This Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake Fall. A tender, moist sour cream coffee cake is enhanced with orange rind and fresh cranberries. The streusel that tops it is contains brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and pecans to further deepen the fall theme,
While this is an easily made coffee cake, the one thing that makes it stand out when mixing is how the batter becomes very, very cold and stiff after the frozen cranberries are added. By freezing the cranberries, they are easily chopped by pulsing them in a processor. This is done at the last minute so they don’t juice too much.
Because the batter is so cold and stiff, this Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake takes almost twice as long to bake since it has to come to room temperature in the oven before the baking starts. So don’t be impatient. The wait is worth it.
If you enjoy this coffee cake, you may want to take a look at these. Candied Cranberries,
Chocolate Cranberry Curd Tart, Chocolate Cranberry Quick Bread and the popular Cranberry Muffins.
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Pecan Streusel
3/4 cup brown sugar (150 grams or 5 1/3 ounces)
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, cut up and cold
3/4 cup pecans, finely cut (85 grams or 3 ounces)
Place the sugar, flour, cinnamon in a processor bowl.
Pulse several times to mix.
Pulse several times to mix. Add the cold butter and process until it starts making crumbs. Some butter may not be incorporated. That's fine.
Add the pecans and pulse several times until they are finely cut in. Refrigerate until needed.
Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake
1 – 12 ounce bag fresh cranberries (340 grams)
Zest from 1 large orange
2 cups all-purpose flour (280 grams or 10 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (114 grams, 4 ounces or 1 stick)
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (114 grams or 4 ounces)
2 teaspoons vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9 x 2 inch square cake pan with parchment paper. Spray with a non-stick baking release and set aside.
Place the cranberries on a rimmed baking sheet and pick over them for any mushy ones. Freeze the cranberries until rock hard.
Grate the zest of the orange and set aside.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream the sugar, butter, and orange until light and fluffy.
Add the vanilla, mixing well.
Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides and bottom as necessary, Beat until light and well combined,
If the mixture curdles, and it probably will, raise the speed of the mixer to bring it back together. If that doesn’t do it, adding the flour in the next step will.
Add the flour in three parts and sour cream in two alternately, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
The first third of the flour mixed in.
Add half the sour cream, mixing it in completely.
Continue alternating with the second additon of flour, then the rest of the sour cream, ending with the last of the flour.
Last, place the frozen cranberries in a food processor .
and pulse to coarsely chop. It will make a loud racket.
Add to the batter and mix just until well combined. The batter will be very firm at this point because of the frozen cranberries. After you have mixed by machine, be sure to mix by hand a few times to incorporate any unmixed batter on the bottom and sides.
Spoon the batter in the prepared pan.
Spread it out evenly.
Top with the reserved pecan streusel.
Because the batter will be almost frozen from the cranberries this takes longer than normal to bake. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Cover the top loosely with foil if it starts to brown to quickly.
Yield: 1 9” Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake – about 9 servings
Recipe FAq's
If the cranberries were just chopped and added they would incorporate a lot of juice which would change the texture of the batter. By freezing them, they don't juice as much.
They could but again, the fresh cranberries add the tartness expected of them while the dried may not.
Certainly blueberries would work well. Add the zest of one or two lemons to make it even better
More EAsy Fall Treats for the Season
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Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 9 x 2 inch square cake pan
Ingredients
Pecan Streusel
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons butter, cut up and cold
- 3/4 cup pecans, finely cut (85 grams)
Coffee Cake
- 340 grams bag fresh cranberries
- Zest from 1 large orange
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (280 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (114 grams, or 1 stick)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream (114 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
Pecan Streusel
- Place the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a processor bowl. Pulse several times to mix.
- Add the cold butter and process until it starts making crumbs. Some butter may not be incorporated — that's fine.
- Add the pecans and pulse several times until finely cut in. Refrigerate until needed.
Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9 x 2 inch square cake pan with parchment, spray with a non-stick baking release and set aside.
- Place the cranberries on a rimmed baking sheet and pick over them for any mushy ones. Freeze until rock hard.
- Grate the zest of the orange and set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the sugar, butter and orange zest until light and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla, mixing well.
- Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides and bottom as necessary. Beat until light and well combined. If the mixture curdles, and it probably will, raise the speed of the mixer to bring it back together. If that doesn't do it, the flour in the next step will.
- Add the flour in three parts and the sour cream in two, alternating, starting and ending with the flour.
- Place the frozen cranberries in a food processor and pulse to coarsely chop. It will make a loud racket.
- Add to the batter and mix just until well combined. The batter will be very firm because of the frozen cranberries. After mixing by machine, mix by hand a few times to incorporate anything on the bottom and sides.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Top with the reserved pecan streusel.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly.
Notes
Nutrition
Joyce says
Hi, can this be made without nuts on top.
Helen S Fletcher says
Just omit them if you want.