Cranberry Pistachio Coffee Cake

Indulge in this delightful Cranberry Pistachio Coffee Cake, which is incredibly soft and moist, offering a warm embrace with every bite. The cake is crowned with a buttery pistachio streusel that adds a delightful crunch and a nutty richness.

Each slice reveals a vibrant, thick layer of sweet, tangy cranberries, creating a beautiful flavor contrast that elevates this breakfast cake and makes it perfect for Christmas morning. Or enjoy it any day of the year, this coffee cake is sure to impress.

This delicious coffee cake is so pretty to look at and great for serving guests! Sometimes, I like to drizzle it with a glaze for an extra special touch. My family also loves this pumpkin coffee cake, which is perfect for fall, or my original coffee cake!

Before You Get Started

Before you head to the kitchen and grab that mixing bowl, here are a few quick tips to ensure that your cake turns out perfectly every time:

DRIED CRANBERRIES: Use a fairly fresh bag of dried cranberries so they plump up nicely when simmering. I have also used the reduced sugar dried cranberries in this recipe!

SPRINGFORM PAN: It is recommended to use a springform pan for this recipe because the cake gets too tall for regular cake pans and may spill over while baking. Plus, it makes it a breeze to remove from the pan.

MIXING: To achieve the perfect cake, mix only until there are no pockets of flour. Use a rubber spatula to fold in any remaining flour at the bottom. Remember, overmixing can lead to dryness and uneven texture.

How To Make Cranberry Pistachio Coffee Cake

This is just a quick overview of the method for this coffee cake, including tips that you won’t find in the recipe card. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

STEP 1: Simmering the Cranberries

Plumping the cranberries. I chose dried cranberries because it is something you can find year-round instead of fresh, but I wanted a nice jammy layer, so simmering them in juice did the trick! Simmer the cranberries until almost all the juice is gone. Let this cool almost completely before adding it to the top of the cake.

STEP 2: Streusel Topping

Make the streusel topping. Coarsely chop the pistachios so there aren’t any big whole pieces left. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Work in the butter until crumbly. Stir in the pistachios. You want to stir them in after cutting in the butter; otherwise, that task will be very difficult.

***STREUSEL TIP: The ingredients should be combined well enough that the mixture looks like wet sand with pebbly chunks.

STEP 3: Make the cake

Make the cake by combining the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add in the wet ingredients. Stir just until everything is combined and there are no large pockets of flour left. If there is still some flour on the bottom of the bowl, use a rubber spatula to fold it in. I like to use a Danish dough hook to mix cake batter by hand because it helps combat overmixing.

***TIP: Don’t over-process the nuts or they will become nut butter. Process them in a food processor just until fine and crumbly.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, then add the cranberry filling and sprinkle with streusel. Bake until golden brown, and the top of the edge begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

*** BAKING TIPS: Spread the cranberry mixture in an even layer over the batter, leaving 1/2 an inch of batter around the egde. Don’t push the cranberries to the edge of the pan, or they may burn. If the cake is browning too quickly before the end of baking time, loosely cover it with foil.

Variations and Substitutions

CRANBERRIES: You can replace the dried cranberries for leftover cranberry sauce as long as it is thick and jammy and not watery.

PISTACHIOS: You can experiment with different nuts that you like. I have only used pistachios in this recipe, but I feel walnuts or pecans would also work very nicely. Be sure to toast them first for the best flavor.

BUTTERMILK: If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, mix 1/2 cup of sour cream with 1/2 cup of milk as a replacement. Or use regular milk.

GLAZE: Sometimes I like to add a sweet glaze over the top. Combine 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

APPLE JUICE: Switch out the apple juice for cranberry juice for even more cranberry flavor.

**CAN I USE A DIFFERENT PAN? I don’t recommend it because the cake bakes up really tall and may overflow a regular round cake pan. You could put this into a 9×13 baking pan, but you will lose the nice, thick layer of cranberries.

Storage Tips

FREEZER-FRIENDLY: Freeze completely cooled cake wrapped in plastic wrap, then in heavy-duty foil for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.

STORAGE: Store completely cooled cake in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.

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