Quick breads are one of my favorite breakfast go-tos. To me they’re like muffins but in a loaf. This Spiced Orange Cranberry Bread is a perfect pick me up for the beginning of the week. There’s the flavor of blood oranges combined with warm spices. You also have fresh cranberries in the mix, so we get bursts of tartness throughout.
So what’s the difference between a quick bread and cake? They both have basically the same ingredients, and it does get alittle confusing. To me quick breads are like muffins but in a loaf. I also prefer my recipes to be not as sweet. It’s still a perfectly sweet bite, but not as sweet as a dessert. So it makes it more of an anytime treat.
You may notice that I used blood oranges in this recipe. They are my favorite orange variation. They got their name because they have a bright red hue (that’s also why the glaze has a pink tint). In addition to the color, the flavor is actually quite different from your typical orange varieties. Blood oranges have a slight raspberry flavor in addition to the citrus notes. It adds a layer of complexity with used in place of other oranges. That said, for this recipe you can use whatever variety of orange you have on hand and it’ll still be just as delightful .
Blood Orange Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
Blood Orange Cranberry Bread
- 2 c all purpose flour
- ½ c brown sugar
- ¼ c granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¾ c buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- ¼ c squeezed orange juice
- ¼ c vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 1 c chopped cranberries
- ½ c chopped walnuts
Blood Orange Glaze
- 1 c powdered sugar
- ¼ c squeezed orange juice
- 2 tsp orange zest
Instructions
Blood Orange Cranberry Bread
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a loaf pan (9 x 5) with pan release.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients together and whisk to mix thoroughly .
- In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients together and whisk to mix thoroughly.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Fold in cranberries and walnuts. Add batter to prepared loaf pan.
- Bake bread for 50-60 minutes. You'll know it's done with a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Rest in pan for 5 minutes
- Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.
Blood Orange Glaze
- Mix powdered sugar and orange juice.
- Pour over bread once cooled.
