Cranberry Orange Bread
With notes of sweet and tart cranberry and a bright hit of citrus, this cranberry orange bread is the perfect recipe to bake for Christmas. And with a crusty sugar topping made from orange zest and sanding sugar, each bite has a bit of crunch. Whether it’s for the holidays or any other day, you’ll love this bread!
Servings 12 servings
Calories 259kcal
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup orange juice
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups cranberries chopped
- ¾ cup toasted chopped walnuts (optional)
For the crisp topping
- ¼ cup sanding sugar
- 1 tbsp orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 ½- x 4 ½-inch loaf pan and line it with a piece of parchment to create a sling. Grease the parchment in the pan and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and butter. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat for 3-5 minutes. Add the egg, orange juice, and orange zest. Mix to combine evenly, about 1-2 minutes.4 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 cup white granulated sugar, 1 large egg, ¾ cup orange juice, 1 tbsp orange zest
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp kosher salt
- Chop the cranberries by hand or add them to a food processor and pulse until they are evenly chopped. Add the chopped cranberries and chopped walnuts to the batter and fold to incorporate them. Do not overmix, or the cranberries will release their juices and color into the batter.1 ½ cups cranberries, ¾ cup toasted chopped walnuts (optional)
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Run a knife or spatula down the center of the batter, touching the bottom of the pan to encourage a split when baking.
- In a small bowl, combine the sanding sugar and the orange zest. Rub the mixture between fingers to create a wet sand-like mixture. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the batter and bake until the bread is domed and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean, 30-40 minutes. Note: If using one large pan, bake for 45-55 minutes.¼ cup sanding sugar, 1 tbsp orange zest
- Once baked, remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Once slightly cooled, use the parchment sling to remove the bread and cool to serve.
Notes
- While many recipes that begin with creaming butter and sugar will instruct you to mix until light and fluffy, this recipe has a different ratio of butter to sugar. Thus, when creaming the butter and sugar, do not expect a light and fluffy texture this time.
- To zest the orange, place the orange in one static hand and use the other hand to pull the Microplane across the surface. This will collect all of the orange zest in the confines of the Microplane, which can then be tapped out easily into the bowl with all of the other ingredients.
- When mixing the dry and wet ingredients, be sure not to overmix them. Use the stand mixer until everything is just combined, meaning that a few streaks of flour are left in the bowl. Then use a spatula or spoon to work everything together until mixed well, which will avoid adding in too much air.
- To ensure the walnuts have lots of flavor in this bread, make sure to toast them before adding them to the batter. Nuts will not toast when they’re baking inside of batter or dough, so to ensure they have loads of flavor, they must be toasted beforehand.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 259kcal