Are you searching for the perfect, cozy, and incredibly easy fall dessert that comes together in one pan and is absolutely bursting with the classic flavors of the holiday season? This rustic, stunning, and unbelievably delicious Easy Cranberry and Apple Cake is your new go-to recipe.
This isn’t just another cake; it’s the perfect hybrid of a tender butter cake, a fruity cobbler, and a classic upside-down cake. We start by laying a beautiful foundation of fresh, tart cranberries and apples in the bottom of the pan. Then, we pour a rich, moist, and tender sour cream cake batter over the top. As it bakes, the fruit becomes wonderfully soft and jammy, and the cake bakes up to a perfect golden brown with a crisp, cinnamon-sugar crust. It’s a simple, show-stopping dessert that will fill your home with the most incredible autumn aroma.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Easy Holiday Cake
What makes this Cranberry and Apple Cake so fantastic is its incredible simplicity and its wonderfully unique texture. There’s no complicated layering or frosting required. The fruit on the bottom creates its own delicious, built-in sauce that keeps the cake unbelievably moist. The sour cream in the batter is the secret to a super tender, rich crumb that is the perfect complement to the tart fruit. It’s a foolproof, one-pan wonder that is perfect for a cozy weeknight treat or as an easy, rustic dessert for your Thanksgiving table.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 8-10 |
The Essential Ingredients for This Cozy Cake
This recipe uses a handful of simple, classic ingredients to create a truly spectacular result.
- The Fruit Layer (Apple & Cranberry): This is the bright, sweet-tart heart of our cake.
- Granny Smith Apple: A firm, tart apple like a Granny Smith is the perfect choice. Its tartness holds its own against the sugar, and its firm texture ensures it becomes tender without turning into mush during the long bake.
- Fresh Cranberries: Bright, tart, and beautiful fresh cranberries are the quintessential holiday fruit. They burst as they cook, creating a wonderful, jammy texture and a vibrant, jewel-toned color.
- Orange Zest & Juice: A touch of fresh orange adds a wonderful, bright, and complex citrusy note that perfectly complements both the apples and the cranberries.
- The Moist Sour Cream Cake:
- Sour Cream: This is the secret weapon for an incredibly moist and tender cake crumb. The acidity in the sour cream helps to tenderize the gluten in the flour, and its high fat content adds wonderful richness.
- Melted Butter: Using melted butter makes the batter incredibly easy to mix by hand and results in a wonderfully rich and tender cake.
- Room Temperature Eggs: It is crucial that your eggs are at room temperature. This allows them to blend more easily into the batter, creating a smoother, more uniform emulsion and a better final texture.
- The Cinnamon-Sugar Topping: A simple sprinkle of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon over the top of the batter before it bakes is the secret to a beautiful, slightly crunchy, and irresistibly fragrant crust.
Step-by-Step to the Easiest Fall Cake
This recipe is wonderfully simple. It comes together with just a couple of bowls and one baking dish!
Step 1: Prepare the Oven and the Fruit Layer
First, preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C).
In a medium bowl, combine the 12 ounces of fresh cranberries, the peeled and diced Granny Smith apple, the 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, the 1 tablespoon of grated orange zest, the 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the ground cinnamon.
Stir everything together until the fruit is evenly coated. Pour this fruit mixture into a 10-inch glass pie plate and spread it into an even layer. Set it aside.
Step 2: Make the Moist Sour Cream Cake Batter
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the 2 extra-large, room temperature eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.
With the mixer on medium speed, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the 1/4 pound (1 stick) of melted and slightly cooled butter, the 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and the 1/4 cup of sour cream. Beat just until the ingredients are combined.
In a separate, small bowl, whisk together the 1 cup of all-purpose flour and the 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt.
With the mixer on its lowest speed, slowly add the flour and salt mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix only until the flour is just incorporated and a smooth batter has formed.
Pro Tip: The secret to a tender cake is to not overmix the batter after the flour has been added. Overmixing will develop the gluten and can make your cake tough.
Step 3: Assemble and Bake Your Rustic Cake
Carefully pour the prepared cake batter over the fruit mixture in the pie plate, making sure to cover the fruit completely. Use a spatula to gently spread the batter into an even layer.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the top of the batter.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. You’ll know the cake is perfectly done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake part comes out clean, and the fruit is bubbling and jammy around the edges.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Serving Your Cranberry Apple Cake
The beauty of this cake is its rustic simplicity. It is absolutely heavenly served warm, scooped directly from the pie plate into cozy bowls. The warm, tender cake and the jammy fruit layer are a perfect match.
