Cranberry & Orange Buttermilk Breakfast Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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 wonder how this would be with orange juice instead of buttermilk. They’re both acidic. Will let you know if I try it.
I love cranberry orange and want to make this. Just wondering if I can use plain Greek yogurt instead of buttermilk. Thanks
That should be fine! I think the texture might be slightly affected but not in a bad way… just different. Go for it!
just yummy, quick to put together, I used cried orange peel instead of orange zest and it still had good flavor.
Can this be wrapped and frozen after baking?
Great to hear, Barbara! And yes, definitely it can be frozen 🙂
I made the for Thanksgiving morning and it was awesome. This recipe is better than any bread or muffin recipe I’ve had. So yummy. I also used your tip to make the batter the night before and store in a sealed bowl then baked it fresh the next morning. SO delish!
Great to hear, Karen! Thanks so much for writing. I love an overnight batter 🙂 🙂 🙂
This was a perfect blending of ingredients which produced an awesome, flavorful and healthy breakfast treat. Love the way you changed it up a bit between blueberry/lemon ingredients and cranberry/orange ingredients. You’re an excellent baker! Your methods remind me of my beloved Irish Gram who knew how to use a basic recipe to create multiple and varied baked goods. Thank you!!
So nice to read this, Mart! Thanks for writing and sharing this memory 🙂 🙂 🙂
Would frozen cranberries work? Fresh are hard to come by where we live. Thanks!
Frozen should be fine. Go for it 🙂
Appreciate your reply and oh-so-good recipes!
Thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂
So good!
I used dried cranberries bc the store didn’t have fresh. I soaked them in water for 1hour prior to making the recipe.
Great to hear! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes — so helpful for others 🙂
Excited to try this! Would you store covered on the counter or need to be refrigerated?
Covered on the counter is fine!
Wow! This is a gorgeous-looking breakfast cake, & the batter is perfect! Those cranberries, though, were SO tart it was almost inedible. I guess I just got a really tart batch. I’m going to make a powdered sugar glaze to try to balance out that tartness so we can actually eat it without looking like we’re sucking on lemons. 😂
Hi Ali,
I’d love to make this for Christmas for some friends who are gluten free. Can I use King Arthur cup for cup flour? It sounds delicious and I’m going to make it for me too!
I imagine it would work great! I haven’t tried, and I’d hate to steer you wrong but I know many people who have had success using the KAF gf mix.
I’m going to double this for a holiday crowd. Do you think I can bake it in a 9×11 glass baking dish pan or would I need 2 9-inch square pans? Would it rise and bake all the way through using a 9×11 pan, perhaps baking a little longer and using the toothpick test in the center?
Thanks. Love your recipes.
Hi! A 9×11 inch pan should be fine for a double recipe… I’ve used a 9×13-inch pan for a double recipe and it worked just fine. Yes, you’ll need to bake it just a little bit longer, but a toothpick should help you determine when it’s done — I’d say 5 or so extra minutes.
Delicious! Was a big hit at brunch and so easy to prepare! Needed to cook for 45 minutes.
Great to hear 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks for writing!
My family and I love this cake. It is the perfect balance of sweet and tartness, great texture, and easy to made. We devoured it for breakfast, perfect for a family of six. Will make it again.
So nice to read this, May! Happy holidays to your family 🙂
Made for Christmas Eve and added chopped pecans. Was very good. Will definitely make again!
Great to hear, Paula! Thanks for writing 🙂
The batter for this cake is stiff at room temp and due to that I would not recommend refrigerating the batter as suggested to make ahead. at room temp it is difficult to spread in the pan. The good news is the cake is delicious! I had some leftover cranberry sauce which I served on the side to give extra moisture and fruit flavor. We love cranberry!
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors for winter!
Delicious! I love Orange-Cranberry Muffins, but haven’t been able to find a recipe to match my favorite bakery’s muffins… until today! I followed the directions, though I was a little short on the fresh cranberries, so I topped my measuring cup off with frozen, which made no difference in the finished product. These were the perfect combination of tart & sweet, cranberry & orange, crunchy top & moist cake, though it was a bit crumbly. Next time I may try it in my jumbo muffin tin. I’ll be making this often, not just for breakfast!
Great to read all of this, Shelly! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of your notes 🙂
How about dried cranberries rather than fresh?
For some reason, I cannot see when the buttermilk gets added… I kind of feel like a crazy person as I’ve read this recipe three times and I don’t see the step where you at buttermilk…
Will add in after the eggs and vanilla… Can’t wait to see how it tastes!
Look at step 3 🙂 Sorry it was hiding from you! Hope it turned out well 💕
I just returned from our Sunday Coffee Hour and once again your recipe for Cranberry and Orange Buttermilk Breakfast Bread received glowing reviews and I received many requests for the recipe. I always double the recipe and because I almost never have fresh oranges on hand, I keep a small bottle of orange oil in the refrigerator as a convenient substitute.
I’ve enjoyed so many of your recipes and suggestions over the years, but seldom take time to write.
All the best and thank you!
So nice to read all of this, Sarah! Thanks so much for taking the time to write. Means a lot 💕💕💕
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
Yes!
Could you substitute for leftover cranberry sauce? Would reduce the additional sugar a bit but orried it might add too much moisture… curious if anyone has tried it.
Love this idea Rebecca and I wish I could offer some guidance but I haven’t tried. I say go for it! And then report back 🙂 I feel like it would be so good in scones.
Can I use bundt pan for this cake? THanks and let me know.
I think I’d double it for a bundt pan 🙂
Can I use this recipe for muffins? Thanks!
Yes!
Hello, this looks amazing! I want to make it for Christmas breakfast, but wondered if I reduced the sugar a bit if it would affect the texture? Thanks!
Reducing the sugar does affect the texture, and I worry, too, about the tartness of the cranberries being too much without the proper balance of sugar. That said, if you have made this already and if you have found it to be too sweet, I think reducing it slightly, by 1/4 cup or so, would be fine.
What about a thick Crumb crust?
I was going to try to make this a gluten free free sourdough version. I used 1 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend and 1 cup of gf sourdough while also removing the buttermilk. The batter was to dense so just popped some in my waffle iron. Turned out amazing.
Wow, amazing! Thanks for writing and sharing these notes 🙂
This was so easy to make and my family loved it! Will be a staple in our home from here on out!
I made this recipe and substituted the buttermilk with 1/3 c sour cream and 1/4c orange juice. Baked it in my King Arthur tea loaf pan. It took about 50 minutes. Moist and delicious!
That sounds fantastic! I’m going to try 🙂
This was super yummy! I made it for brunch on Christmas Eve and everyone loved it!
Great to hear, Jessica! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
I just have quick question. If I make this ahead, will it work with frozen cranberries?
That’s a great question. I would guess yes. If you give it a go, I’d love to hear how it turns out. Good luck!
I did.make this ahead with frozen cranberries, but I mixed in the cranberries just before baking. It was difficult mixing the cranberries into the cold dough, but the cake worked wonderfully. It is now a very favorite cake. I do wonder what the result would have been if I had mixed in the cranberries first. I was afraid that when they defrosted in the dough that they would turn the dough pink.
Great to hear, Caryn! I think the bake batter might turn a teensy bit pink if you mix them from the start but not an unpleasant amount. Would love to hear your result if you try again but mixing the berries in from the start. Thanks for writing 🙂