This Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake is the perfect treat to celebrate the holidays with. Made with simple-to-find ingredients, this easy dessert has the best tastes of the holiday season. Christmas morning is truly one of my very favorites. Seeing the magic and wonder of the morning through my kids’ eyes is a surprise of parenthood that I love. We always follow up opening presents with a sweet little brunch, just the five of us. Every year I’m on the prowl for delicious foods that I can make the night before that will be perfect for a Christmas brunch. This Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake totally fits the bill. It is delicious, whispers “Merry Christmas” with every bite, and is perfect to make the night before. The flavors of orange and cranberry work so well in this recipe. However, with those ingredients and the added sour cream, this recipe can trigger my frequent heartburn. If you have frequent heartburn, I suggest you try Omeprazole Orally Disintegrating Tablets* (ODT). Omeprazole ODT is used to treat the symptoms of frequent heartburn (2+ days a week or more). It has a strawberry flavor and dissolves on your tongue, so you can take them without water. Using Omeprazole ODT is a really good way to be proactive about treating heartburn so you can enjoy amazing treats like this throughout the holidays. Learn more here. *Use as directed for 14 days to treat frequent heartburn (occurring 2 or more days a week). May take 1-4 days for full effect. Not intended for immediate relief.
How to Make Coffee Cake
A great coffee cake is a perfect recipe to keep on hand, because you can make so many variations of it. This recipe is no exception. This is a brief overview of the recipe. For the full recipe and steps, use the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Tips and Tricks for Coffee Cake
There are a few things that will ensure that this recipe turns out perfect for you every time.
Ensure that your baking soda and baking powder are still reactive. You can test the baking soda by combining it with vinegar and the baking powder by adding it to water. Both should bubble right away. If they don’t, replace them.Make sure the butter for the streusel topping is cold.The butter for the cake batter should be room temperature. You should be able to dent it easily with your finger, but not push your finger all the way through.The eggs should be room temperature as well. You can place them in a bowl of lukewarm water for five minutes to bring them to room temperature quickly.Make sure you measure the flour correctly. Scoop it from the container using a spoon into a dry measuring cup and then level it off.
Measuring Flour
As mentioned above, measuring flour correctly is critical to recipes. Follow these steps and you will have the correct amount for my coffee cake recipe and all of my great cookie recipes. By measuring flour this way, you avoid packing it. Packing flour, when measuring right from the container it is kept in, can result in 25% more flour. This can really change the outcome of a recipe.
Sifting Ingredients
You will notice in the video that I sift the flour mixture. I have found that this is a great way to ensure that the baking soda and baking powder are well distributed, which means a more successful cake. If you don’t want to sift your dry ingredients, make sure to whisk them very well.
