Orange cranberry bread is a moist and delicious quick bread bursting full of cranberries and topped with the most delicious orange glaze. Serve this delicious treat for breakfast or dessert!
Equipment
1 metal loaf pan 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 standard or 9 by 5 standard also works
1 Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
For The Bread
2largeoranges 1 tablespoon zest and ½ cup orange juice
1cupsugar
6tablespoonsbutterunsalted, softened
2largeeggsbeaten
½cupmilktwo percent or whole
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
2cupsall purpose flourplus 2 teaspoons for cranberries
1tablespoonbaking powder
½teaspoonsalt
2cupscranberriesfresh or frozen
For The Glaze
1cuppowdered sugar
1/2largeorange 1 teaspoon orange zest and 1-2 tablespoons juice
2 ¼teaspoonsmilk two percent or whole milk
Instructions
For The Bread
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a metal loaf pan with parchment paper or grease the pan generously with oil.
Zest one orange to make about 1 tablespoon of zest. Place the zest and the sugar into a large mixing bowl together. Stir zest into sugar, helping to release the orange flavor into the sugar.
With an electric mixer in a large bowl, cream the sugar with the butter.
Crack the egg and beat it. Add the egg and vanilla, then mix into the butter mixture until smooth. Add the milk and orange juice and mix until combined.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt into a second bowl and mix until well combined. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well until a batter forms and is fully blended.
Toss the cranberries with a teaspoon of flour. See notes below about using fresh versus frozen cranberries.
With a silicone spatula, fold the cranberries into the batter. Pour batter carefully into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the loaf for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool loaf completely on a wire rack before glazing.
For The Glaze
In a medium-sized bowl, add powdered sugar, one tablespoon orange juice, one teaspoon orange zest and milk. Whisk together until a smooth glaze forms. Place a piece of parchment paper under the loaf for easy cleanup.
Drizzle glaze over the loaf and let glaze set for at least 30 minutes. The longer you wait the less sticky the glaze will be, which will give you prettier loaf slices. Enjoy!
Notes
Tips For Fresh And Frozen Cranberries
Both fresh and frozen cranberries work in this recipe, but you do have to treat them slightly differently.Frozen Cranberries - If using frozen cranberries it is best to add the cranberries still frozen to the batter. Leave the frozen cranberries until right before you are ready to add them to the batter. Toss the frozen cranberries with a teaspoon of flour in a bowl, then fold them into the batter and bake right away.Fresh Cranberries - If using fresh cranberries, rinse and dry the cranberries well. Toss the cranberries with a teaspoon of flour then fold them into the batter and bake right away.Double the cranberries? Most bags of cranberries are 12 ounces which is about 4 cups of cranberries. I have on accident used the entire bag of cranberries instead of just two cups.If you really like cranberries, use two teaspoons of flour for the outside of the cranberries, and try it with all the berries. The bread will be even more moist, but has more tang than the original recipe.
Tips For Orange Juice And Zest
Zest oranges before squeezing out the juice. Zest only the orange peel, but avoid zesting too much of the white layer that surrounds the orange under the peel.
Store-bought orange juice can be used, but don’t skip the fresh orange zest in this recipe because it adds a lot of flavor.