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    Home » Recipes » Breakfast & Brunch

    Cranberry Crumb Sourdough Coffee Cake

    April 30, 2020 • Updated: March 31, 2022 • by Renée B. • This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe
    Cranberry Crumb Sourdough Coffee Cake

    This moist, buttery Cranberry Crumb Sourdough Coffee Cake - filled with fresh cranberries and double layer of rich, walnut-crumb topping - is perfect for a relaxing weekend morning or afternoon snack.

    Streusel-topped coffee cake on small dessert plate, garnished with cranberries and orange slices. Lilacs in the background.
    Jump to:
    • What the Story Behind this Recipe?
    • What Goes into this Recipe
    • How to Make this Coffee Cake
    • FAQs & Expert Tips
    • Sourdough Recipes
    • Cranberry Crumb Sourdough Coffee Cake

    If you've not yet jumped on the Sourdough Train, this Cranberry Crumb Sourdough Coffee Cake might just be the thing that punches your ticket! 

    This sourdough coffee cake recipe is an excellent way to use up extra sourdough starter. It’s easy to make, tastes amazing, and is perfect for any occasion when you want a little something sweet.

    What the Story Behind this Recipe?

    My mom use to mix up a coffee cake on Sunday mornings once or twice a month. It took nearly an hour to bake, and in that time, our house would fill with the scents of roasting walnuts, caramelizing brown sugar, and warm vanilla cake.

    There were only two things wrong with Mama's coffee cake: it took way too long to bake, and there was never enough of that sweet, nutty, crumb topping! 

    I can’t change the baking time problem – it’s still going to take almost an hour to bake. But I’ve definitely resolved the crumb dilemma!

    3 Plates of Cake

    What Goes into this Recipe

    Sourdough Coffee Cake Ingredients:

    Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

    • Sourdough Starter: Use Unfed Starter or Discard for this recipe. (See FAQs for more.)

    • Cranberries: Use fresh or frozen whole cranberries. Allow frozen cranberries to thaw completely before adding them to the batter.

    No cranberries? No problem! You can substitute in any berry you want (blueberries work especially well!) or leave the berries out altogether. Any way you make it, it's going to be delicious! 

    Walnuts: You can substitute pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts.

    I usually chop nuts for recipes by hand, but for this recipe, you want them a little finer. I use a small food processor for this step, processing the nuts a handful at a time, pulsing quickly a few times with each batch.

    How to Make this Coffee Cake

    Preheat oven to 350°F | 176°C.

    Grease a 9" square pan, or spray with cooking spray.

    Chop the Nuts

    I usually chop nuts for recipes by hand, but for this recipe, you want them a little finer. I use a small food processor for this step, processing the nuts a handful at a time, pulsing quickly a few times with each batch.

    Chopping walnuts

    You want most of the walnuts to be finely chopped, but you don't want to make nut butter. It's good to have a few bigger pieces here and there. It gives the Crumb Topping a more interesting texture, too.

    Make the Crumb Topping

    NOTE: This recipe makes double the amount of crumb traditionally used. (If you prefer your coffee cake with less crumb topping, it’s an easy fix: just make less of the topping.) 

    In a medium bowl, whisk together nuts, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, cinnamon, and salt.

    Add vanilla and melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

    Mixing crumb topping.

    Make the Cake Batter

    You can use a hand mixer if you want, but I prefer mixing this cake entirely by hand. Either way, it will take you about 15 minutes to get it in the oven.

    In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to break down butter.

    It is critical that the butter be at least 65°F | 18°C or it will be too hard to mix the cake. Optimally, butter should be about 70°-72°F.

    In a large mixing bowl, use a spatula to combine sugar and butter. It doesn't need to be pretty; just mix it in thoroughly.

    Add eggs to butter and sugar mixture one at a time, stirring thoroughly to combine after each addition.

    4-panel collage showing how eggs are mixed into the batter, one at a time.

    Stir in vanilla and sourdough starter. Set aside.

    In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

    Add dry ingredients to Starter mixture and stir to combine. Add milk and mix until smooth.

    Stir in orange zest and cranberries.

    Light colored batter with cranberries in a large glass mixing bowl.

    Assemble the Coffee Cake

    Assembling the coffee cake is easy, but Step C does takes just a bit of patience. 

    (A) Spread one-half cake batter in the bottom of a prepared pan.

    (B) Sprinkle one-half crumble mixture over the top. Press the crumble down very lightly with your hands.

    (C) CAREFULLY distribute the rest of the batter on top of the first crumb layer. The idea is to mix in as little of the crumb mixture into the cake batter as possible.

    I do this by dropping dollops of batter over the top of the crumb layer, and then carefully spreading it to the edges using a frosting spatula or the back of a spoon.

    (D) Sprinkle the second half of the crumble mixture over the top. Press the crumble down very lightly with your hands.

    4-panel collage showing how each layer of the coffee cake is added, according to written directions.

    Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes.

    Open the oven door and gently cover the cake top with a piece of foil. Basically, just lay the foil over the top. This will keep the topping from over browning during the final minutes of baking.

    Close the oven and continue baking for an additional 10-20 minutes (for a total of 45-55 minutes cooking time), or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

    Coffee Cake baked in a 9x9 glass baking dish.

    FAQs & Expert Tips

    Stages of a Healthy Sourdough Starter

    Use Unfed Starter or Discard for this recipe. 

