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
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.
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) because 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
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
415 Comments on “Cranberry & Orange Buttermilk Breakfast Cake”
I am new to cooking is this self rising flour or all purpose?
K — it is all purpose. Happy Baking!
alexandra, what are the changes you would suggest if I were to use frozen cranberries? Thanks for fabulous recipe.
Sarvar — I wouldn’t change much. I think using the frozen berries will work just fine. You might have to bake the cake for a few minutes longer but I would say that’s about it for changes. Happy Baking!
could you use craisins for this recipie?
Kt — I have never tried, but I imagine you can. I think 2 cups of craisins will be a little too much, however, and they are sweeter than fresh cranberries so, I might consider reducing the sugar a little bit.
This was soooo delicious! I love baking with fresh cranberries this time of year. The hint of orange with the sweet crispy edges, plus the slightly tart cranberries was just…perfection. I subbed half of the AP flour w/ whole wheat pastry flour, and it worked great. I found your blog via pinterest, and I’m excited to try some more recipes. Thanks for a great one!
Aubri — thanks for reporting back and for sharing your whole wheat pastry flour substitution…so nice to know that works. Happy Holidays!
Was wondering has anyone added chopped nuts to this maybe pecans?
Janie — I haven’t, but that sounds like the perfect nut if one were to be added. I say go for it. It would be a very festive and complementary addition.
I was wondering about the craisins as well and pecans, I have a craisins pecan muffin mix I do starting at Thanksgiving through the whole winter… Bit our dishwasher has been broke since August and I was looking for something easier to prep and clean-up to do for Christmas…
I was wondering about making up mason jarsof the dry ingredients and using a powdered buttermilk i found. Any suggestions? I do alot of homemade mixes and putting up freezer meals or almost fill meals…but I try my best not to freezer bread items as it kills the vitamin B’s. Most people wouldn’t care but I have Fibromyalgia and need all the B I can get…especially cause I also steal away from starchs especially if store bought….I look forward to trying this! Thanks for sharing, found you via pinterest.
Laura — wow, I am so impressed by your baking mix endeavors. I love this idea, and mason jars sound so pretty. My only suggestions: dont use an equal amount of dried craisins as fresh cranberries — I would use less; use your judgement on the amount of nuts, which sound like a wonderfuladdition; and, as for the powdered buttermilk, I don’t know how to advise — I’ve heard wonderful things about it, but I’ve never actually used it, and I don’t know how mixing it directly in with the dried ingredients will affect the finally texture of the cake. Wish I could offer remorse guidance. Good luck with it and happy holidays!
Just made this for breakfast. I doubled the recipe, used craisens instead of cranberries and added a package of white chocolate chips…..yummmm.
Emily — Yum! Love your additions/variation. White chocolate sounds perfect with this!
Has anyone used a gluten free all purpose flour for this recipe?
Aimee — I have not, but I have had great success using c4c flour in a bunch of quickbread and scone recipes, so I think that (or your own gluten-free mix) will work really well in this cake.
Happy New Year! I made this for breakfast this morning (and a mimosa) and it was amazing! I think this could be a NYD tradition 🙂
Sandy — so happy to hear this! A mimosa sounds amazing right about now… Happy New Year!!
I made this on Sunday morning for breakfast and it was ridiculously amazing! I did it in the 13 x 9 pan with the recipe doubled and it came out perfect. I’m still working on the leftovers. Btw, my dad couldn’t wait for it to cool down so he ate it warm with a little butter and said it was delicious that way. I can’t wait to try out the blueberry version!
EarlyBirdBaker — so happy to hear this! I love this one this time of year. I think you will love the blueberry variation too!
I have this is in the oven now, and it smells wonderful! Going to have it with my afternoon cup of tea 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing. Look forward to trying the blueberry/lemon version this summer.
Hope you like it, Tracy!
I made it today, it’s amazing :). But i made it with red grapes b/c we don’t hv cranberries in my country and blueberries are so expensive. My family loved it. Thanks
Roshmansy — so interesting to hear this! Love the idea of grapes. Must try that soon.
I made this and it is definitely tart! I would have preferred more sugar/sweet! I will try again with blueberries or other berries.
This cake is divine! I have made it several times now, today, with half fresh berries, half frozen. So easy, so great! Thank you!
Nancy P — you are so welcome! When blueberry season arrives — so soon! — you should try it with blueberries… so good! https://alexandracooks.com/2011/06/29/buttermilk-blueberry-breakfast-cake/
I was wondering if when you wait for the next day, do you let the batter come back to room temp before baking? I’m assuming it’s been in the fridge overnight…
Susiejeanne — no need to let the batter come back to room temp before baking. I always let it sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, but not for any longer. You might have to add 5 to 10 minutes to baking time if you store the batter in the fridge overnight. Hope that helps!
