Cranberry & Orange Buttermilk Breakfast Cake
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This cranberry and orange buttermilk breakfast cake is a great one to add to your holiday baking repertoire. It takes 10 minutes to prepare, and the batter can be stashed in the fridge and baked in the morning. What’s more, it serves 8 to 10 people (or even more if doubled), so it’s great for holiday entertaining.
In an effort to figure out what to bake on Christmas morning, I turned to an old standby, buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake, and swapped cranberries for the blueberries, orange zest for the lemon, and increased the sugar a teensy bit. It worked beautifully!
Not too sweet, festively studded with cranberries, this cake is a wonderful Christmas morning treat. Best of all, you can prepare the batter the night before and bake the cake in the morning. If you’re not a cranberry fan, you can use frozen blueberries, which work beautifully here, too.
5 Favorite Make-Ahead Cakes
Store batter in a tupperware overnight, then transfer to prepared pan in the morning:
Cranberry & Orange Buttermilk Breakfast Cake
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 8 to 10
Description
Notes: This recipe is essentially the Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake recipe but with cranberries swapped for the blueberries.
I’ve increased the sugar to 1 cup (from 7/8 cup) b/c cranberries are a bit tart and substituted orange zest for the lemon zest. If you don’t like cranberries, many people have had luck with frozen blueberries. Also, this batter can be prepared the night before.
Don’t store it in the pan you plan on baking it in — store it in tupperware of some sort, then transfer to a greased pan in the morning.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- the zest from 1 orange zest
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups (256 g) flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- ½ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with orange zest and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the cranberries with 2 tablespoons of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the cranberries.
- Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes, then check for doneness by touching the top gently or by inserting a toothpick. If necessary, return pan to oven, check every five minutes or so — it took my cake a little bit over 45 minutes to cook. (Note: Baking for as long as 50 minutes might be necessary, especially if you made the batter in advance.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: breakfast, cake, buttermilk, cranberry, orange, brunch, holidays
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
309 Comments on “Cranberry & Orange Buttermilk Breakfast Cake”
I just wonder if there is no loss in the baking powder action after storing it overnight (for the breakfast cake). I finally made your Orzo Gratin for my family who arrived in Colorado to ski. They loved it! When I read the recipe I almost got ouzo mixed up with orzo in the directions. Once I got that straight in my mind, it was great.
I love yours blog. And especially your overnight focaccia.
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Thank you, Nancy! So nice to read all of this 🙂 🙂 :). Regarding the cake, batters made with baking powder are safe to store overnight, so this one will work just fine. It’s batters made with baking soda, which more quickly loses its “oomph”, that you shouldn’t store overnight.
Excellent recipe! The cake has a tender crumb and is lovely and moist. Next time I‘ll toss the cranberries in 1 Tbsp sugar just to punch up the sweetness of the berries a bit. I used whole frozen cranberries, so the baking time was 55 minutes. My family loved the cake—we’ll definitely be making it again. Thank you for posting the recipe!
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So nice to hear this, Bethann! Thanks so much for writing and sharing. Love the idea of coating the cranberries in sugar.
This recipe has become a holiday tradition in our house, and I’m so thankful for this and all your other wonderful recipes. You’re always my go to place for inspiration. ❤️
So wonderful to hear this, Allie! Thank you for your kind words. Means so much. Wishing you a happy happy New Year!
I made the Cranberry Orange Buttermilk Breakfast Cake last night and it is delicious! I put the fresh cranberries through the cuisinart, mixed in a Tablespoon of sugar and flour with the berries before adding to the batter at the end. Soooo much yummy flavor! I did use only 1/2 tsp salt instead of 1 tsp. I also added 1/2 tsp. baking soda recommended by comments from a couple patrons in their reviews. This is a keeper!! Thank you for the free recipe.
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So great to read all of this, Deborah! Love the sound of all of your tweaks. Thanks so much for writing and sharing. Happy Baking and Happy New Year!
Would dried cranberries work if I soak them?
Hi Karen, I think you can use dried cranberries, but I would cut back the amount maybe — maybe just use 1 cup. The flavor will be different because the fresh cranberries lend a tartness, but dried cranberries are on the sweet side. Worth a shot!
Absolutely delicious – as are all of your recipes! Made this as written for xmas and everyone raved about it. I’ve also made the blueberry cake – equally amazing.
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So nice to hear this, Anne! Thanks so much for writing. Happy holidays to you and your family!
I love trying new recipes and usually I’m disappointed. The cranberry orange coffee cake is definitely a keeper! I used an 8×8 glass pan and baked it longer. Top was firm and golden and pick came out clean. However, next time I looked, it was sunken in the middle. I put it back in the oven for at least ten more minutes. To my surprise it still was amazing 😊
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Great to hear, Cathy! Thanks so much for writing. So glad it baked up OK in the end.
This cake is brilliant! Easy to make and absolutely delicious. My batter was super stiff, so I added 2T fresh orange juice and it turned out beautifully. It baked up perfectly—thanks for the tips on timing. I’m new to your blog, but after this recipe, I’m hooked.
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Wonderful to hear this, Laresa! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. Hope you find some other recipes you love as well 💕
Loved this recipe! Came together quickly and baked up beautifully. Definitely a recipe I’ll be keeping in my breakfast arsenal. Thanks Ali!
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Great to hear, Mallory! Thanks so much for writing!