This Cranberry Buckle is a simple, but fabulous cake with a tender crumb, juicy tart cranberries throughout, and a crisp streusel topping. Perfect served with a cup of coffee in the morning or an easy after-dinner dessert.

Got extra cranberries to use up? Our wonderful orange cranberry muffins are another fantastic home for them.

Easy Cranberry Buckle Cake

We adore our blueberry buckle recipe so much, we decided to adapt it with cranberries and a few other subtle changes. Imagine if cranberry muffins and coffee cake got married – that’s what this cranberry buckle recipe is like. With a buttery, soft crumb and tart, juicy cranberries throughout, then finished with a sweet crisp cinnamon streusel crumble, every bite is blissful! A little slice in the morning is perfect with a cup of coffee, tea, or milk.

Why Is It Called A Buckle?

Unlike a cobbler where the fruit is on the bottom and baked with a biscuit-style topping, a buckle has a streusel topping and a batter and fruit are mixed and baked together to form a cake. The crumb is dense, but moist, much like a coffee cake.

The cake gets its name from how it bakes – as the batter rises, the berries and streusel weigh it down, causing the top layer to buckle and give it an indented look.

Ingredients Needed

Here’s what you’ll need to make it.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

• Cranberries – Fresh or frozen cranberries can be used (see note below.)
• Batter – Granulated sugar is blended together with shortening and butter. Mixed with egg, orange zest, vanilla, milk, flour, baking powder, and kosher salt.
• Topping – The topping for this buckle is a traditional streusel consisting of flour, granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.

How to Make Cranberry Buckle

This is such an easy homemade coffee cake. The batter will be thick that needs to be spread, not poured, in the baking dish. The end result is a dense, but moist cake. Here’s a summary.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

1. Make the streusel topping. Using a fork, pastry blender, or your hands, combine all the ingredients until you have pea size crumbs. Place in the fridge while you make the cake batter.
2. Make the cake batter. With an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, shortening, and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, orange zest, and vanilla until combined, smooth, and fluffy. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into the butter/shortening mixture, alternating with milk, mixing until just combined. (Batter will be thick.) Fold in the cranberries.
3. Prepare the pan. Coat an 8×8-inch pan with nonstick spray, then spread batter evenly into the bottom.
4. Sprinkle with the streusel. Remove topping from the refrigerator and break it up into tiny pieces, then sprinkle over the cake batter.
5. Bake. Transfer pan to a 350F preheated oven and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
6. Serve. Cool for a bit and serve warm or at room temperature. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Tips for Success

• Measure the flour correctly. Spoon and level, don’t scoop. Too much flour will lead to a dry cake.
• Make the streusel topping first and chill. Prepare the streusel and place it in the fridge, while you make the cake batter. Chilling it, then breaking it into pea size crumbles will result in a nice crunchy topping.
• Use butter and shortening. A 50/50 ratio of butter and shortening will produce the most tender, soft crumb.
• Don’t over-work the batter. This is a dense cake where the batter doesn’t rise very much, but it should still be moist and tender. Over-working the batter will make it even more dense.

Recipe Variations

• Use a different berry. This recipe works well with almost any other fruit. Try small raspberries or blackberries, chopped up peaches or strawberries. Delish!
• Double the recipe. Feeding a crowd and need extra cake? You can double all the ingredients and bake it in a 9×13 pan. It should cook for the same amount of time, but all ovens run differently. It’s finished cooking when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Make muffins instead. This cranberry buckle cake recipe can be converted into muffins. Fill lined muffin tins 3/4 way full, top with the streusel, then bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Proper Storage

Cranberry buckle is wonderful warm right from the oven, but leftovers store really well.

• Storing leftovers. Store leftover cake, covered tightly, at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
• To freeze. Allow baked cake to cool completely, then store in an airtight freezer-safe container in the freezer. It will keep for 2 months. You can freeze it whole or individually wrapped slices. If thawing the entire cake, let it sit in the fridge overnight. If thawing a single slice, it can just thaw on the counter. NOTE: The streusel topping will lose its crispness after being frozen.

More Sweet Cranberry Recipes:

• Cranberry Fluff
• Apple Cranberry Crisp
• Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
• Cranberry Christmas Cake
• Upside Down Cranberry Cake
• Cranberry Honey Butter

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!