I’ve been craving cranberries these days since I saw them in the market. I totally love their tart sweetness. It cannot get any better when they are transformed to a Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread. The result is a tart & sweet scrumptious bread studded with ruby red juicy cranberries, walnuts, orange zest & drizzled with a sweet orange glaze. This is a great loaf for late fall, early winter as cranberries, oranges and walnuts are all in season. This crumbly Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread is my absolutely my new favourite.
I picked up some fresh cranberries to do some baking….decided on a recipe I saw over here that looked great…tweaked the recipe a bit and added a thin orange glaze to the top for an extra flavour punch. While working with fresh cranberries, the hardest part is of course chopping them up the because they like to roll all over the place….just make sure not to cut your fingers in the process. But it’s nice to use them instead of the dried ones because they add a pleasant tartness. As an added bonus, the ruby red cranberries look so pretty and festive once the bread is sliced.
The cranberry orange combo pairs so wonderfully together and is definitely a winner! The flavours are so much in harmony, mellowed with walnuts. The orange flavour does not overpower the bread but brightens up the shebang, enhancing the tartness of the cranberries…making this bread so heavenly and delicious. As for nuts, I used what I had on hand – a mixture of walnuts and almonds. And the glaze is kind of the best part….skip if you think it’s too sweet!!
This is a classic quick bread, which means very easy to throw together. Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl and mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl. Then you just combine the two and you’re good to go….just don’t over mix or over bake. When you have a great “base” recipe, it’s easy to build off of it and create new and exciting flavours. So, experiment and try out different flavours!!!
You’ll want to make several loaves of this orange-scented cranberry quick bread, some to wrap and give as gifts, freeze a loaf for later or enjoy it warm out of the oven. Top it up with a dollop of whipped cream and it makes a delicious dessert, too!
Off to the recipe for Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread!!
Step-by-Step process to prepare Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Take a loaf pan and butter, or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray.
- In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients- the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Add in the chopped cranberries, chopped nuts, orange zest and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients- beaten egg, melted butter, vanilla extract, orange juice (freshly squeezed or bottled) and milk (Full fat or low fat).
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until everything is mixed together. Gently fold, do not over mix.
- Pour into the greased pan to 2/3rd of it’s height, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon or a spatula.
- Bake for about 45 to 5o minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake just comes out clean. The baking time depends on the size of the tin used and also the oven.
NOTE: If you find the top of the bread getting too brown before the centre bakes through, grease an aluminium foil with butter and cover your bread loosely, buttered side facing the bread. The foil will prevent further browning and also allow your bread to bake evenly on all sides.
- Remove bread from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Wrap in plastic wrap and aluminium foil and store overnight before serving. This way all the flavours blend well giving the bread a better taste.
- This bread can also be frozen. But, I would recommend to slice it before freezing.
Orange Glaze for Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread: (Optional)
- Make the Orange glaze with just orange juice and powdered sugar.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice to the powdered sugar and mix together until you reach your desired glaze thickness.….That’s it!!
- Place some wax paper under the bread on the rack. Pour the glaze over the cooled bread, leave it to dry out or just drizzle right before serving.
Slice and serve plain or slathered in butter and enjoy it as a breakfast treat with the family or wrap up some loaves of this Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread for holiday gifts.
A Quick Summary:
Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread Recipe | Orange Glazed Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
- Bread:
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Zest of one orange or lemon
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Orange Juice
- 1 cup milk at room temperature
- 3/4 to 1 cup fresh cranberries coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
- Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Take a loaf pan and butter, or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray.
- In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients- flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Add in the chopped cranberries, chopped nuts, orange zest and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients- beaten egg, melted butter, vanilla extract, orange juice and milk.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to combine.
- Pour into the greased pan, Smoothing the top.
- Bake for about 45 to 5o minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake just comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
- Glaze: Add 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice to the powdered sugar and mix well.
- Drizzle over cooled bread, slice and serve..
My Notes:
- If using a dark coloured loaf pan, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).)
- To get the best flavours, wrap in plastic wrap and aluminium foil and store overnight before serving.
- The bread can take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour in the oven. The huge time gap is because all ovens are different. Oven air flows, oven hot spots, etc. Breads are thick and having the centre baked through properly takes time.
- Buy an oven thermometer. They’re inexpensive and will control the temperature in your oven. I was shocked to learn that my oven runs almost 20 degrees warmer than what the dial states. That has a HUGE effect on your food baking properly.
- Cover your bread loosely with butter greased aluminium foil. The foil will allow your bread to bake evenly on all sides and also prevent the top from getting too brown before the centre bakes through.
- You can include any nuts of your choice in this recipe.
Check out other BAKING RECIPES you can make this Christmas and enjoy with your family!!
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
