Cranberry Orange Walnut Tea Bread

a slice of cranberry and walnut studded quick bread on a plate, with the loaf on a wooden tray in the background.

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 rich and tender tea bread recipe, with just enough sweetness to balance the tart cranberries.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Cooling Time 20

Course Breakfast & Brunch, Dessert, Small Bites & Snacks

Cuisine American, British, Contemporary

YIELD servings

Calories 228 kcal

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

prep ingredients and pan:

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.
Roughly chop the fresh or frozen cranberries.
Wash, dry, and grate the zest from the fresh orange(s).
Roll the zested orange under your palm on the counter or cutting board, then cut it in half and juice the pulp. Strain or fish out any seeds, leaving the pulp.

mix dry ingredients:

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

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!

Note on nutritional information:

Nutritional values shown are estimated, and calculated using the optional orange glaze and 3 tbsp of unsalted butter. Omitting the glaze will reduce the sugar content and calories, and the vitamin C slightly, and using more or less butter will also change the values.

Nutrition

Calories: 228kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 4gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 300mgPotassium: 102mgFiber: 1gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 155IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg

Keyword autumn, baking, Christmas, coffee cake, cozy, elegant, elevenses, fall, fall foods, halloween, hobbit food, holiday, party food, quick, quick breads, simple, tart, tea party, Thanksgiving, winter, Yule

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