Thursday, December 30, 2010

Brown Sugar Streusel White Chocolate Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake




Cranberries were on sale for a dollar a bag at Safeway yesterday! I am not the proud owner of 5 pounds of cranberries.. good thing they freeze well! You can expect to see many cranberry recipes in the coming weeks. I am starting off with a brown sugar streusel white chocolate cranberry cream cheese coffee cake. Whew.... longest name ever, but it's so chock full of good stuff! I used a recipe borrowed from Alicia's Homemaking, a lovely blog with lots of good recipes and home making tips. To her recipe, I added fresh cranberries and white chocolate chips. I also decided to try it topped off with streusel. The streusel got a bit browner than I like. But the end result was a crisp, buttery brown sugar coating that goes great with the creamy cake. and OH MAN the cake is good! Super creamy thanks to the cream cheese and studded with juicy cranberries and sweet, milky white chocolate chips. Delicious overload and the perfect way to use up your left over cranberries, right??

White Chocolate Cranberry Coffee Cake (shortened title)
Recipe Adapted from Alicia's Homemaking
Makes 2 Loafs

1/2 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 to 1 cup white chocolate chips (depends how much extra sweetness you want)
1 cup cranberries
(I gave mine a quick chop, but you could use them whole too) tossed with 1 tablespoon flour and a sprinkle of sugar (so they don't sink to the bottom)

Streusel topping
1 stick butter (softened a bit)
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream sugar, butter, cream cheese and eggs together in a large bowl. Add vanilla, salt, and baking powder.
Gradually add in the flour, keeping the mixture smooth. Add milk.
Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chips.
Pour into greased, floured or sugared (I sugar my pans) pans, dividing batter in half.
For the topping, mix together butter, flour, and brown sugar until they have the texture of wet sand.
Sprinkle over the batter covering completely.
Put cakes in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
*Note: The streusel turns very dark brown (I used dark brown sugar), but it caramelizes and gives a lovely crunch to the cake. If you are not a fan, by all means, make the cakes without the streusel and they will still be delicious :)
Happy New Years (I know I'm a little early),

10 comments:

  1. Ooh, this looks delicious! Last year I scored cranberries after the holidays for $0.25/bag. I stocked up and had lots of delicious cranberry treats throughout the rest of the winter. Didn't find such a good deal again this year, unfortunately. Still, I look forward to seeing what other cranberry treats you whip up with yours!

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  2. This sounds great. Something with the tartness of cranberries along with the sweetness would be a great way to still enjoy the holidays but not at the full throttle sugar load of the last weeks!

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  3. So much goodness it one coffee cake...no one could resist. ;) I should pick up more cranberries as well before I can't find them anymore.

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  4. *drool*

    This one is going on my must-try list!

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  5. This looks so great. I love desserts with cranberries- so great for winter.

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  6. Love this! It's different and perfect for this time of year. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you a wonderful New Year!!!

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  7. That looks so delicious! I love cranberries- lucky to get such a deal on them! Hope you have a great new year!

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  8. Liz, this looks lovely! This recipe is wonderful to play around with...:) Glad you enjoyed it and I love your additions!

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  9. HELLO Yumminess!!! I have been searching all around town for FRESH cranberries with no luck - I guess right after 12/25 the grocery stores around here stop stocking them....such a sad reality (especially when I see such a wonderful recipe as yours!).

    Wishing you a Happy New Year!
    ~avril :-)

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