Cranberry Coffee Cake

Spring has officially sprung! One of the things this season always reminds me of is the spring brunches we always had at church when I was a kid. The pastries were my favorite part. Croissants, danishes and palmiers…yum. This cranberry coffee cake is pretty easy, but can definitely hold its own amongst the fanciest of breakfast cakes. The cranberry gives it a unique, slightly tart taste that serves as a good alternative to the more sweet and sugary pastry recipes out there.

Cranberry Coffee Cake
Cake:
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cranberry sauce (I prefer the kind with whole berries)
Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp butter

Sprinkle almonds along the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan.

Mix the sugar, butter and vanilla together in a mixing bowl and beat on medium for 1-2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

Combine dry ingredients and add to batter along with sour cream, mixing well.

Spread half of batter over almonds, spoon cranberry sauce over the batter, and top with remaining batter.

Cut remaining butter into the other topping ingredients and sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and fifteen minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for fifteen minutes before removing pan sides and serving.

I think this would go really well with my favorite hot vanilla almond drink.