Super Moist Cranberry Orange loaf / Cranberry Orange pound cake

Cranberry Orange loaf or cake or quick bread, however you may want to call this, it is one of those wonderful holiday flavors that is worth dreaming for !! This is an extremely moist yet light and crumby cake with a beautifully fresh orange flavor. Cranberries are strewn all over the cake to give that delicious contrast flavor combination of sour, tart and sweet. This recipe is made with sour cream to give that extra level of moistness and help with the tangy flavor.

If you ask me, who ever invented using the orange / lemon zest in baking is a genius. They give such a fresh and intense citrus flavor naturally to the end product, with out having to use the extracts, that it's very hard not to get hooked to it. It is one of my weaknesses when it comes to baking. If I see a recipe with Orange zest or juice, I immediately want to try it !!

Cranberry Orange cake is number one on my list of holiday indulgences. It is so flavorful and so simple that it can be made for any number of reasons ranging from holiday brunches to something sweet for tea time, sharing with family and friends to potlucks, get togethers... etc.. etc.. etc...Honestly I don't need a reason to make this 😋. All I can think about now is that delicious piece of orange cake melting in my mouth !!

I made 4 batches of this Cranberry Orange bread this week alone to make sure I get that perfect balance of moist yet crumby cake without being dense and wonderful flavor of orange and cranberries. Now I can happily say that this will be one of the best Orange cranberry cakes you have ever eaten !!

Let's start with a few details of why, what and how about this cranberry orange loaf recipe

Ingredients

Just like any other cake or quick bread recipe, the basic ingredients in this cranberry orange loaf recipe are

• Flour : We are using all purpose flour.
• Fat : We are using room temperature butter here.
• Sugar : Use regular white sugar
• Eggs : 2 eggs room temperature
• Leavener : Since we are using acidic ingredients like orange juice, orange zest and sour cream, just using baking powder is not enough to achieve a good fluffy cake. Hence we are also using little bit of baking soda to react with that acid and give the cake a good rise avoiding a dense cake.

Now coming to the special ingredients in this cranberry orange quick bread recipe

• Sour cream : Sour cream ( room temperature) helps in giving this bread that perfectly moist texture and helps with that tinge of tanginess.
• Orange juice and Zest : Just use regular big juicy oranges like navel oranges. These are the reason for that irresistible Orange flavor. Using both freshly squeezed orange juice and zest ( Orange zest is the orange colored outside portion of its peel ) makes sure that we have good enough orange flavor in this cake to call this an orange cranberry cake.
• little Salt to bring out the sweet flavor and Vanilla Extract.
• Last but not least Cranberries !!

How to Make Cranberry Orange Loaf/bread (with step by step pics )

4 steps to make this delectable quick bread

• Prep
• Mix
• Bake
• Glaze

Prep :

• Butter should be at room temperature. Leave the butter out on the counter for around 1 hour to 1 ½ hour (time that takes depends on the temperature of your kitchen). Do not try to melt the butter to make it quick, as that will reduce the aeration in your end product which will result in a dense cake.
• Zest an orange using a zester or micro plane and then cut it into half to squeeze the juice with your hand. Try not to get the pulp out when you are squeezing as we don't need the pulp. DO NOT zest the white part of the peel when you are zesting the orange as it will give a bitter taste.
• Leave the eggs, sour cream and cranberries on the counter along with butter to bring them to room temperature. Room temperature ingredients makes sure all the ingredients are mixed well thus avoiding overmixing of the ingredients (which results in a dense cake).

Mix :

• Using a handheld or stand mixer(paddle attachment) beat the room temperature butter( ½ cup) until creamy for around a minute. Now add 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar and cream the sugar and butter on medium speed for around 3 to 4 mins until thick and creamy.
• Now add 2 eggs, one by one, mixing after each one until well combined.

• Then add 1 tablespoon Orange Zest, ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract, ⅓ cup Orange juice and mix well until well incorporated.

• Now in a different bowl, mix the dry ingredients together which are 2 cups sifted all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon salt. Note: It is very important to measure the flour using the 'Spoon and Level Method'. It means to use a spoon to fill your measuring cup with flour and use the back of a knife to level off the flour on the top. DO NOT scoop the flour directly from the bag using the measuring cup.
• Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed for few seconds, ONLY until well combined. DO NOT OVER MIX the batter as this will result in a dense cake.
• Now add the ½ cup of sour cream and fold it into the batter only until just combined.

• Finally toss the 1 ¼ cup cranberries in 1 tablespoon of flour in a bowl to coat them with flour and then fold them into the prepared batter. (Tossing them with flour ensures that they don't sink down to the bottom of the pan ).

• Grease a 9*5 inch loaf pan, line with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper again. Pour the prepared batter into the pan.

Bake :

• Preheat the Oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Bake the cake for about 55-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  To make sure the top middle part is cooked well without getting too brown, cover the loaf with aluminum foil loosely over the top for the last 10 to 15 mins ( after around 50 to 55 mins of baking) once you got the golden brown top. This helps the top middle part to bake well without getting it too brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 mins before removing it onto a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.

Glaze :

• Whisk together all the glaze ingredients ( powdered sugar, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract ) until well combined.
• Pour the glaze on the finished & cooled bread by placing it in a flat surface like a cooling rack with a plate under it or just a flat tray.

