KITCHEN - cranberry coffee cake with orange zest streusel

Thanksgiving breakfast for us!

I made this festive coffee cake for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Overall, it was a hit. If you bake it the night before you plan to eat it, you might want to remove it from the pan just after cool or even while cooling. I waited until the morning and had to run a knife along the edges and use a spatula to extract the loaf.

• 
  
• Recipe
• Streusel topping
  1/4 c melted butter
  1/4 c oats
  2 T brown sugar
  2 T flour
  1/4 c sliced or chopped almonds (or any other nuts you'd prefer)
  2 t orange zest
  
  
  Combine all ingredients until moist and crumbly. Set aside.
  
  
• Cake   slightly adapted from here
• 2 c fresh or thawed frozen cranberries (I used fresh)
• 1.5 c granulated sugar
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 c whole milk

Makes 6 to 8 servings. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pulse cranberries with 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a food processor until finely chopped (do not purée). Transfer to a sieve and let drain while making batter.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and remaining 1 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with a standing mixer for about 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until just incorporated.

Spread one third of batter evenly in well-buttered loaf pan*, then spoon half of drained cranberries evenly over batter, leaving a 1/2-inch border along sides. Top with another third of batter and remaining cranberries, leaving a 1/2-inch border along sides, then cover with remaining batter. Spread streusel topping over the top of the cake batter. Pat down gently. 

Bake in middle of oven until golden brown and a tester inserted in center comes out without crumbs, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes.

Invert cake onto rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*Suggested using a 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan, however, I used 2 smaller loaf pans and baked for ~45 minutes. 

Pulse the cranberries and sugar.

So they look like this.

Drain them in a colander in the sink.

Skip a few steps and spread 1/3 of the batter in the loaf pan (I spread 1/6th since I was used 2 smaller pans).

Spread 1/2 of the cranberries (I spread 1/4...).

Then 1/3 (or 1/6) of the batter.

Repeat those steps again until the final layer of batter is spread. Top with all (or 1/2) of the streusel topping.

Bake, and enjoy!