My cranberry orange coffee cake is bursting with juicy, tangy berries in a sweet, lightly spiced citrus-kissed cake. It’s finished with a buttery brown-sugar crumble that bakes up crisp and golden. This scrumptious treat is easy to make and perfect for holiday desserts or festive brunches!
The holiday season is officially here! But it does tend to be a dreary time of year, weather-wise. The days are short, the air is cold, and the sky is often gloomy. It's a good thing fresh cranberries are in season, so you can bake up treats like vegan cranberry orange bread, vegan cranberry nut muffins, and now this cranberry orange coffee cake, which might just be my new favorite winter pick-me-up.
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If you enjoyed my vegan coffee cake, you'll love this one, too! It's actually easier to make, but the juicy berries and spiced, orange-infused batter take it to the next level.
This cake is moist, flavorful, and absolutely delicious! And all those juicy red cranberries give it a pretty, festive look. You can dress it up and serve it at the end of a fancy dinner, enjoy a few slices with brunch, or pair it up with a cup of tea for a sweet afternoon snack.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Flour. I created this recipe using all-purpose wheat flour (also known as white flour), and haven't tested it using any other varieties.
- Brown sugar. Use organic brown sugar, since conventional granulated sugars are often processed using animal bone char.
- Spices. You'll just need some ground cinnamon and cloves.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. Most grocery stores carry this in the refrigerated section, near the regular butter.
- Sugar. This also needs to be organic.
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Non-dairy milk. Use any variety that you normally buy for drinking, like soy milk, almond milk or oat milk. Read my guide to non-dairy milk if you need help picking one.
- Vegetable oil. Any neutral oil that you normally like to bake with will work fine.
- Orange juice. Be careful here, as many commercial orange juice brands include animal products, like fish oil and animal-derived vitamin D. I use freshly squeezed juice for this recipe, which you can get from one or two fresh oranges.
- Vanilla extract.
- Orange zest.
- Cranberries. The recipe calls for fresh cranberries, but frozen will also work.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Get ready. Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
Step 2: Make the topping. First, combine your flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, then add sliced cold vegan butter. Cut the butter in using a pastry cutter or fork. Stick the bowl in the fridge to chill.
Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl.
Step 4: Combine the wet ingredients. Stir your milk, oil, orange juice, vanilla, and orange zest together. A large liquid measuring cup works great for this.
Step 5: Coat the cranberries. Place them in a bowl, add a tablespoon of flour, then toss to coat the berries lightly in the flour.
Step 6: Mix the batter. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry, then stir everything together just until the batter is fully mixed — don't overdo it.
Step 7: Add the berries. Gently fold your cranberries into the batter.
Step 8: Assemble the cake. Spread the batter into your baking pan, then take the topping out of the fridge and sprinkle it on top.
Step 9: Bake it. Pop the cake into the oven and bake it for 50 to 60 minutes. Checking the temperature is the best way to tell when it's done — shoot for 200°F to 210°F. But you can also stick a toothpick in the center and look for it to come out clean.
Step 10: Cool, slice, and serve. Place the cake on a wire rack when it comes out of the oven. Once it's cool, you can slice it up and enjoy!
Variations
- Add a drizzle of glaze. Stir together a cup of powdered sugar, a tablespoon of non-dairy milk or orange juice, and a half teaspoon of vanilla extract. Drizzle it over your cooled cake before serving.
- Add some nuts. Stir up to a cup of chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter.
- Spice it up. Dial up the cinnamon and cloves and consider additional spices like nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cardamom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Possibly! I haven't tested a gluten-free version, but if you'd like to give it a shot, try using an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Yep! Don't thaw them first — add them to the batter while they're still frozen.
Keep your cake in the original baking pan, wrapped tightly in plastic. It will keep at room temperature for about 2 days or in the fridge for about 5 days. If you'd like to freeze it, make sure to place it in an airtight container or large freezer bag. It will be good for about three months in the freezer.
More Vegan Holiday Cakes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup organic brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup vegan butter, chilled
For the Cake Batter
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus an additional tablespoon for coating the berries
- ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and grease the inside of a 9 x 9 inch baking pan.
- To make the topping, stir the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into 5 or 6 slices, then add them to the bowl. Use a fork or pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place the bowl into the fridge to chill while you mix the batter.
- Whisk the 2 ½ cups flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate, small container such as a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk, oil, orange juice, vanilla extract, and orange zest.
- Place the cranberries into a small bowl and toss them with a tablespoon of flour, until evenly coated.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour and sugar mixture, then stir just until the ingredients are combined.
- Fold in the cranberries.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan, then distribute the crumble mixture evenly over the top.
- Bake the cake until the topping is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes (Note 1).
- Place the pan on a cooling rack and let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
- If you have an instant-read thermometer, use it to check the internal temperature of the cake. It should be between 200°F and 210°F.
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