Grain-Free Cranberry Orange Breakfast Cake made with fresh cranberries and orange zest is a perfectly sweet treat that is healthy enough for breakfast or snack! This paleo cake recipe will knock your socks off and please your guests!
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Well, hello, cranberry-studded cake of zesty bliss!
If you’re jonesing for a fresh, seasonally-inspired cake recipe that also happens to be lower in sugar, you’ve landed on the right piece of internet!
This grain-free cranberry orange breakfast cake is all things:
- Gluten-free and grain-free
- Naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup
- Lower in sugar/carbohydrate than a traditional cake recipe
- Fresh and frisky in flavor
- Perfectly moist and fluffy
And marvelous for sharing with friends and family! Particularly over the holiday season.
The way I see it, this paleo cranberry orange cake is marvelous as a make-ahead breakfast for entertaining guests during the holidays.
It’s so palate pleasing, requires zero hoops through which to jump, and can be consumed as breakfast, snack, OR dessert.
That’s versatility!
What Type of Grain-Free Flour to Use:
I have tested this recipe using both Super Fine Almond Flour and Bob’s Red Mill’s Paleo Baking Flour, which is a combination of almond flour, arrowroot starch, coconut flour, and tapioca flour. It can be used as a 1:1 replacement for almond flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
The end result is a baked good you’d never guess was gluten-free, much less grain-free! For those of you who enjoy making paleo baked goods, or anyone who is looking for cleaner treat options, I highly suggest you give the flour a whirl!
Let’s bake it!
How to Make Grain-Free Cranberry Orange Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line the bottom of a 8-inch spring form cake pan with parchment paper. Note: you can also use a regular cake pan – simply spray with cooking oil.
Combine the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, and orange zest) in a bowl and whisk until well-combined.
Add the remaining dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cranberries) to a separate bowl and stir.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until well-combined. The batter will be thick! This is normal.
Transfer the cake batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth into an even layer.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake has set up and the edges turn golden-brown. Turn off the oven and allow the cake to sit in the still warm oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove cake from oven and allow it to cool at least 30 minutes before releasing the mold, slicing, and serving.
If desired, sift maple sugar (or powdered sugar or powdered erythritol over the cake) for added sweetness.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Use either 2.5 cups Paleo Baking Flour or 2.5 cups almond flour.
- Use algae oil, olive oil, coconut oil, or almond oil in place of avocado oil.
- Swap honey, agave, or coconut nectar for the pure maple syrup. If you use pure maple syrup, keep a watchful eye on the cake, as honey tends to burn easily.
You May Also Love:
- Grain-Free Almond Strawberry Breakfast Cake
- Grain-Free Banana Cake with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting
- Gluten-Free Apple Bundt Cake
- Paleo Blueberry Coffee Cake
Enjoy this healthy cranberry orange cake!
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If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @The.Roasted.Root on Instagram!
Grain-Free Cranberry Orange Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 oranges zested about 2 Tbsp orange zest
- 2 1/2 cups Super Fine Almond Flour or Paleo Baking Flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- powdered erythritol for dusting, optional*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line the bottom of a 8-inch spring form cake pan with parchment paper. Note: you can also use a regular cake pan – simply spray with cooking oil.
- Combine the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, and orange zest) in a bowl and whisk until well-combined.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cranberries) to a separate bowl and stir.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until well-combined. The batter will be thick! This is normal.
- Transfer the cake batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake has set up and the edges turn golden-brown. Turn off the oven and allow the cake to sit in the still warm oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove cake from oven and allow it to cool at least 30 minutes before releasing the mold, slicing, and serving. If desired, sift maple sugar (or powdered sugar or powdered erythritol over the cake) for added sweetness.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi there, I love your recipes! Would there be any reason to not make these as mini muffins? We do an event at church that has about 35 people in attendance and so the more servings the better. Have you tried them like that?
Hi Wanda! I’ve never baked mini muffins out of this recipe, but I think it would work! I just googled the time and temp for mini muffins and it looks like 350 for 10-13 minutes. I hope you love them!
Is it possible to use regular white whole wheat flour instead of almond flour ?
Thank you
I really like this cake! I zested 2 oranges but only got (at the most) 1.5 tablespoons of zest. I wanted to make sure I had a good amount of orange flavor in there, so I lowered the maple syrup to 1/3 cup and added in orange juice until the liquid level reached 1/2 cup total. Probably not as sweet as original recipe but I don’t mind at all. It’s deliciously festive! I used almond flour. Also used an 8” square glass pan.
Forgot to add I subbed grapeseed oil for avocado oil!
I’m so happy you like it, Jessica!! Thanks so much for letting me know your substitutions. Hope you have a fabulous holiday season! xoxo
Do you think this could be converted to vegan?
I have made this several times using flax eggs and it’s delicious!
That’s so great to know! Thank you for sharing, Stephanie! xoxo
Yikes! I have all the ingredients! And a perfect way to use up some of my cranberries. I can’t wait to make this. Thank you!
I hope you love it, Alene! xo
Hi there,
I’m wondering about using ghee instead of avocado oil. I love the taste of ghee. I’m also thinking about using half the syrup and 32 drops of clear liquid stevia (I found a post online of someone who has experimented with stevia as a sub for honey and indicates that 8 drops of stevia per TB of missing honey/syrup is a good sub). However, this may indicate a need for more moisture back in the cake (such as using more oil/ghee). Any thoughts on this?
Thank you for all your recipes!! I have Lyme, Epstein Barr, SIBO, and candida. It’s gotten so much better and I’m grateful for the joy your recipes have brought me in my food limitations.
Hi Brandy!
I love the thought of using ghee instead of avocado oil for a nice buttery flavor! I would offset the loss of liquid by either adding full-fat coconut milk (from a can) or more ghee. Let me know how it turns out! xoxo
In the ingredients list there is 1/4 cup of avocado oil, but you don’t mention where to add it anywhere in the instructions? Is it supposed to get mixed in with the rest of the wet ingredients?
Hi Stephanie!
Thanks so much for catching that! You are correct. I made the update in the recipe 😀 Hope you love the cake! xo
I am asking this question out of curiosity. since I hadn’t heard of erythritol prior to reading this post, I went on line to find out what it is exactly and how is it made. It was also compared to Xylitol and stevia. What I learned is that if you have any gastronomical issues, which I have, then it’s not a good alternative to sugar. In one of your recent posts you recommended bone broth for people with IBS, since you said it’s made a huge difference in your digestive health. I decided to try it. I make my own, like you do. Actually bone broth has helped me, too, although my symptoms are more serious than IBS. Why are you now recommending a product that from what I read, can be more of a problem, compared to other alternatives for people with digestive issues. In fact the article said not to use erythritol. I find your post confusing and wonder what is your rational?
Hi Marjorie,
Great question. Not all of my readers have digestive issues. For my recipes that are fit for those who have IBS or IBD, I have the recipe tagged as Low-FODMAP. The ones that are not Low-FODMAP are not tagged as such. In this sense, all of my recipes are designed for those who have dietary restrictions, but not necessarily dietary restrictions plus severe gut issues. I hope this makes sense. xo
Yummy looking coffee cake, and perfect for the holidays. I love orange and cranberry together as much as I like coffee and cream, and that is saying a lot!
Thank you!! It has such amazing flavor! xoxox