BAKE: Cranberry Orange Walnut Tea Bread
- Cranberry Orange Walnut Loaf Ingredients
- Kitchen Equipment Needed
- How to Make Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread
- Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
- Cranberry Orange Walnut Tea Bread
This cranberry orange walnut bread is an autumn-classic, flavored with fresh cranberries, aromatic orange zest and freshly-squeezed orange juice, and toasty chopped walnuts. It’s a quick tea bread recipe, with just enough sweetness to balance the tart cranberries.
This is delicious for breakfast, but you can also serve it for afternoon tea, a snack, or a simple dessert. You can slice this loaf cake thin or thickly, or even lightly toast the slices and spread them with butter for an extra special sweet treat. I like to bake this in mini-loaf pans, but you can also bake full-sized loaves, or individual cranberry orange walnut muffins.
Cranberry Orange Walnut Loaf Ingredients
Cranberries:
You can use fresh cranberries when they’re in season, or frozen ones during the rest of the year. They are roughly chopped, either by hand or lightly pulsed in a food processor. Don’t puree the cranberries… you want them just roughly halved or quartered, not mashed to a pulp.
Flour:
For the most tender tea bread, use unbleached white flour. If you want to add fiber and nutrients, you can substitute whole wheat flour for up to half of the flour. You could use all whole wheat flour, of course, but it will make a dense and heavy loaf.
Sugar:
Use plain granulated white sugar in this cranberry orange walnut bread, which lets the bright flavors of the orange and cranberries shine through.
Egg:
Use one fresh large egg at room temperature. If you forget to take the egg out of the fridge, you can warm it just before adding to your batter by washing it with warm running water.
Orange:
Use the freshly grated zest and juice from regular oranges, or you can substitute several clementines, tangerines, or even blood oranges. Use organic fruit if you can get it, as you’ll be using the peel and don’t want wax or chemical sprays on there.
Either way, wash the fruit and pat dry with a towel before zesting. I use a microplane for this, but you can use any fine metal grater or a citrus zester. If the zest comes off in large pieces, chop it finely before adding it to your tea cake batter. Roll the fruit around on the counter or between your palms before cutting them in half to juice to get a better yield.
Walnut:
Use raw or lightly toasted chopped walnuts. You can toast the walnuts in the oven on a sheet pan or in a skillet on the stove over medium-low heat. Watch and stir the pan carefully, and remove the nuts from the hot pan as soon as they are fragrant and just beginning to color. If you leave them in the pan, they will continue to cook and can burn easily even after you take them off the heat.
Butter:
Use real butter, either salted or unsalted. If you use salted butter, you may want to reduce the salt to 1/2 tsp, unless you like salty sweets.
For a firmer tea loaf that will stand up to toasting, you can use less butter (two tbsp, or one ounce). For muffins, or a softer, richer loaf, use up to twice as much (3-4 tbsp) of butter. I often make this recipe with the lesser amount of butter, but then toast and spread the slices with a bit of softened good butter. Delicious!
Leavening:
This bread uses both baking powder and baking soda. The soda reacts with the acidic orange juice and adds tenderness and some extra lift.
A pinch of salt adds flavor but also helps tenderize baked goods. Adjust the salt quantity if you use salted butter, but don’t leave it out unless you’re on a sodium-restricted diet… baked goods without salt taste flat and bland.
Kitchen Equipment Needed
Stand mixer, or large mixing bowl:
You can cream the butter, sugar, and eggs by hand, or using a stand mixer or handheld mixer. You’ll want a second small-medium mixing bowl to combine the dry ingredients.
Mixing & measuring:
You’ll need dry measuring cups, a liquid measuring cup, and measuring spoons, as well as a sturdy spoon if you are mixing by hand, and a spatula to scrape the bowl.
Loaf pans:
You can use nonstick or silicone pans, or regular pans that have been buttered and floured or sprayed well with your preferred pan spray.
This recipe makes two standard 9″x5″ loaf pans. You can also bake it in mini loaf pans, or make cranberry orange walnut muffins. Reduce baking time for smaller pans.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread
mix dry ingredients:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
- Butter and flour a 9″x5″ standard loaf pan, or brush with cake goop. You can also bake this in mini loaf pans, or muffin tins with silicone or paper liners.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Sift in the baking powder and soda to remove any lumps.
cut in butter:
- Cut the butter into small pieces and mix with the paddle attachment, or cut in with a pastry blender if mixing by hand.
