I know it’s not November yet — but who is super excited for Thanksgiving?? —> This girl is! <— Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday! There are so many reasons to love Thanksgiving; the food (of course!), but also – it is a really low-stress holiday! I love to cook, so that’s fun, there isn’t any gift giving or shopping, and there’s no pressure to have it “perfect” — it’s all about enjoying your friends and family and being THANKFUL for them! So much win in my book.
I am always so excited to see pumpkins, squashes, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, and all the cozy foods of Autumn show up in the markets. But fresh cranberries! Oh be still my beating heart! Those beautiful tart little red berries that show up for a only a few weeks a year, and remind me so much of my years living in Boston, Massachusetts – home of the Ocean Spray Cranberry.
I decided to make this cranberry-pecan streusel cake after browsing a LOT of fresh cranberry recipes, most of which are (not surprisingly) for *leftover* cranberry sauce. Nope, I needed those tart little babies to shine in their natural glory.
You may have tried my favorite Strawberry Cake in the summer, and this cake has a similar concept – the berries are placed right on top and they burst and ooze out into the cake in the heat of the oven (yum). The cake is a bit denser, with the inclusion of sour cream, but it is a nice contrast to the sticky-sweet pecan streusel on top, which is caramalized in the brown sugar and butter. (double yum)
I definitely think this cake would be right at home on any Thanksgiving dessert table, however it definitely says ‘Christmas’ to me as well! The color of the red cranberries is definitely very seasonal 🙂
Do you like cranberries? Have you ever cooked with fresh ones before? Give this cake a try and let me know what you think!

Prep Time | 20 minutes |
Cook Time | 50 minutes |
Servings |
slices
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- 113 grams butter (1/2 cup)
- 200 grams sugar
- 15 grams vanilla sugar (1 tsp. vanilla extract)
- 250 grams flour (2 cups) I used Halbweiss
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 230 grams sour cream (1 cup) (German: Saurer Halbrahm)
- 110 grams pecans (1 cup)
- 200 grams brown sugar (1 cup) - see recipe on my website
- 85 grams butter (6 Tbsp)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix *See Recipe Note below
- 3 Eggs
Ingredients
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- Cream 113 g (1/2 cup) butter, sugar, and vanilla sugar (or extract) thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time. In a seperate bowl: mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Add to batter mixture alternately with the sour cream, blending after each addition. Spread batter in a 22cm/9" springform pan that has been buttered and lightly floured. Top with cranberries, pressing the berries down slightly into the batter. Sprinkle streusel mixture evenly over batter, pressing down slightly into batter. Bake at 180C/350F degrees 50-60 minutes, until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- In a separate bowl, combine remaining butter, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice together. Stir in pecans.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Spice: 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger (Ingwer), 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg (Muskatnuss), 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice (Jamaikapfeffer/Piment) and 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves (Nelkenpfeffer). Mix the spices together in a small bowl. Store the mixture in a clean small jar or spice container.
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