Super Easy and Low-Fat Cranberry Coffee Cake
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Every New Year, I feel like I should probably try and eat healthier foods, but honestly, I also feel like we should all just be nicer to ourselves. So, in an effort to both eat better and still enjoy my baked goods, here’s a little treat: Cranberry Coffee Cake.
The joy here is that it’s super easy to put together, it smells great while it’s baking, and it’s delicious with your favorite cup of coffee. Oh, and did I mention I reduced the sugar and fat? Yeah. There we go.
So, let’s relax and get baking!
Cranberry Coffee Cake Batter
This section could also be called the beauty of self-rising flour, but let’s just get to the point. The batter for this coffee cake is really easy.
Start by mixing Greek yogurt with stevia (or sugar if that’s what you’re using). It’s going to look impossible to mix at first, but then it’ll loosen up and that’s when you know you’re ready to move on.
Whisk in your egg, milk, and vanilla. It’s going to get really loose and liquidy at this point. Really make sure that egg is beaten in though. No one wants to take a bite of pure egg white in a cake.
From there, all you need to do is fold in the self-rising flour and a bit of extra salt to pump up the flavors, and it’s ready. As with most recipes, I have to note: please do not overmix your batter. Go just until the flour is incorporated and then stop.
Yes, this is a really thick batter. You’re going to doubt there is enough of it. Trust me, it will puff up into a fluffy, delicious cake in the oven!
The Cranberry Sauce Layer
Why are we using cranberry sauce? That seems weird. Well, frankly, that’s what we had leftover from the holidays, and I didn’t want it to go to waste. However, it turns out to be the perfect center layer for this cake.
The key is using whole berry sauce, not the gel-mold kind. We want berries in our cake! Now, sometimes, if you have had your sauce in the fridge for a little while, it leaks some liquid. You’ll want to drain that off.
Set the sauce in a fine mesh strainer, if this is a concern to you, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Some of the excess water will drain off, but you’ll still have plenty of jammy cranberries.
You’ll layer this cranberry sauce on after you’ve spread half of the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Then, the second half of the batter goes on top. Weirdly, the bottom half will puff up quite a bit more, and it surprises me every time.
Cinnamon Sugar: The Finishing Touch
The finishing touch is just a little bit of sugar and cinnamon whisked together and sprinkled on top. It’s a little weird to do stevia in the cake and sugar on top, but I did say “reduced” the sugar instead of removing it.
Frankly, sugar substitutes are no good for texture when used as a topping. Feel free to use coconut sugar or honey crystals if you prefer something slightly more natural. I usually use Morena pure cane sugar because it’s what I’m comfortable using.
In this recipe, I note to use brown sugar because I felt like the test using that combo just turned out better somehow. Give it shot! See what you think.
Baking Cranberry Coffee Cake
The final bit is baking it up right. You’ll want to prepare your loaf pan ahead of time with a bit of oil spray and parchment paper. I just spray the pan first to help the paper stick.
Then, I do a layer of paper just going across the width. That means the ends of the cake are exposed to the metal of the pan. However, the oil spray helps it come out cleanly.
Remember to leave a little bit of paper overhanging the sides of the pan so you have something to grab onto when it’s time to pull the cake out.
To bake, you’ll go for 40 to 45 minutes in a 375ºF oven. Test it with a toothpick inserted in the center to make sure it’s done.
Then, let it cool a bit before pulling it from the pan, and cool a little more before cutting into it. I liked this at room temperature, but it’s also really nice when it’s still warm.
Here are the Tools You’ll Need
This is really short list, and you probably already have these tools. You’ll need:
- Medium mixing bowl
- 1-cup glass measuring cup
- Medium loaf pan (If you use a 9×5 loaf pan, you may find it harder to spread the batter, and it will take less time to cook.)
- Misto (I recommend this because sometimes Pam messes up your pans.)
So, pour yourself a nice cup of hot coffee and get some cake in the oven for a little cozy morning snack. Here’s to a happy and healthy 2021.
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Cranberry Coffee Cake
Equipment
- Loaf Pan
- Parchment paper
- Medium mixing bowl
- Small Bowl
- Non-stick spray, or Misto filled with neutral oil
Ingredients
- 1½ cup self-rising flour
- ¾ cup stevia or sugar
- ¼ cup non fat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup milk of choice
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp pink himalayan sea salt
- ½ cup whole cranberry sauce drained of excess liquid
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray your loaf pan lightly with oil, and line with parchment paper for easy removal later.
- In your mixing bowl, whisk together the stevia (or sugar) and Greek yogurt. Once it goes from thick and clumpy to liquidy, whisk in the milk, egg, and vanilla.
- Once you have a nice liquid base, add in the self-rising flour and salt. Fold it together until it's just combined and you have a thick batter. Do not overmix.
- Spread half the batter into your loaf pan. Then, spread your cranberry sauce over top. Layer the rest of the cake batter on top of that making sure to cover the cranberries completely.
- In your small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this over the top of your coffee cake batter in the loaf pan.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack and cooling an additional 10 minutes before serving.