- Mix until the butter is fully incorporated into the dry ingredients.
mix wet ingredients:
- In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, vanilla extract, and beaten egg.
- Add this to the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl, folding or mixing on low speed just until the batter is mostly combined.
- Do not overmix – there will still be some dry streaks in the quick bread batter.
fold in fruit & nuts:
- Fold in the chopped cranberries and the walnuts and mix just until they are incorporated into the batter.
- Pour or scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan(s) or muffin tins. Use a flexible spatula to clear all of the batter from the bowl.
bake the cran-orange walnut bread:
- Bake the breads or muffins in the center of your preheated oven.
- Bake full-sized loaves for about one hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Reduce baking time for mini-loaves and muffins, checking them after about 20-25 minutes. Mini-loaves will take longer but vary in size, so check regularly.
cool & slice:
- Let the loaf cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
- Turn it out onto a cooling rack when the pans are cool enough to handle.
- Wrap any leftovers only after they have completely cooled.
glaze loaf (optional):
If you want a sweeter tea bread, you can mix up an orange glaze and drizzle this over the top of the cooled loaf cake or muffins. Let the glaze set up before wrapping the cake. You can also apply the glaze while the tea cake is still warm if you want it to soak into the cake.
Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
While your cranberry orange walnut bread is best while it’s fresh from the oven, you can wrap up any leftovers and store them at room temperature for a few days. Refrigerate or freeze the leftovers after 1-3 days, especially if the weather is warm.
To keep the bread longer, I recommend wrapping it in an airtight freezer bag and freezing it for up to six months. If you will be storing it for long, you can help prevent freezer burn by individually wrapping your loaves or muffins with saran wrap or foil, and then storing them in a zip-seal bag or air-tight container.
Cranberry Orange Walnut Tea Bread
Ingredients
dry ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cups granulated sugar
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
cut in:
- 2-4 tbsp cold unsalted butter (see notes)
wet ingredients:
- ¾ cup orange juice (preferably freshly squeezed, about one large orange)
- 2 tbsp zest of one orange (quantity is approximate)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 large egg beaten
fold in:
- 1 cup chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- ⅔ cup chopped walnuts (preferably lightly toasted)
orange glaze (optional)
- ⅓ cup confectioner's sugar
- 1-2 tbsp orange juice
Instructions
mix dry ingredients:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
- Butter and flour a 9″x5″ standard loaf pan, or brush with cake goop. You can also bake this in mini loaf pans, or muffin tins with silicone or paper liners.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Sift in the baking powder and soda to remove any lumps.
cut in butter:
- Cut the butter into small pieces and mix with the paddle attachment, or cut in with a pastry blender if mixing by hand.
- Mix until the butter is fully incorporated into the dry ingredients.
mix wet ingredients:
- In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, vanilla extract, and beaten egg.
- Add this to the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl, folding or mixing on low speed just until the batter is mostly combined.
- Do not over mix – there will still be some dry streaks in the quick bread batter.
fold in fruit & nuts:
- Fold in the chopped cranberries and the walnuts and mix just until they are incorporated into the batter.
- Pour or scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan(s) or muffin tins. Use a flexible spatula to clear all of the batter from the bowl.
bake the cran-orange walnut bread:
- Bake the breads or muffins in the center of your preheated oven.
- Bake full-sized loaves for about one hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Reduce baking time for mini-loaves and muffins, checking them after about 20-25 minutes. Mini-loaves will take longer but vary in size, so check regularly.
cool & slice:
- Let the loaf cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
- Turn it out onto a cooling rack when the pans are cool enough to handle.
- Wrap any leftovers only after they have completely cooled.
glaze loaf (optional):
- If you want a sweeter tea bread, you can mix up an orange glaze and drizzle this over the top of the cooled loaf cake or muffins. Let the glaze set up before wrapping the cake. You can also apply the glaze while the tea cake is still warm if you want it to soak into the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
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