Cranberry Pecan Orange Coffee Cake

In past years I have served a more loaded, protein-rich breakfast on Christmas morning, but I have realized that is kind of foolish given how late we get up. Also, my in-laws were with us this year for Christmas, which meant I made a more involved Christmas Eve dinner which meant in turn that I wanted a really low effort breakfast. So anyway, I decided I was going to make a coffee cake out of one of my new cookbooks, Lou Seibert Pappas' Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory.


I chose the Cranberry Pecan Orange Coffee Cake, because the orange and fresh cranberries is a celebration of early winter. I also chose it because it is heavy with a lavish crumble topping--and I love crumble toppings. This cake is also flexible--it worked well for Christmas morning, but it would work well for any morning. It is not too complicated or elaborate.

Don't forget to leave a comment entering my Red Gold Tomato kit giveaway here by midnight, Friday, January 7.


Cranberry Pecan Orange Coffee Cake
Closely adapted from Lou Seibert Pappas' Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory

the cake:
4 T unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 t vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/3 cup thawed, undiluted orange juice concentrate (from the freezer section)
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/3 cup (1 1/2 oz) finely chopped pecans

the streusel*:
1/2 cup (63 g) AP flour
4 T cold, unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9 inch round pie or cake pan (Pappas calls for a pie pan but I did it just fine in a cake pan). Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate. Mix in the flour mixture and the orange juice concentrate alternatively, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, in 3 and 2 additions respectively. Stir in the cranberries and pecans. The batter will be thick. Spread it into the prepared pan.

Using a mixer, food processor or your fingers, cut the cold butter into the sugar and flour for the streusel topping/ Mix in the nuts. Set aside.

Place the cake in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and quickly sprinkle the streusel over the top, pressing it lightly and evenly into the cake. Return to the oven for 30-35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs attached.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, and then carefully but quickly unmold to cool right side up on a cooling rack. You may slice it warm or let it cool, wrap or cover, and serve the next morning.