This delicious Dried Cranberry Loaf Cake is packed full of seasonal flavours. A quick bread made with dried cranberries, orange juice and orange zest for bursting flavours. Much like the Tunisian Orange Cake, it’s great to put on a Christmas breakfast or brunch table.

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Welcome December! Who’s ready, raise your hand? Who’s not ready? That would be me, the not ready one. But I learned years ago, to let it all go. As much as I love Christmas, I’ve let go the stress of the “picture perfect Christmas” a long time ago. And guess what, it’s still great. All that being said, I LOVE Christmas baking and cooking. From little party appetizers like my Baked Camembert with Rosemary, to brunch ideas like the Cinnamon Roll Christmas Tree and cookie recipes galore. It’s always fun to bake new and traditional recipes through December. Who’s with me on that front?

And I knew that for the first of December, I wanted to bring you all something festive and delicious. And that’s just what this Dried Cranberry Loaf Cake brings to the table. It’s got all the flavours of Christmas wrapped up in every single bite. Let’s take a closer look.

So, What’s This Loaf Cake Like

This is not an overly moist cake. It’s kind of a texture that’s a cross between a scone and a Christmas bread. That’s the best description I can think of. The exterior of the cake has a bit of a crisp to it and the interior has a loose crumb. It’s full of flavour and absolutely delicious. It’s best after it cools and is wrapped or stored for at least a few hours before serving.

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Here’s What We Need To Make This Cranberry Loaf Cake

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 cup cranberries

REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.

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How to Make This Cranberry Loaf Cake

• Preheat oven and prepare pan – preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Grease and line an 9 x 5 inch loaf tin and set aside. (not pictured below)
• Combine dry ingredients – in a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cranberries and orange zest. Stir to combine and set aside.

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• Combine butter and sugar – in the bowl of your electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and mix on high for about 2 – 3 minutes until combined well.
• Add the egg – whisk in the egg on high speed. Mix for about 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed.

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• Add orange juice to batter – add the orange juice to the batter and stir until it just combines.
• Add the dry ingredients to the batter – pour in the combined dry ingredients. Stir until it just comes together and there are no lumps.

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• Pour batter into loaf tin – make sure to evenly spread it out on the top with a spatula.
• Bake the loaf cake– baking time will vary, it’s important to understand that all ovens are different as well as bake ware. This cake took 50 minutes in my oven. But baking time will vary between 45 minutes and one hour. At the half way mark baking the cake, loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil to prevent it from over browning.

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• Let the cake cool – place the cake on a wire rack and leave for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the loaf tin and leave on the cooling rack to cool completely.
• Wrap in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container – after the cake has cooled down, you can wrap it in plastic wrap to keep it soft. Alternatively, you can keep the cake in an airtight container on the counter top.

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Are There Any Substitutions I can Make To this Cake

• Dried cranberries – you can easily use fresh cranberries in this recipe. They would work great if you have them.
• Orange juice – this is a MUST for this recipe to give it all that orange flavour. You can use fresh or carton juice. It doesn’t matter. If you are not bothered about the orange flavour, you can just use milk in it’s place.
• Orange zest – again, this adds a lot of orange flavour. You can substitute 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for a different flavour.
• Add nuts – you can opt to add chopped pecans or walnuts to this recipe. Use about 1/2 cup of chopped nuts of your choice. Add them to the dry ingredients with the cranberries if using.

What’s The Best Way To Serve This Dried Cranberry Loaf Cake

This loaf cake goes great with a cup of tea or coffee. I love this cake just as it is, but you could add butter or jam if you like.

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How do I Store This Loaf And How Long Will It Last For

• Store on the counter – store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for about two days.
• Keep in the freezer- you can tightly wrap this loaf cake in plastic wrap. Make sure it has cooled completely. After that, you can freeze it up to two months. Allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

Get The Recipe!

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Thanks For Stopping By & Hope To See You Soon!