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A cream cheese coffee cake loaded with cinnamon, cranberries, and cream cheese that just sets it over the top and makes it perfect for a holiday breakfast!
Cranberry Cinnamon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
I fell in love with this cinnamon cream cheese coffee cake recipe a few years back. Adding cranberries to the cream cheese just sets it over the top. It’s a perfect recipe for a holiday brunch or get together. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, so it’s a perfect breakfast dish, or wonderful as an afternoon snack. My kiddos eat this up! The sour cream and cream cheese make it amazingly moist. I’m so happy to add the recipe for cream cheese cinnamon coffee cake with leftover cranberry sauce to Cranberry CrushWeek!
This square coffee cake looks so elegant on a cake stand surrounded by cranberries and cinnamon sticks. It's such a simple garnish, but the fresh cranberries are leave such an impact with their bright red color. The dusting of cinnamon adds a festive and rustic feel, which is in line with the recipe.
If you’ve followed me for awhile, you know I have a large white cake stand collection. I can’t seem to get enough! I even built some dining room shelves to house my addiction collection. They get a lot of use year round, but nothing like around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The cake actually contains cranberry sauce, hence the cranberry garnish. The topping is a cinnamon sugar topping that is so divine! I usually double my recipe for cranberry sauce, so that I'm sure to have some left over. I use it in lots of recipes, not just this one. If you sign up for my newsletter you will get a FREE e-book that has a collection of recipes that all use leftover cranberry sauce!
Just to the right of the pie server you might spy the tiny ripple of cranberry cream cheese. It’s hard to spot, but I promise you the flavor goes through the entire cake. Some recipes show a nice solid line, but this one really does melt into the cake and gives it a flavor punch. Why should you use cream cheese in a coffee cake? Well, coffee cakes tend to be on the dry side, and the cream cheese combats this issue.
You can spy it a bit on this piece as well. You can see the texture of the cake here is dense, but not dry. There is a softness to the crumble. Instead of having the cake batter be dry and crunchy (who wants that?) - I've added a bit of bite in the streusel topping.
I just love the cracked ripples that go through the cinnamon sugar topping. It's such a rustic look. There is something very homey about a coffee cake. Maybe it's because my grandmother used to make them. When we were first married, a coffee cake was often my dish of choice when I had brunch get togethers.
Key Ingredients for a Cream Cheese Coffee Cake with Cranberry Sauce:
- you'll need the standard ingredients for a coffee cake. Butter, flour, eggs, sugar and rising agents like baking soda and baking powder
- Don't have any left over cranberry sauce? Don't worry, you can substitute whole berry cranberry sauce from a can.
- One ingredient that is a must- the cream cheese! Don't leave it out! It's the key to getting a moist cake!
The cake is dense, but still airy. A little bit goes a long way. This 9 inch square can feed quite a few people.
I gave several pieces to some very happy neighbors. You can easily cut it into 9 generous servings, but I think 12-15 would be more than adequate.
Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake is just one recipe I'm featuring in my Cranberry Crush week:
Yesterday I brought you the fun Rosemary Cranberry Moscow Mule Recipe:
Don't forget these savory, melt in your mouth Cranberry BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches:
Sunday I brought you this fabulous Old Fashioned Cranberry Salad Ice Box Cake:
Of course, Cranberry Crush week wouldn’t be complete without my Make Ahead Cranberry Sauce!
Be sure to come back each day and find more cranberry posts:
Are you a fan of coffee cake? Do you love it with cream cheese like I do? I'm a super coffee cake fan, and I also really love these and think you will too!
Gingerbread Coffee Cake by Kristine's Kitchen
Buttermilk Coffee Cake by The Best Cake Recipes
Apple Ginger Coffee Cake by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Pumpkin Streusel Cake by Love Bakes Good Cakes
Leave a comment and let me know!
Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake Recipe:
📋Recipe
Cranberry Cream Cheese Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Ingredients For Batter:
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
Coffee Cake Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup cranberry sauce My popular Make - Ahead Cranberry Sauce Recipe is HERE
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsps cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
Instructions
For the Batter
- Cream the butter with the brown sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs, one at a time, making sure they are incorporated.
- Add in the vanilla.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Slowly add in ⅓ of the flour into the batter. Add in ½ cup sour cream. Next, add in another third of the flour. Once that is well mixed, add in the rest of the sour cream. Finally, add in the last third of the flour. Beat until just combined.
For the Filling:
- Cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Slowly add in an egg. Finish by beating in the vanilla and the cranberry sauce. Set aside.
- Cinnamon Topping:
- Combine the sugars, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.
Assembling the coffee cake.
- PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 degrees
- In a greased 9 inch square pan, place half the batter into the pan.
- Next, layer on the filling
- Top with the remaining batter
- Using a knife, slice vertically and horizontally to distribute and mix in the filling throughout the cake.
- Finally, top with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Bake for 35 minutes and check for browning. If it's browning too much, place foil over the pan. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, checking often. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.
Nutrition
Nellie Tracy says
Yum! Love the cranberries in this coffee cake!
Tayler Ross says
This is the most delicious coffee cake ever! I love it!