When the calendar flips to November, my favorite flavor comes into season, the tart cranberry. I wait all year to be able to dive into everything cranberry, and this Cranberry Almond and Orange Loaf Cake showcases the cranberry’s flavor in the most delicious of ways.
Loaf cakes are one of the simplest and easy cakes to create, next to the sheet cake. There’s no stacking, all the flavors are in the cake itself, and the way you slice them is pretty straightforward. Simply combine all the ingredients, bake for roughly an hour, cool and eat. If you’re feeling fancy, you can decorate the top, but it isn’t required. Plain, with a dusting of powdered sugar, or with icing, all are acceptable options.
Making the Cake
When you make any cake, you always want to start by creaming the butter, sugar, and flavoring. Creaming allows the sugar to dissolve into the fat, and incorporating the flavoring into the fat makes it a carrier for the flavor. It’s a necessary foundation when making a cake. It is also important for the rise, if you cream the butter first, you’ll get a good lift in the center of the cake.
Adding the dry components after the creaming stage helps stabilize the mixture, and provides the framework and durability of the cake. The leavening agents are also added in this phase adding to the proper rise of the loaf.
The last addition to this cake is the fresh cranberries. They’re added last so that they stay whole and aren’t mashed to bits into the cake batter. This creates delightful pockets of cranberry flavor throughout the loaf. It’s the perfect little surprise in every bite.
Substituting dried cranberries for fresh
If for whatever reason, you cannot get your hands on fresh cranberries, you can buy dried cranberries and rehydrate them in hot water. They won’t be nearly as flavorful as fresh, but you’ll still get some decent cranberry flavor from them.
Converting to gluten free
This recipe uses a significant of almond flour in it. Do not deviate from it. The almonds lend moisture and mealiness to the cake that would be lost otherwise. You can make this cake gluten free by swapping out the all purpose flour for a gluten free flour blend that contains xanthan gum. My favorite is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Flour.
Decorating the top
Here are a few ways to decorating the top of this loaf to make it a show stopper:
- Sugared Cranberries
- Candied Orange Peel
- Orange Zest
- Any combination of the above with seasonal herbs like rosemary or thyme
Let me know if you make this delightful Cranberry Almond and Orange Loaf by rating the recipe or leaving me a note in the comments, I’d love to know what you’re up to in the kitchen!
For another delicious fall baking idea, make sure you check out my post on Gluten Free Apple Cardamom Bundt Cake
Cranberry Almond and Orange Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 11 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 orange Zest The zest of one medium orange, reserve the remainder of the orange, for juice.
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Orange Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Almond Extract
- 3 Large Eggs
- ⅔ cup All-purpose flour
- 1¼ tsp Baking powder
- ⅛ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Almond Flour
- 2 cups Fresh Cranberries
Icing
- 1 cup Confectioner's Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Orange Juice
Instructions
- Preheat the over to 375°F
- Line a 8 inch loaf pan with parchment, and set aside.
- Place butter, sugar, zest, juice, vanilla and almond extracts in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and almond flour.
- On low speed, add in the dry mixture slowly, allowing it to incorporate thoroughly.
- Add in the fresh cranberries, and pulse to combine.
- Transfer batter to the lined loaf pan, and level the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes has passed drape aluminum foil over the top of the loaf, and bake for 30 minutes more.
- When the cake has cooled, make the icing.
Orange Icing
- Whisk together the confectioner's sugar and orange juice until smooth.
- Spread the icing over the top of the cake.
- Serve.
