Gluten Free Cranberry Christmas Breakfast Mini Cake
This mini gluten free cranberry breakfast cake is a must on Christmas morning! Like a coffee cake, the cake is incredibly moist, sturdy, and topped with buttery streusel. Fresh cranberries burst into jammy goodness while baking, and the small batch cake is finished with a bright citrus glaze.
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a 6-inch square cake pan with two strips of parchment crossed to cover all sides. Cut the parchment long enough to hang over the sides of the pan. Lightly grease any corners that are not covered with parchment.
Streusel Topping
In a small mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, sweet rice flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
¼ cup blanched almond flour, 2 tablespoons sweet white rice flour, 5 tablespoons light brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon salt
Add the butter cubes and using your fingers or a fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened and large crumbs. Stir in the pecans. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes, ⅓ cup pecans, chopped
Cranberry Breakfast Cake
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Note - The xanthan gum will make the cake extra soft and lofty.
In liquid measuring cup or small mixing bowl, add the sour cream, milk, egg, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla. Whisk together until completely combined.
Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet and stir until no dry streaks remain. Fold in the cranberries. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes to hydrate and develop flavor.
½ cup fresh cranberries
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and spread out evenly to all corners. Top evenly with the streusel.
Bake the cake for 42 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. If the streusel is browning too fast, loosely cover the cake with a piece foil and finish baking.
Cool the cake in the pan set on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then, using the parchment overhang, gently lift the cake out of the pan and cool on the rack completely.
Orange Icing
Once the cake is completely cool and ready to serve, make the icing.
In a small mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons orange juice, orange zest, and salt. Whisk to combine. As needed to reach your desired icing consistency, add more orange juice 1 teaspoon at a time.
¼ cup powdered sugar, 2 to 3 teaspoons orange juice, 2 teaspoons orange zest, 1 pinch salt
Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake, slice, and Enjoy! Leftover cake can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
Serving Size - This is a small batch recipe. I can't say for certain how doubling the recipe will work.
Yield - As written, you can get 9 slices of cake from the 6-inch pan. Less, if you make larger slices.
Cranberries - Fresh cranberries are recommended. Make sure they are pat dry after rinsing. Frozen cranberries will work if thawed.
Orange - You will want 1 orange for the cake and icing.
Storing the Cake - The cake will last for up to 5 days covered at room temperature.
Freezing the Cake - You can freeze the baked cake for up to 3 months. Wrap the whole cake, or slices, tightly in plastic wrap then place in a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature.