Cranberry Orange Bread

Cranberry Orange Bread is a beautiful fragrant bread that is packed with a bright, citrus flavor and juicy pieces of cranberry! This cake-like loaf is a simple sponge base that’s loaded with orange zest, cranberries, topped with almonds and sugar, baked, then garnished with a stunning orange glaze! Not only is this cranberry orange loaf a gorgeous work of art, it tastes incredible as well!

Ingredient Info

This is a discussion about the ingredients. For the actual recipe with amounts, please see the recipe below.

• Flour – Use all purpose flour for this recipe!
• Spices – You’ll need ground cinnamon, nutmeg and of course, salt! 
• Butter – Make sure you use unsalted, softened butter. 
• Orange – Grab a large orange for this recipe, you’ll need the zest and freshly squeezed juice. 
• Cranberries – You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. If you’re using frozen cranberries, there is no need to thaw it before use. 
• Almonds – I love to top this bread with some freshly sliced almonds. You can leave this off or substitute for a different sliced nut. 
• Turbinado Sugar – Turbinado sugar is a thicker type of sugar often used on pastries. It may also be called raw cane sugar at your local grocery store. 
• Half & Half – Half and half is best for this recipe, it really makes this bread especially moist!

Step by Step Instructions

This is a discussion about the recipe. For the actual recipe with amounts, please see the recipe card below.

1. Start by preheating the oven to 350°F then grease a 9x5in loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment paper so that the ends of the parchment are hanging off two sides of the pan. This is so you can pull the finished bread out of the pan with ease. 
2. Grab a large mixing bowl. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk together until combined. Set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, add the softened butter and sugar. Beat that with a hand or stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, half and half and orange zest. Continue to mix until combined. 
3. Add the dry ingredients in increments to the cream mixture and fold together until just combined. Do not over mix. Add most of the cranberries (save a few to sprinkle on top) and fold that into the batter. Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and even out the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining cranberries and sliced almonds on top of the batter, then finish with the turbinado sugar on top. 
4. Bake in the oven for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top is browning too early, cover the top of the bread with aluminum foil. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool all the way through. 
5. While that cools, start on the glaze. Add powdered sugar to a bowl, orange juice and orange zest. Whisk together until smooth. Once the bread has cooled completely, pour the glaze over the top. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Storage – You can store the leftover cranberry bread in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days. If you want it to last longer, you can wrap it with plastic wrap and freeze it for up to a month. Thaw the bread in the fridge overnight.

Gluten & Vegan Alternatives – This recipe can be allergy and diet friendly if you make a few substitutions! You can use gluten free flour instead of ap flour to make the loaf gluten-free. To make it vegan, sub the butter with a plant based alternative or oil, the eggs with a flax-seed “egg” alternative, and the half and half with a dairy free alternative.

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