    • Fed Starter – Fed Starter is active, healthy starter that has been fed within about 2 hours. By hour 2, it will be producing little bubbles on the surface. 
    • Active Starter – Starter is Active about 5 hours after feeding. By hour 5, you should be able to watch large bubbles actively rising through the Starter and making their way to surface.
    • Ripe Starter – Starter is considered Ripe about 8 hours after feeding. The volume has doubled, and the top is just beginning to show signs of sagging under its own weight. 
    • Unfed Starter – Unfed Starter is healthy, vigorous Starter that has not been fed for 12 hours or more. By hour 12, it collapsed after Ripening, and is ready to be fed again or put in the fridge until next time. (Note that this is NOT neglected Starter that hasn’t been fed in days.)
    • Discard – Sourdough discard is the portion of your sourdough starter that you get rid of when you do a feeding. It should be healthy and vigorous, with some small bubbling activity.
    Coffee cake plated with cranberries and orange slices. Fork to the side.

    Sourdough Recipes

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      Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Scones
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      Mom's Sourdough Hotcakes (Sourdough Pancakes)
    • Kaylen's Bread (Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe)
    • How to Make Rye Sourdough Starter

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    5 from 2 votes

    Cranberry Crumb Sourdough Coffee Cake

    This moist, buttery Cranberry Crumb Sourdough Coffee Cake, filled with fresh cranberries and double layer of rich, walnut-crumb topping, is perfect for a relaxing weekend morning or afternoon snack.
    Print Pin Add to Shopping List Go to Shopping List
    Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Prep Time:15 minutes
    Cook Time:45 minutes
    Total Time:1 hour
    Servings: 16 servings
    Calories: 339kcal
    Author: Renee
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • 1 9" Square Baking Pan
    • 1 Wooden Spoon or Hand Mixer
    • 1 Mixing Bowls

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Metric
    Crumble Topping
    • 2 cups finely chopped walnuts or pecans, or filberts, or almonds
    • ⅔ cup light brown sugar firmly packed
    • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoons salt
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 3 tablespoons butter melted
    Cake Batter
    • ½ cup butter room temperature
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla
    • 1 cup sourdough starter UNFED
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ cup milk room temperature
    • Zest of 1 orange
    • 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries room temperature

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350°F | 176°C.
      Grease a 9" square pan, or spray with cooking spray.

    Crumb Topping

    • Chop walnuts.
    • Whisk together nuts, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
    • Add vanilla and melted butter and mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

    Cake Batter

    • In a large mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to break down butter.
      It is critical that the butter be at least 65°F [18.3°C] or it will be too hard to mix the cake. Optimally, butter should be about 70°-72°F.
    • In a large mixing bowl, use a spatula to combine sugar and butter. It doesn't need to be pretty; just mix it in thoroughly.
    • Add eggs to butter and sugar mixture one at a time, stirring thoroughly to combine after each addition.
    • Stir in vanilla and sourdough starter. Set aside.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
    • Add dry ingredients to Starter mixture and stir to combine. Add milk and mix until smooth.
    • Stir in orange zest and cranberries.
    • [A] Spread one-half cake batter in the bottom of a prepared pan.
      [B] Sprinkle one-half crumble mixture over the top. Press the crumble down very lightly with your hands.
      [C] CAREFULLY distribute the rest of the batter on top of the first crumb layer. The idea is to mix in as little of the crumb mixture into the cake batter as possible.
      I do this by dropping dollops of batter over the top of the crumb layer, and then carefully spreading it to the edges using a frosting spatula or the back of a spoon.
      [D] Sprinkle the second half of the crumble mixture over the top. Press the crumble down very lightly with your hands.
    • Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Open the oven door and gently cover the cake top with a piece of foil. Basically, just lay the foil over the top.
      This will keep the topping from over browning during the final minutes of baking.
      Close the oven and continue baking for an additional 10-20 minutes (for a total of 45-55 minutes cooking time), or until a skewer comes out clean.
    • Remove from oven and cool on rack.

    Notes

    I usually chop nuts for recipes by hand, but for this recipe, you want them a little finer. I use a small food processor for this step, processing the nuts a handful at a time, pulsing quickly a few times with each batch. You want most of the walnuts to be finely chopped, but you don't want to make nut butter. It's good to have a few bigger pieces here and there. It gives the Crumb Topping a more interesting texture, too.

    This coffee cake can be stored at room temperature for several days. It also freezes well. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 339kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 253mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 287IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg
    This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
    Have you tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details.

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    About Renée B.

    Renée is writer, music maker, artist, and storyteller. In her spare time, you can find her writing love songs about cowboys, exploring the moss-covered nooks and crannies of the Pacific Northwest, and making music with her talented singer-husband.

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    1. Jenn says

      June 01, 2020 at 1:16 pm

      5 stars
      I loved everything about this recipe! From the delish crumble to the moist, flavorful cake. It's now gonna be a regular in my house!

      Reply
    2. Jessica Formicola says

      June 01, 2020 at 1:03 pm

      5 stars
      This is my absolute favorite coffee cake recipe! We've made it twice already and it turned out perfectly both times!

      Reply
    3. Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says

      June 01, 2020 at 12:43 pm

      Okay, wow. This looks like the most perfect cake. This combo reminds my of Christmas! Will definitely give it a go, thanks for the recipe 🙂

      Reply

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