Cranberry coffee cake with white chocolate, tangy cream cheese frosting and a white chocolate drizzle, like a Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bar in cake form.
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp kosher salt I use Morton
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground ginger or up to 1 tsp for more ginger flavor
- ½ cup butter melted, then cooled until warm
- ½ cup buttermilk room temperature, or use the sour cream below
- ½ cup sour cream instead of the buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour for tossing the mix-ins
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ¾ cup dried cranberries soaked, drained and patted dry (Note 1)
- 8 oz cream cheese full-fat brick, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp orange extract or the orange zest below
- ½ orange zested, instead of the orange extract
- 2 Tbsp white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate, for melting
- ⅔ cup dried cranberries soaked, drained and patted dry
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Soak the cranberries: cover all the dried cranberries (for the batter and the topping) with warm water for 20 minutes. Drain and pat them very dry with a towel. (Note 1)
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Heat the oven: 350°F with a rack in the middle. Grease a 9-inch square pan with nonstick spray, or butter and flour it. Or line it with parchment, with an overhang on two sides, for easy cleanup and to lift the cake out for cutting. (Note 2)
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Whisk the eggs: in a large bowl, whisk 2 large eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar, ¼ tsp kosher salt and 2 tsp vanilla extract until combined.
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Add the dry ingredients: to the egg mixture, add 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp baking powder and ½ tsp ground ginger. Whisk just until no dry flour shows. Do not overmix.
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Add the butter: whisk in ½ cup butter until smooth, then whisk in ½ cup buttermilk (or the sour cream). The butter should be warm, not hot.
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Toss and fold in the mix-ins: toss ¾ cup dried cranberries and ¾ cup white chocolate chips with 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour, then fold them into the batter with a spatula. The flour coating keeps them from sinking.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan: spread it evenly to the corners. The batter is thick and will not level itself.
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Bake: 35 to 40 minutes, OR until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
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Cool completely: let the cake cool in the pan, about 1 hour. Frost only a completely cool cake.
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Whisk the frosting: while the cake bakes and cools, whisk 8 oz cream cheese, ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and ½ tsp orange extract (or the orange zest) in a bowl until smooth. Set it aside on the counter. The cream cheese must be soft, or the frosting stays lumpy.
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Frost: spread the frosting over the cooled cake, then scatter ⅔ cup dried cranberries over the top.
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Drizzle: put 2 Tbsp white chocolate chips in a zip-top bag and microwave 15 seconds at a time, massaging the bag between bursts. Stop heating when about three-quarters have melted and massage until the rest melt in the residual heat, or it seizes. Snip a small corner and zigzag it over the cake. (Note 6)
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Set and slice: let the chocolate set 30 minutes to 1 hour. For the cleanest squares, chill the cake 30 minutes, then cut into 9 squares.
- Cranberries: soak the batter and topping cranberries together. Pat them very dry, or the extra water leaves wet streaks in the cake. Fresh cranberries are untested in this cake; if you try them, use less, skip the soak, and toss them in a spoonful of flour so they do not sink.
- Pan: I bake it in a 9-inch square pan. A 10-inch round pan works too. Lining the pan with parchment, with an overhang on two sides, lets you lift the whole cake out and cut it on a board. If your pan is glass or dark metal, bake at 325°F, since both brown the edges before the center is done.
- Room temperature: take the eggs, buttermilk and cream cheese out of the fridge 30 to 60 minutes ahead. Cold eggs firm up the melted butter into small lumps.
- Mixing: stop whisking as soon as the flour disappears. Extra whisking makes the cake tough.
- Frosting: frost only a completely cool cake. A warm cake melts cream cheese frosting and it slides off.
- White chocolate: the chips keep melting after the microwave stops, so pull the bag out at three-quarters melted and massage the rest smooth. Half power helps if your microwave has it. If it turns thick and grainy, it overheated; start over with fresh chocolate. Real white chocolate, like Callebaut white chocolate, melts smoother than chips for the drizzle.
- Doubling: bake it in a 9x13 pan. Changing the servings multiplies every amount straight across, but the leaveners should not double all the way. The first batch worth goes in whole and the second at three quarters, so the baking powder becomes about ⅞ tsp (not 1 tsp) and the baking soda a scant ½ tsp (not ½ tsp). Go by the toothpick test, since the time will be longer.
- Storage: keep the frosted cake covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. Frosted cake should not sit out more than 2 hours. The unfrosted cake freezes, wrapped well, for up to 3 months.
- Make ahead: bake and frost it the day before. Or bake the cake up to 2 days ahead, keep it wrapped at room temperature, and frost it the morning you serve it.