Can I use Sour Cherries in light syrup instead of cranberries?
Made this cake this morning !! It was a hit with my boys. So delicious !! Thanks, now to get some wild blueberries and make the blueberry version !!
You had me at cranberry. My favoritist breakfast food in the whole word is cranberry orange bread, so I can’t wait to try this!
I saw this picture on Pinterest, not pinned from this original blog post, and I searched to find the source. So glad I did! Pinning…from HERE…now. 🙂
Excellent. Excellent. Excellent. Perfectly cooked in 35 minutes in a heavy non-stick pan buttered and lined with parchment paper creating handles on two sides, then buttered again. Cut before removing from pan. Thank-you!
Yay! So happy to hear this, Helen! We love this one this time of year. You’ll have to try it in the spring, too, once the blueberries come back.
this was my first time making this, is the batter supposed to be pretty thick almost like biscuit or bread dough? i followed the recipe exact, i hope it turns out perfect!
The batter is super thick! How did it turn out?
I made this cake with cranberries yesterday and oh my…………… we loved it! It came out beautifully tart, moist, and not overly sweet. I could actually taste all the flavor of the cranberries instead of loads of sugar. I think this may be my new favorite cake! I am further thankful that because it says the word “breakfast” in the title, we must be allowed to eat this yummy cake for Brekky!!!! . What a great surprise. I now have a new favorite cake and food blog.
Thanks,
Cheryl
Oh Cheryl, you are too kind! Thank you for your sweet words. I am so happy to hear that this came out well for you. And yes, cake for breakfast is nothing unusual around here 🙂 I do love the flavor of the cranberries in this as well. Happy Holidays!
I was wondering how it would be if in the cranberry version of this recipe you added chopped walnuts? I love fruit and nuts together in a recipe. Let me know if anyone has tried this.:)
Love this idea, too. I can’t see how a few chopped walnuts would hurt this recipe. Go for it!
Should’ve doubled this! I forgot to add orange zest, so I made a glaze with fresh squeezed orange juice and powdered sugar. Poked holes with a fork and drizzled while still warm. Yum yum!!!
Omg that sounds amazing…maybe forgetting the orange zest was a blessing in disguise? Im going to try that glaze. fun!
This was great, thank you! I used 1/2 c. ww flour and 1 1/2 cups white flour, and only 3/4 cup sugar. The cranberries had a nice tart pop.
I just made this for breakfast, and it turned out amazing!!! I added one cup of buttermilk by mistake, forgot I was supposed to use only 1/2, but it turned out so good! I think I’ll use the 1cup when I make it again. This will definitely be added to my staple recipes! I loved it!!
Loved this! Although I put half cranberries and half frozen raspberries. No one in my family cared for the sour cranberries, so next time I will just use all raspberries.
Fun! It’s delicious with blueberries, too. Happy 2014!
This is a wonderful recipe! I made it twice the week of Christmas and it was a huge hit with the family. Now, I’m heading into the kitchen to make it for myself with a few alterations to cut some of the fat. We’ll see how it goes. 😉
Yay! Wonderful to hear this!
I just made this for breakfast and it is amazing! It was very moist and bursting with cranberries. I was worried that my 3 year olds wouldn’t like it because it was a little more tart than I expected but they are currently gobbling it up. So happy with it! I can’t wait to try the blueberry version too! Thanks 🙂
Wonderful to hear this Edie! My 3-year old loves the blueberry one, and I haven’t tried the cranberry one on her yet, because she’s a picky one, but you are inspiring me to give it a go. I might have to just once before blueberry season arrives.
Aloha, I am wondering if I can use packaged (vs. fresh) cranberries? Fresh cranberries aren’t the cheapest here in Hawaii. 🙂 Thank you!
I imagine you can. And by packaged, do you mean frozen? Or dried? I would say yes on the frozen but no on the dried — or if you add dried, don’t add more than a cup. Hope that helps!
Thank you for the quick reply! It’d be dried ones. But I never thought to check for frozen ones. Will look for ’em. Again, thank you!
Sure thing!
This was a really good premise for a breakfast bread. I tweaked the recipe with what I had on hand plus made it a little healthier. I used a combination of dried cranberries with a can of whole berry cranberry sauce to replace the sugar. Subbed out the butter for cinnamon applesauce, added yogurt instead of buttermilk (same ratio), and added fresh sliced strawberries in a layer between the batter when filling the pan. Man, when I tell you how awesome that was! Thanks!
Wow, amazing! Nice work on all of those healthy substitutions. I love the texture of yogurt and applesauce in cakes — so moist and delicious. Thanks for writing in!