Recipe: Cranberry Coffee Cake

My mom shared this recipe with me years ago.  It’s perfect to make around the holidays, when cranberries are so readily available at all the grocery stores.  I like to stock up and freeze them, so I can make this wonderful coffee cake year-round.  It’s a special treat for breakfast—or anytime!—and definitely goes great with coffee.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs

2-1/4 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups cranberries (fresh; if frozen, thaw before using)

1/2 cup chopped nuts

In mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla.  Add eggs and mix well.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt; mix well.  Stir in cranberries and nuts.

Pour into well-greased bundt ban.  Bake at 350° for 65-70 minutes, or until wooden toothpick comes out clean.

Cool for 5-10 minutes.   Remove from pan.  (You will probably need to run a knife around the edges in order to get it to come out.  I did a poor job of this last time and the cake stuck pretty badly, which is why I have no photo of it to share with you!)

When completely cooled, glaze with the following recipe.

Glaze:

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (1-2 cups)

Milk to thin, as needed (2-3 tablespoons)

Put all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Mix thoroughly, then drizzle over the top of the coffee cake.  It makes a lot, so you can really load it on if you’re a big fan of glaze/frosting.  The cake itself has a fair amount of sweetness, but it’s still pretty tart without the glaze, so don’t be stingy!