make-ahead breakfast.
Store covered at room temperature 3 days or refrigerate 5 days.
Freeze whole cake or slices wrapped well up to 3 months.
Measure flour by spooning into cup and leveling, never scoop directly.
Zest oranges before juicing – impossible to zest after juicing.
Room temperature eggs incorporate better – place in warm water 5 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/9 of cake)
- Calories: 245
- Sugar: 20g
- Sodium: 280mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
Keywords: cranberry orange breakfast cake, breakfast cake recipe, cranberry cake, orange cake, brunch recipe