Can we all just take a moment to appreciate how awesome cake for breakfast is? And when you don’t have to feel guilty about it – even better! This low carb Cranberry Walnut Coffee Cake is my new morning BFF.
I literally ate the last piece of this cranberry cake with my coffee this morning, and now I’m trying to figure out when I have time to make it again. Possibly two so I can portion a bunch and keep them in my freezer. Actually that’s the best idea ever…
I’ll be doing that for sure (and making another batch of these cranberry shortbread streusel bars while I’m at it) – time to hop on my golf cart and head into town to snag the last few bags of cranberries before someone else on the island buys them up! BRB! #tropicalislandprobs #thestruggleisreal
Ok, all joking aside (actually I wasn’t kidding, I’m totally buying all the cranberries when I go out shopping later) this low carb cranberry walnut coffee cake needs to get added to your to-do list A.S.A.P.
Tender cake, subtly flavored with orange and studded with tart cranberries and a toasty walnut streusel topping – it’s a beautiful combo that keeps you coming back for more!
We REALLY loved this cake. It was sweet enough without being cloying, and the tangy cranberries were a nice contrast. I’m always on board with a crumb topping on a coffee cake like this, and the walnuts and cinnamon in this version had a nice earthy crunch.
It was perfect – I wouldn’t change a thing, and that’s rare for version 1.0 on a recipe for me!
Oh and I almost forgot to tell you the best part! This low carb cranberry walnut coffee cake is made in the blender! In fact, it’s so incredibly easy to make that you can literally have this coffee cake in the oven in 5 minutes if you’re highly motivated! Dooooooo it!
I believe in you! 🙌 🏃🏼🏅 😂
Cranberry Walnut Coffee Cake – Low Carb & Gluten Free
A tender, subtly orange flavored cake with a burst of tart cranberries and a toasty walnut streusel topping! Made in the blender! Keto, Atkins, Low Carb, Gluten Free
- Yield: 9 servings
- Category: Low Carb Dessert Recipe
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the cake layer:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup erythritol sweetener (see notes)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 1/2 tsp orange zest
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups superfine almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp arrowroot starch or xanthan gum
- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
For the cranberry layer
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 Tbsp erythritol sweetener
For the streusel layer:
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 cup superfine almond flour
- 3 Tbsp erythritol sweetener (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
For the cake layer:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Combine the cake layer ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Spoon the batter (it will be thick) into a greased 9 x 9 pan (or equivalent oblong).
For the cranberry layer:
- Combine the cranberries and sweetener in a small bowl and mix until coated.
- Sprinkle the cranberries and sweetener over the top of the cake layer.
For the streusel layer:
- Combine the streusel ingredients (make sure the butter is melted) in a small bowl and mix well.
- Crumble with your fingers over the top of the cranberries so little clumps form.
- Bake the cake at 350 degrees (F) for 45 – 50 minutes (or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean) in the center of the oven.
- Remove and cool before slicing.
Notes
To see a list of my favorite low carb products and brands that I recommend for sweeteners, flours, etc. you can check out the IBIH Pantry Ingredients Page!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 x 3 square
- Calories: 375
- Fat: 31
- Carbohydrates: 6g net
- Protein: 12
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I used frozen blueberries, I couldn’t find any cranberries and it is delish! The orange flavor is wonderful and the cake had a great texture. One question- how would you store this? Loosely covered on the counter or in the fridge?
Thank you for another amazing recipe! 😘
★★★★★
Very good once it is baked through. Took forever to bake, husband almost burnt the topping so be sure to cover it . Kids loved it & devoured it in a few days. I bought more cranberries to make this hopefully during Thanksgiving weekend. Would have been 5 stars if the baking time wasn’t so long.
★★★★
COFFEE Quantity & whether instant powder or liquid, not given ??? -it does say Cranberry Walnut Coffee Cake
Coffee cakes are name for cakes served with a cup of coffee ☕️
This recipe is fantastic!!! I made this for Christmas brunch and was so impressed. It is so moist and so easy.
I just wanted to address some issues brought up in other comments. 1) I didn’t think my blender would hold all the ingredients, so I used my food processor. It worked great (I only wish it had a pour spout!) Regarding baking time… from the pics it looks like Mellissa baked it in a ceramic dish. If you use a metal pan, increase temp by 25 degrees and increase cooking time by 10-20 minutes. This difference in type of cooking vessel could definitely explain the longer cooking times.
★★★★★
I have made this 5 times already. Yum!! It is hands down the best gluten-free low carb cake recipe I have tried.
