Light and fluffy cranberry bread is the perfect sweet treat at Christmas time. Bursts of cranberries with zesty orange in a moist, buttery and fluffy sweet bread, that is drizzled with icing to finish it off. Like banana bread, but with a festive twist and all made in one bowl.
We love loaf cakes. They are simple to make, so easy to adapt with different fruit and nuts and the are the perfect little afternoon treat with a cup of coffee for 5 minutes peace.
This cranberry bread has the perfect Christmas flavour combination of cranberry and orange and it makes a lovely homemade gift too.
Looking for some other festive treats to try? Why not try our Christmas Tree Brownies, Cinnamon Flapjacks and Santa Hat Brownies.
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Why should you try it?
- A delicious quick bread - This is such an easy bread to make and it is ready in just an hour, plus cooling time.
- All made in one bowl - Everything is mixed up in one bowl, so there is minimal mess.
- Perfect for Christmas - Anything with cranberries just screams Christmas and add the cinnamon and it is full of festive flavours.
- Freezes well - If you can't get through all this cranberry bread, then it freezes really well.
What you will need
- Cranberries - We used fresh cranberries, however you can use frozen instead, and there is no need to defrost them first.
- Oranges - Zest and juice go in to this cranberry bread to make it deliciously citrusy.
- Plain flour, baking powder and baking soda
- Caster sugar - This adds more volume to the cranberry bread, and gives it a light and fluffy texture. If you don't have caster, then you can grind up granulated sugar in a food processor for a couple of minutes and use that instead.
- Spices - We used cinnamon and nutmeg and they are the perfect Christmas spice combination. You could use some ginger too.
- Egg - We used large eggs that were at room temperature (just leave them out for 30 minutes). Use room temperature eggs because they are easier to mix evenly and you will get a better volume cake.
- Butter - For best results, use room temperature butter (that is still a little cool to touch) as this will ensure and even consistency of the bread.
- Icing sugar - This is what is mixed with orange juice to make the icing drizzle.
Step by step
One: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Two: In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, egg, orange juice and zest.
Three: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon. Gently stir in the cranberries.
Four: Grease a 9x5 inch (22.5 x 12.5 cm) loaf tin. Pour the batter into the tin and cook in the oven for 1 hour, until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes.
Five: Run a knife around the edge of the tin to loosen the loaf and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.
Six: Make the icing by mixing together the icing sugar, orange juice and zest until smooth.
Seven: Drizzle over the loaf and allow to set before slicing the loaf.
Topping
We have made a really simple orange icing with icing sugar, orange juice and zest and poured it all over the top of the cranberry bread. However, if you prefer something a little more substantial on top of it, then you could make a cream cheese frosting to spread on it. Just want sure that it is full of orange flavour. We prefer the icing, as it isn't as heavy as buttercream.
Variations
Not only could you swap the icing for a cream cheese frosting, but we have some other ways that you could adapt it too. You can add some chopped walnuts or pecans or flaked almonds in which add a nice texture to the bread.
We love anything that we can add chocolate to, and dark, milk or white chocolate chips (or all three) work really well in this cranberry bread.
FAQs
This is a sweet bread, so portion control is definitely key. However, there are lots of health benefits of cranberries. They are a good source of vitamin C, E and K1 as well as fibre.
There are 260 calories a slice and we got 10 slices out of a loaf. If you wanted to reduce the calories in a serving, then you could slice them a little thinner. This is a very moist bread though, so be careful when slicing it.
You can store the bread wrapped and in an air tight container.
It will store in an air tight container for 3-4 days.
Yes, you can freeze cranberry bread, but make sure you haven't added any icing, as that doesn't really freeze well. Wrap slices of it in baking paper and store in freezer bag. They will keep well for up to 4 weeks.
No, there is no need to cook the cranberries before adding them to the mixture.
We have used fresh cranberries, as they add lots of moisture to the bread and add a nice burst of flavour. However, you can swap them for dried cranberries if you prefer. If you are using dried cranberries, then soak them first as this makes them a bit juicer. You can then use the soaking liquid to make the icing.
You can also use frozen cranberries too, and there is no need to defrost them.