For the ultimate comfort food experience, serve each warm slice with a large scoop of high-quality vanilla bean ice cream or a generous dollop of fresh, sweetened whipped cream. The cool, creamy topping melting into the warm, spiced cake is pure perfection.
The Best Moist & Easy Cranberry Apple Cake
An easy, single-layer cake featuring a sweet and tart fruit base with a simple, moist cake topping. A mixture of fresh cranberries and diced Granny Smith apple, flavored with brown sugar and orange, is spread in the bottom of a glass pie plate. A rich batter made with sour cream and melted butter is then poured over the fruit. The cake is finished with a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar and baked until golden and the fruit is bubbling.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 58 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (from 2 oranges)
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cranberries, diced apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon.
- Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate.
- Make the Batter: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. On medium speed, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the melted butter, vanilla, and sour cream, and beat until just combined.
- On low speed, slowly mix in the flour and salt.
- Pour the batter over the fruit in the pie plate, covering it completely.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle this over the batter.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the fruit is bubbling around the edges.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- This is an easy cake to assemble, where the fruit is placed on the bottom and the batter is simply poured over the top before baking.
- A 10-inch glass pie plate is the recommended baking vessel.
- The cake can be served either warm from the oven or at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of cake
- Calories: 400-480
- Sugar: 45-55 g
- Sodium: 100-150 mg
- Fat: 20-25 g
- Saturated Fat: 12-16 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50-60 g
- Fiber: 3-5 g
- Protein: 4-6 g
- Cholesterol: 90-110 mg
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
This Cranberry and Apple Cake is a fantastic dessert to make ahead for a holiday or a party.
- Make-Ahead: This cake is actually even more delicious on the second day! You can bake the entire cake a day in advance. Let it cool completely, then cover it and store it at room temperature. The flavors will have even more time to meld and deepen.
- Storage: Store any leftover cake, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: You can enjoy leftovers at room temperature, or you can gently reheat individual slices in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds until just warm.
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Creative Recipe Variations
This simple and delicious cake is a wonderful base for your own creative and cozy twists.
- Add a Nutty Crunch: For a wonderful, crunchy texture that is a classic pairing with apples and cranberries, you can fold 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts into the cake batter at the very end.
- Use a Different Fall Fruit: This simple cake method is also absolutely fantastic with other fruits. Try it with a mix of pears and cranberries, or with all apples if you don’t have any cranberries on hand.
- Make it with Brown Butter: For an even richer, deeper, and nuttier flavor, you can make brown butter. Simply melt the 1 stick of butter for the cake batter in a light-colored saucepan and cook it until the milk solids turn a toasty brown and it smells nutty. Let it cool slightly before you add it to the wet ingredients.
Enjoy The Ultimate Cozy Fall Cake!
You’ve just created a truly special dessert that is the very definition of autumn comfort. This classic, from-scratch Cranberry and Apple Cake is a perfect harmony of warm spices, sweet-tart fruit, and a wonderfully moist and tender cake. It’s a rewarding and deeply satisfying recipe that is sure to become a staple in your fall baking repertoire.
We hope you enjoy every last, warm, and delicious bite!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who loves an easy and delicious fall dessert!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the texture of this cake like? Is it like a regular cake or more like a cobbler?
It’s a wonderful hybrid of both! The top part is a true cake with a beautiful, moist, and tender crumb, similar to a classic coffee cake. The bottom layer, where the fruit bakes and releases its juices, becomes incredibly moist and jammy, very similar to the filling of a cobbler. It’s the best of both worlds!
Q2: Can I use frozen cranberries instead of fresh?
Yes, absolutely! If you are using frozen cranberries, there is no need to thaw them first. You can simply add them directly to the bowl with the chopped apples and proceed with the recipe as written.
Q3: Can I make this cake a day or two ahead of time?
Yes, this is a perfect make-ahead cake! In fact, the flavors are often even better on the second day. Simply let the cake cool completely, then cover it tightly and store it at room temperature for up to 24 hours, or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Q4: What are the best apples to use for a baked cake?
For a baked cake or pie, you want to use a firm baking apple that will hold its shape during cooking and not turn into a mushy applesauce. A firm, tart apple like a Granny Smith is the classic and perfect choice for this recipe, as its tartness beautifully balances the sweetness of the cake. Other great, firm apple varieties that work well include Honeycrisp, Braeburn, and Pink Lady.
Q5: Can I make this in a different pan, like a square baking dish?
Yes. If you don’t have a 10-inch pie plate, this cake would also work beautifully in a standard 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch square baking dish. The baking time should be very similar, but it’s always a good idea to start checking for doneness a few minutes early.