The coconut flour really adds to the cake flavor, so I do recommend people not modify that aspect. (You could make this with just almond flour if you didn’t have coconut flour on hand and I am sure it would still be awesome, but that subtle coconut flavor does elevate this, IMO.) I also use pecans instead of walnuts for personal taste reasons.
I use Truvia for the sweetener and found that I need to cut back by 1/4-1/3rd of what you recommend for the erythritol blend sweetener so it is not so over powering. Since erythritol sweeteners are often blended with varying amounts of stevia, I recommend everyone add in a little less sweetener to start then taste the batter to see if you need more. It is a tricky ingredient to work with!
I have also experimented with the cranberry layer, including adding a thin layer of fresh pear slices with the cranberries. I know it ups the carb count a bit, but it comes out so good I don’t care. I have also used some cut up chunks of fresh peaches with the cranberries, and OMG that was good too. The last couple times I made it I used organic dried cranberries since fresh are now out of season. I microwaved the cranberries in water then soaked them overnight to bleed out a lot of the sugar added to them. The water tasted like a highly sweetened juice, so I know it worked and they were lower-sugar cranberries, I just don’t know exactly by how much lower.
Keep posting the yummy recipes!!
★★★★★
I’ve been wanting desserts lately so thank you for sharing this recipe!
Is coffee missing from the ingredients?
Coffee cakes don’t have coffee in them. They are served WITH coffee.
I made this today and didn’t realize that I forgot to add the milk until after it was out of the oven. Actually, they were like cranberry, walnut bars and I liked them that way. I may leave it out every time. However, my fresh cranberries were way too tart. I will add more sweetener on the cranberries next time or use a different kind of berry. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
I am diabetic and love to make coffee cakes, it is one of my favorite desserts to make. I have pinned this recipe and definitely want to try it. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
This looks fairly easy and it looks and sounds good. II would likely make a substitution of maybe raisins for cranberrries, but then I am about cran berried out right now. This would be good any time! I would like this almost too as a coffee cake or as is as a dessert.
I love all the cranberry recipes I’m seeing! This coffee cake looks deliciously sweet and tart and perfect for breakfast or brunch!
OMG this was soooo good! I omitted the walnuts for a nut-free guest and it was so good. Thanks!
Made this earlier today, and it’s ah-mazing!! I did have to bake it WAY longer than expected. At 45 minutes it was still jiggly in the middle. Same at 50, 55, 65, and at 75 minutes I bumped the temp up. I ended up baking it for 95 minutes, the last 20 minutes at higher temps, covered with foil at the end because the topping was getting dark. Talk about torture in the kitchen, I was so looking forward to a piece, and the wait was agonizing! Not sure why it took mine so much longer to bake through. I did use almond milk from Trader Joe’s, which is rather watery compared to other brands, perhaps that was it? Also, next time (and there WILL be a next time!), I’ll use a hand mixer rather than a blender. It was more than my blender could handle, with the poor blender blade whirring around in the bottom but the middle and top not getting blended in as well. I’m sure if I had a schnazzy VitaMix it would have worked like a dream.
Thank you SO much, it was exactly what I wanted to stay on track Thanksgiving week.
★★★★★
I had the same experience. The cake just seemed very wet even thought the knife was clean. Baked for 75 min. And still wasn’t sure it was baked completely. This was my first low carb baking attempt. I will use a hand mixer next too. In the end, it is a very tasty coffee cake so Inwill make again adjusting temp and time and prob putting in a 8×11 pan and see how that goes.
I am new to this site and boy did I get lucky by fining y’all! This is the first recipe that Ive tried and it was absolutely delicious! It definitely kills the pizza craving, sneaks in some cauliflower and is very filling. I will be making this again soon. Thanks for sharing your recipient with us!!!
Absolutely scrumptious! Thanks so much for making the time to develop these delightful recipes. They are well worth the extra effort to find some of the not so well known ingredients!
This looks wonderful and I bet it will go well with pecans as well. (Have a gold mine of southern pecans from a friend) My question is whether I can just leave out the orange juice/zest (not a fan of any zests) and should I sub something in place of the juice ? (Don’t tolerate OJ well and I seriously want to make this ! ) Thanks.
Scrumptious, as always! Only I couldn’t get cranberries (UK, won’t have them until Christmas I think), so I used frozen blackberries instead. I think most berries would work, actually, will also try blueberries sometime.
★★★★★
This looks absolutely delicious! I ♥ cranberry & walnuts together!
Thanks for the great recipe!!
★★★★★
Sounds absolutely awesome. What a perfect combination. Will be on my to do list this weekend. Soft cake, tart fruit layer. crispy top……heaven.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Thank you as always❤!!