This Cranberry Orange Loaf is what dreams are made of! It's got an orange-vanilla batter base, with cranberries mixed in. Then, it is drizzled with a sweet orange glaze. The perfect balance of sweet and tangy in every bite!
You'll love every bite of this loaf. It is decadent, delicious, and the perfect loaf to bring over for a Thanksgiving dinner.
This loaf use a lot of butter so it’s full of buttery flavour in every bite. The reverse creaming method is used in this batter, which basically means we are mixing every typical step backwards.
For more cranberry recipes, try Cranberry Orange Streusel Muffins, Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins, and Cranberry Orange Breakfast Cake.
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What is the reverse creaming method?
Typically cakes and muffins are baked using the traditional creaming method. This means whipping the butter and sugar, then adding in eggs, vanilla, etc, and the dry ingredients.
Instead, we are doing it in reverse. So the butter and dry ingredients get mixed, then the wet ingredients.
When mixing the butter in with the flour first, the flour gets covered by fats. This slows down the gluten forming process, which ultimately helps creates an ultra tender and soft cake! It seriously has the perfect crumb.
Ingredients Notes
Full recipe and ingredients are in the recipe card below. Feel free to scroll through this section to view certain key ingredients we’re using!
All-purpose flour – This flour is used for the cake and cannot be substituted for any other.
Cranberries – Make sure to use fresh, and not frozen.
Butter – This must be softened.
Eggs – Must be at room temperature before beginning.
Milk – I used 3.25% milk, but any kind of milk works. Make sure it’s at room temperature before beginning.
Vanilla – Make sure to use a good quality vanilla. This is important in cakes like this where there are minimal ingredients.
Step by step instructions
Here is how to make and bake this Cranberry Orange Loaf. You will need a 9x5 loaf pan, a cookie scooper, mixing bowls, a spatula, and an electric handheld mixer.
Step 1 – Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the long side of the loaf pan with parchment paper and then grease the other two sides. Set aside.
Step 2 – Mix orange zest and white sugar. In a large bowl, add in sugar and orange zest. Using your fingers, combine them to release all of the orange oils and fragrances. Do this for a minute. Then add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Mix together.
Step 3 – Cream butter and dry ingredients. Add about 1/3 of the butter into the bowl. Mix on low, and keep adding in the butter until a crumbly texture forms. The key to a tender muffin is mixing as little as possible, so only mix until just combined!
Step 4 – Add wet ingredients. Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing in between each addition. Then, add in the vanilla. On low speed, continue mixing until just combined. Then add in the orange juice, and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick, but smooth.
Step 5 – Add oil and milk. Mix in the oil, and then the milk, making sure it’s well incorporated. The batter will be very smooth. If it is clumpy, this means your wet ingredients weren’t at room temperature before beginning.
Step 6 – Add cranberries. Gently toss the cranberries in 1-2 tsps of flour before adding them into the mixing bowl. This will help absorb any liquid they may have after washing.
Step 7 – Scoop. Transfer the batter into the prepared 9x5 loaf pan. Using a cookie scooper helps big time to minimize the mess. Sprinkle extra cranberries on top.
Step 8 – Bake. Bake the cake at 350°F for 55-75 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick comes out clean. I would start checking after 50 minutes as every oven differs!
Step 9 - Drizzle. Allow the cake to completely cool. Then mix together icing sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Drizzle the cake, and allow it to set (15-20 minutes). Slice, and enjoy!
Expert Baking Tips
Here are a few expert baking tips from my kitchen to yours
- Use a gram scale. I cannot emphasize this enough! It is the most accurate way of measuring your ingredients in the kitchen. This is one of my favourites.
- Use a cookie scooper. This helps so much with transferring the batter into the loaf pan, and helps prevent spilling!
- Cool the loaf completely. This loaf must be cooled completely before drizzling the icing on top! If it's warm, the icing won't set and will melt. You can speed this up by placing it in your refrigerator.
FAQ
What size loaf pan should I use?
I used a 9×5 but if you have an 8×4 that should work perfectly fine as well! Just note that with an 8×4 pan, your cake will be taller may take a few extra minutes to bake (up to or a little over an 1 hour).
Can I make muffins with this recipe?
I don’t see why not! Just follow the recipe accordingly, and change the bake time. I haven’t tried this so I can’t say how long it will take to bake for sure, but check after 20-22 minutes and every 5 minutes after that.
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Cranberry Orange Loaf
Ingredients
For the cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 tbsp for dusting
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 3/4 cups unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 tbsp oil any flavorless kind works
- 1/4 cup milk room temperature
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 tbsp orange zest 1 large or 2 small oranges
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 cups cranberries washed and dried
For the drizzle
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2-3 tsps orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of a 9x5 pan, with extra sticking up the sides so it's easy to remove the cake. Then grease the other two sides of it.
For the cake
- In a large bowl, add in sugar and orange zest. Using your fingers, combine them to release all of the orange oils and fragrances. Do this for a minute. Then add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Mix together.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsps baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tbsp orange zest, 1 cup white sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch
- Add in about 1/3 of the butter. Mix on low, and keep adding in the butter until a crumbly texture forms. The key to a tender cake is mixing as little as possible, so only mix until just combined!3/4 cups unsalted butter
- Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing in between each addition. Then, add in the vanilla. On low speed, continue mixing until just combined. Then, add in the orange juice and keep mixing. Make sure to scrap the sides of your bowl too.1/4 cup orange juice, 3 eggs, 1 tbsp vanilla
- Add in the oil, and keep mixing. Then mix in the milk, making sure it’s well incorporated. The batter will be smooth. If it is clumpy, this means your wet ingredients weren’t at room temperature before beginning.1/4 cup milk, 3 tbsp oil
- In the bowl with the cranberries, add 1 tbsp of flour and gently toss around until evenly coated. The light coating of flour will absorb any extra liquid it may have before adding it into the mixing bowl.2 cups cranberries
- Add the cranberries and mix in a few times.
- Transfer into the prepared 9x5 pan and spread evenly. Top with extra cranberries if desired.
- Bake the cake for 55-75 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick comes out clean. I would start checking after 50 minutes as every oven differs! Mine took about 65 minutes.
For the icing
- Mix the icing sugar, orange juice, and orange zest together. Then once the cake is cooled, drizzle this on top. Allow to set, slice, and enjoy! This cake is so good.1 cup icing sugar, 2-3 tsps orange juice, 1 tsp orange zest
Lynn Pernezny says
I made the cranberry orange loaf this weekend, and it was delicious. I didn’t add the icing, as it was part of a breakfast, but it really didn’t need it. And this had to be the smoothest, creamiest batter I’ve ever mixed up. Everyone who tried it raved about it. I’ll be making this again, for sure.
Ania says
Hi Lynn! I'm so happy to hear that the loaf was a success for breakfast. The batter is definitely the smoothest batter I've ever made too - It's so delicious! Thanks for sharing!! 🙂