This easy Mini Cranberry Breakfast Cake made with orange zest and buttermilk is the best way to wake up and makes just enough for an intimate breakfast or brunch with friends.
And now on to the recipe…
In Baking Mischief’s first year, I’ve posted a few sweet breakfast recipes. There’s the ever-popular Overnight Cinnamon Rolls for Two , my Pound Cake Cupcakes for Breakfast , and my Crêpes for Two , but I have yet to post a breakfast cake, which is unforgivable because breakfast cakes are the best.
So today, here you go: a Mini Cranberry Breakfast Cake. And seriously, guys, this cake is everything you want in a breakfast plus, it’s mini! It’s baked in a 5×7-inch pan, so it will serve 4 generously, 6 as part of a breakfast spread, and if you leave it sitting on the counter with a knife all morning, you and a partner could probably polish it off before noon. 😉
As far as breakfasts go, a Cranberry Breakfast Cake is just a lovely way to wake up. Throwing it together is a cinch, and it just plain tastes good.
The top is a little crisp and crunchy with sprinkled sugar, and the cranberries baking inside are just tart enough to offset that sweetness. Thanks to buttermilk in the batter, the cake is moist, but not too wet and the orange zest keeps things nice and interesting.
I like all of the recipes I post on this site, but some really stick with me, and this is definitely one of those. I shot these photos a couple of weeks ago when I had family around to feed this too, and I’ve been dreaming about making it again ever since.
There’s one cup of cranberries left in my freezer (you can make the cake using fresh or frozen) and every morning, I have a conversation with myself over whether it would be an appropriate breakfast for one. 🙂
But seriously, do yourselves a favor and try this one. It’s going to be a favorite!
This recipe uses only a small amount of buttermilk. Check out my post What to Do With Leftover Buttermilk for ideas to use up 0r store leftovers. And if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, that post also has a recipe for how to make a buttermilk substitute with milk and lemon juice.
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ 7x5-inch Baking Dish
Mini Cranberry Breakfast Cake
- ▢ 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoon for topping
- ▢ Zest from 1/2 orange about 1 teaspoon
- ▢ 1 large egg
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 cup buttermilk
- ▢ 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 7x5-inch baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, cream room temperature butter and sugar until visibly lightened in color, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Whisk in zest, egg, and vanilla. Beat until well-combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir half of the flour mixture into your wet ingredients, followed by the buttermilk and then the rest of the flour. Mix until just combined and fold in the cranberries.
- Transfer batter to prepared baking dish and gently smooth out the top. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes* until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with just a few dry crumbs.
- Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Adapted From Alexandra Cooks
12 nerdy mugs perfect for gifting and drinking holiday cheer from.
Is it weird that one of my favorite things about being on the internet at Christmas is seeing people’s gift guides? It’s like window shopping without having to put on shoes and leave the house.
With all the (exciting) stress of Baking for Two coming out last month and general holiday craziness, I didn’t think I’d have time to write a gift guide this year, but then I remembered that I accidentally did the homework for this post a couple of months ago when I went down a rabbit hole of nerdy mugs and bookmarked approximately half of Etsy.
And if you are looking for some more nerdy gifts, check out my fellow fandom foodies, The Gingered Whisk , Wonderland Recipes , and The Cupcakedex for their guides!
For the Reader
The Book Was Better A mug that speaks an eternal truth.
Marauders Mug* To drink from whilst managing your mischief. Plus it changes colors!
Good Omens Mug Perfect to let some hot cocoa solidify and grow green fur in. 😉
The Film Buff
Howl’s Moving Castle Mug May all your bacon buuuuurn…
BB-8 Mug* A mug that’s almost as cute as what’s on it.
Captain America End of the Line Mug For you and your bionic bestie…
The Television Fangirl
Leslie Knope Mug A daily reminder we could all use right about now.
Community Mug* Miss you, show.
Game of Thrones Mug* For gods of tits and wine.
Doctor Who TARDIS Mug Undoubtedly the most beautiful TARDIS mug of all the TARDIS mugs.
I Ship It Mug It me.
Supernatural Let Me be Your Wings Mug See previous mug. <3
And Some Things to Put in the Mugs
These Individual Chicken Pot Pies are easy to make, stuffed with chicken, carrots, and celery, and topped with a delicious flaky buttermilk crust.
Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite meals. It’s everything warm and comforting about food all wrapped up in a flaky pie crust. The thing is though, they’re kind of big. And messy. And did I mention big? When you’re not cooking for a family, there’s no way you are finishing one off unless you are eating leftovers for days, which is just not my thing.
Whelp, problem solved: Let’s make some Individual Chicken Pot Pies!
This recipe is super scalable, so you can follow this recipe exactly and make 2 individual pot pies or you can scale up to make 12, making them perfect for quiet nights in or serving a small crowd.
Bonus: you can customize them to your heart’s content. Like peas? (Ew. Gross. I don’t.) Add some peas. Like corn? Throw some corn in there. Don’t feel like making your own pie crust. You can totally cut down a store-bought crust or use puff pastry over the top instead.
(Though I will say, if you have a couple minutes and some buttermilk, you should absolutely follow the recipe as written and make your Individual Chicken Pot Pies with My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust to go on top. It’s so flaky and the easiest pie crust to make and work with! )
The pot pie filling is a simple mix of carrots, celery, and chicken simmered in chicken broth. It takes only a few minutes to throw them together, then you let that simmer away, make a tasty chicken gravy and stir everything together, and boom. Perfect pot pie filling so good you’ll probably be tempted to just eat that and call it a night.
Pop the mixture into some ramekins, roll out some dough, lay, bake, and eat. When you’re done, you have a perfectly portioned serving of the world’s best comfort food sitting in front of you.
You Might Also Enjoy
- Easy Baked Ziti
- Homemade Shepherd’s Pie
- Easy Slow Cooker Beef Ribs
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
You’re probably going to have some pie scraps left after making these pies. Check out my post, What to Do With Leftover Pie Dough , for some fun ideas to use up the extra!
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ 2 12-ounce ramekins
Pie Crust Top
- ▢ 1/4 batch My Favorite Buttermilk Pie Crust divided in two and chilled (store-bought works too)
Pot Pie Filling
- ▢ 10 ounces (about 1 ) boneless skinless chicken breast cubed
- ▢ 1 cup sliced carrots
- ▢ 1 cup sliced celery
- ▢ 1/4 cup diced onion
- ▢ 2 cups chicken broth
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1 oz) butter
- ▢ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1/3 cup milk (any percentage)
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon pepper
Egg Wash
- ▢ 1 egg
- ▢ 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
- Prepare pie crust. At the end of the chilling time, start the pot pie filling. (If using store-bought, frozen crust, remove from freezer so you will be able to cut it.) Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with foil.
Pot Pie Filling
- In a medium pot, combine cubed chicken, carrots, celery, onion, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook for 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are just fork tender.
- Drain chicken broth into a separate container (do not discard).
Make Gravy
- Measure out 1 cup of reserved broth (you can discard the rest) and 1/3 cup milk. Set them next to the stove.
- In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook until flour is golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in broth and milk, whisking out any lumps as they form. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, 2 to 5 minutes.
- Remove gravy from heat, stir in salt and pepper and chicken and vegetable mixture, and divide between 2 12-ounce ramekins.
Assemble
- Allow chilled dough to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften slightly so you can roll it out without it cracking.
- While your dough sits, make the egg wash. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk, and set aside.
- On a well-floured surface, roll out the first disk to 1/8-inch thick and drape over the first filled ramekin. Trim the extra, leaving about 3/4-inch overhang. Gently press the edges over so the dough drapes over the sides slightly (it won’t sit flush). Use a sharp-tipped serrated knife to cut a couple slits in the top for steam to escape.
- Repeat with the second crust and ramekin. Brush egg wash over the top of the pie crusts.
- Place ramekins on your prepared baking tray and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until tops are golden and filling inside is bubbly.
- Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Mini Cranberry Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- 7x5-inch Baking Dish
Mini Cranberry Breakfast Cake
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoon for topping
- Zest from 1/2 orange about 1 teaspoon
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 7x5-inch baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, cream room temperature butter and sugar until visibly lightened in color, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Whisk in zest, egg, and vanilla. Beat until well-combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir half of the flour mixture into your wet ingredients, followed by the buttermilk and then the rest of the flour. Mix until just combined and fold in the cranberries.
- Transfer batter to prepared baking dish and gently smooth out the top. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes* until top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean, with just a few dry crumbs.
- Cool for at least 5 minutes before serving and enjoy!