If you don't have the same loaf tin that we have used, then you can use 2 1lb loaf tins instead. Cooking time would reduce to about 35 -40 minutes. You can then either freeze one loaf (sliced) or wrap it up for a nice homemade Christmas gift.
Yes, these would make delicious muffins. Divide the mixture in to 12 muffin cases and bake for around 25-30 minutes, until a knife comes out clean.
If you bread sinks when it comes out of the oven, there could be a couple of different issues. Firstly, make sure that your measurements are exact. We bake in metric and the imperial conversion should be used as a guide and might not be exact. Make sure your baking powder isn't expired and also be careful not to over mix the dough. Use a oven thermometer to make sure your oven is getting to the exact temperature.
Sprinkle a teaspoon of flour over the cranberries and mix together before adding to the dough. This will prevent the cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the bread.
Extra tips
- You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. We haven't added any salt to the mix, so using salted butter won't make it overly salty.
- We have used the juice of an orange. However, we have also added the measurement for the liquid, as the juiciness of an orange can vary greatly.
- You can use frozen cranberries in this recipe too, and they don't need to be defrosted first.
- Add the egg already beaten to the bowl. This prevents you from having to over mix the batter.
- Add a little extra texture to this bread by mixing some crushed walnuts or pecans in.
- For a richer flavour, you can use half caster sugar and half brown sugar.
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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Recipe
Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 100 g fresh cranberries
- 1 orange (juice and zest only)
- 70 g butter
- 200 g caster sugar
- 250 g plain flour
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 egg
For the orange drizzle:
- 120 g icing sugar
- 2 tablespoon orange juice added gradually, don't let it get too thin.
- 0.5 orange (zest only)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.250 g plain flour, 1.5 teaspoon baking powder, 0.5 teaspoon baking soda, 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon, 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg
- In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, caster sugar, egg, orange juice and zest.70 g butter, 200 g caster sugar, 1 egg, 1 orange
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon.
- Gently stir in the cranberries.100 g fresh cranberries
- Grease a 9x5 inch (22.5 x 12.5 cm) loaf tin.
- Pour the batter into the tin and cook in the oven for 1 hour, until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for at least 20 minutes.
- Once cooked, run a knife around the edge of the tin to loosen the loaf and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.
- Make the icing by mixing together the icing sugar, orange juice and zest until smooth.120 g icing sugar, 2 tablespoon orange juice, 0.5 orange
- Drizzle over the loaf and allow to set before slicing the loaf.
Notes
- You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. We haven't added any salt to the mix, so using salted butter won't make it overly salty.
- We have used the juice of an orange. However, we have also added the measurement for the liquid, as the juiciness of an orange can vary greatly.
- You can use frozen cranberries in this recipe too, and they don't need to be defrosted first.
- Add the egg already beaten to the bowl. This prevents you from having to over mix the batter.
- Add a little extra texture to this bread by mixing some crushed walnuts or pecans in.
- For a richer flavour, you can use half caster sugar and half brown sugar.
Anjali
Omg what a perfect holiday treat!! I can't wait to add this to my Christmas menu for next week!
Beth
This looks so delicious and tasty! I can't wait to make this recipe! My family is going to love this!
sarah johnson
Since a lovely sweet bread, it's the first time I've used a sweet bread with cranberries, it makes the loaf surprisingly moist. Thank you for the recipe.
Gina
Love the bright pop of flavor, color and texture from the cranberries, such a delicious loaf!
Laura
Fantastic way to use up the cranberries. It's a really tasty bread.
Danielle Wolter
I've got a bag of fresh cranberries in my fridge right now that would be perfect for this. Sounds delicious!
Sara Welch
Such a delicious bread that is perfect for fall! Definitely going to make this again for Christmas; it was delicious!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
Love all the flavors here, I already know I’m going to enjoy this recipe a lot!
Katie
Looks so good! Can't wait to try this one.
Cate
Wow what a perfect holiday bread to make! Saving this to make for Christmas, thanks for sharing!
Adrianne
I love loaf cakes too!! This looks delicious. The idea of turning it into muffins is super appealing also. Thanks for sharing.