Common Questions about this Cranberry Orange bread

Can I make this with less sugar?

Sugar is one of the ingredients that gives that moisture to this bread(like many baked goods). You can reduce the amount of sugar but it might dry out the bread a little bit. For best results use full amount of sugar.

Can I use bottled orange juice?

Since you need an orange anyways for the zest, I suggest you use freshly squeezed orange juice for that super yummy fresh orange taste in your cake. No need to use any juicer, Just cut into half and squeeze with your hand into a cup to measure. Do not use pulp.

Can I use Cake flour instead of All purpose flour ?

Since this recipe uses extra wet ingredients like orange juice and sour cream, DO NOT replace all purpose flour with cake flour. Cake flour is not strong enough to use here because of its super fine texture and low protein content.

Can I double the recipe to make two loaves ?

I really suggest making two loaves as this disappears pretty fast but DO NOT DOUBLE the recipe. For best results, make the recipe two times ( true for many bread/cake recipes ).

Why Sour Cream ?

Sour Cream really helps in giving this cake that wonderful moistness and helps a little bit with the tanginess.

Go make this awesome Orange Cranberry bread to enjoy with your family and friends and leave us a comment below to let us know how it turned out.

Recipe

Cranberry Orange loaf / Cranberry Orange pound cake

Yamini

This Cranberry Orange bread loaf is an extremely moist yet light and crumby cake with a beautifully fresh orange flavor. Cranberries are strewn all over the cake to give that delicious contrast flavor combination of sour, tart and sweet.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon Orange zest
• ⅓ cup freshly squeezed Orange juice without pulp No need to filter out every small bit of pulp, just make sure to not get pulp while squeezing the juice
• 2 eggs room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour sift & measure using the spoon and level method as mentioned below or use pre sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup sour cream regular
• 1.25 cup cranberries
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour to toss cranberries

Orange Glaze

• ¾ cup confectioner's sugar powdered white sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

 

Prep :

• Preheat the Oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Butter should be at room temperature. Leave the butter out on the counter for around 1 hour to 1 ½ hour (time that takes depends on the temperature of your kitchen). 
• Zest orange using a zester and then cut it in half to squeeze the juice with your hand without the pulp.
• Leave the eggs, sour cream and cranberries on the counter along with butter to bring them to room temperature. 

Mix :

• Using a handheld or stand mixer(paddle attachment) beat the room temperature butter until creamy for around a minute. Now add granulated sugar and cream the sugar and butter on medium speed for around 3 to 4 mins until thick and creamy.
• Now add eggs, one by one, mixing after each one until well combined.
• Then add Orange Zest, Vanilla extract, Orange juice, and mix once until well incorporated.
• Now in a different bowl, mix the dry ingredients together which are 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt. Note: It is very important to measure the flour using the 'Spoon and Level Method'. It means to use a spoon to fill your measuring cup with flour and use the back of a knife to level off the flour on the top. DO NOT scoop the flour directly from the bag using the measuring cup.
• Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix at low speed for a few seconds, ONLY until well combined. DO NOT OVERMIX the batter as this will result in a dense cake.
• Now add the sour cream and fold it into the batter only until just combined.
• Finally, toss the 1 ¼ cup cranberries in 1 tablespoon of flour in a bowl to coat them with flour and then fold them into the prepared batter. (Tossing them with flour ensures that they don't sink down to the bottom of the pan ).
• Grease a 9*5 inch loaf pan, line with parchment paper, and grease the parchment paper again. Pour the prepared batter into the pan.

Bake :

• Bake the cake for about 55-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. To make sure the top middle part is cooked well without getting the loaf too brown, cover the loaf with aluminum foil loosely over the top for the last 10 to 15 mins ( after around 50 to 55 mins of baking) once you got the golden brown top. This helps the top middle part to bake well without getting it too brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 to 15 mins before removing it onto a cooling rack to cool completely before glazing.

Glaze :

• Whisk together all the glaze ingredients ( powdered sugar, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract ) until well combined.
• Pour the glaze on the finished & cooled bread by placing it in a flat surface like a cooling rack with a plate under it or just a flat tray.

Notes

• Do not try to melt the butter to make it quick, as that will reduce the aeration in your end product which will result in a dense cake.
• DO NOT zest the white part of the peel when you are zesting the orange as it will give a bitter taste.
• Room temperature ingredients makes sure all the ingredients are mixed well easily, thus avoiding overmixing of the ingredients (which results in a dense cake).
• This cake tastes doubly better after few hours, so if you have time, make it half day before and It tastes really good when chilled. 
• For making two loaves, DO NOT double the recipe, Instead make the recipe two times for best results.

Keyword Cranberry holiday recipes, Cranberry Orange bread, Cranberry Orange loaf, Cranberry Orange pound cake

This recipe is updated on Dec 22nd, 2021. Following more testing, I decided to make a small update to the amount of flour used in the recipe to make it a tad bit less dense, yet still keeping it very moist and delicious as it already is. So if any of you see a change in the amount of flour used from before, this is the reason.

Don't forget to pin this recipe for later. Looking for more seasonal recipes, check out my popular Instant Pot Applesauce with a delicious twist or Apple Pumpkin Halwa | Easy Indian Pumpkin dessert

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