Cranberry Orange Bread

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Cranberry Orange Bread

This easy Cranberry Orange Bread is a buttery and moist loaf cake, with orange zest and tangy cranberries throughout, then topped with a silky sweet orange-infused glaze. The beautiful contrasting colors make it perfect for a holiday dessert table!

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberry orange bread, cranberry orange cake

Servings:

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ tsp orange zest
2 large eggs
¾ cup half-and-half
1½ tsp vanilla
1¾ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
1¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup cranberries divided, fresh or frozen. If using frozen, add them to the batter without thawing (note: this may increase the baking time slightly.)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp fresh orange juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on two sides.
In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the orange zest, eggs, half-and-half, and vanilla. Beat in the flour, baking powder, and salt, until combined.
Pour half of the batter in the prepared pan, tapping it on the counter to evenly spread it out. Scatter half of the cranberries over the top. Repeat with the remaining batter and cranberries.
Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for at least one hour, then remove loaf from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and orange juice and pour over the cooled cake. Let set, slice, and serve!

Video

Notes

Dust with powdered sugar. Instead of a glaze, simply dust the baked, cooled loaf with powdered sugar.
Have a smaller loaf pan? I always bake this cranberry bread in a 9×5 loaf pan, but if you have an 8x4x2 pan, it will still work. Note that since there’s less surface area, the loaf may be a bit taller and take a few extra minutes to bake.

Nutrition