Orange Cranberry Loaf

By Samantha Seneviratne

Updated Nov. 6, 2023

Orange Cranberry Loaf
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Total Time
1 hour 25 minutes plus cooling
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Rating
5(888)
Comments
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Orange and cranberry are a wintery match made in heaven. This loaf has a good amount of orange zest, which releases its essential oils when ground together with the sugar to give the cake a lot of flavor and a beautiful orange hue. A little orange juice, swirled together with yogurt, ensures a super moist crumb. The plump cranberries burst in the oven and dot the loaf with welcome pockets of tartness. When they are in season, fresh cranberries are perfect here, but frozen will work just as well. Do not thaw them before swirling them into the batter but do note that frozen cranberries will increase the overall bake time a bit. Freeze the baked loaf, well-wrapped, for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature to serve. 

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 8
  • ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted, plus more for the pan
  • 1¾cups/225 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
  • 2large oranges 
  • 1cup/200 grams plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ½cup whole-milk yogurt
  • 1¼teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
  • 3large eggs
  • 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1½cups/170 grams cranberries, fresh or frozen but not thawed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

382 calories; 14 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 59 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 34 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 309 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8½-inch by 4½-inch loaf pan.

  2. Step 2

    Finely grate the zest from the oranges into a large bowl. You should have 2 to 3 tablespoons of zest. Add 1 cup of the sugar. Using your fingers, grind the zest into the sugar until the sugar is completely orange and fragrant.

  3. Step 3

    Squeeze ½ cup of juice from the oranges into a 1-cup liquid measuring cup or a small bowl. Mix the yogurt into the orange juice and set aside.

  4. Step 4

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

  5. Step 5

    With an electric mixer on medium-high, beat the butter and the orange sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the vanilla extract.

  6. Step 6

    Add half of the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Beat in the yogurt mixture then the remaining flour mixture. Do not overmix.

  7. Step 7

    Fold in 1 cup of the cranberries. Transfer to the prepared pan. Top with the remaining ½ cup cranberries and spread the batter out evenly. If there are any exposed cranberries around the edges of the pan, gently press them into the batter. (They could burn.) Sprinkle the top of the loaf with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

  8. Step 8

    Bake until the loaf is golden brown and set and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 55 to 65 minutes.

  9. Step 9

    Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then cut around the edges and carefully flip the loaf out of the pan. Turn it right side up and let it cool completely before slicing.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
888 user ratings
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Comments

Chris

"Prep Time 5 minutes" Really NYT? It takes me 5 minutes just to zest the oranges. Assuming you have all the ingredients and don't have to go out for oranges, prep time is more like 25 - 30 minutes. Still in the oven after 1hr 20min and center is still very moist. Not sure what I did wrong but seems to take a lot longer to bake than specified.

Jen

I am surprised by all the negative reviews. I followed the recipe, and this was absolutely delicious. I think the magic in this recipe is taking the time to really work the orange zest into the cup of sugar. As I worked the zest into the bowl of sugar, it began to take on a fragrant and beautiful orange hue. I squeezed one of the oranges and used a borer to create a half-cup of pulpy orange juice which I added to a container of Fage 5% plain yogurt. I also used real cranberries. Yum

Sherri

I'm noting that there are numerous complaints in the comments about the melted butter, the cooking time, the batter oozing over the pan, etc. And there's also a note that the recipe was updated November 6, 2023. Can you tell us what was in the update--how the recipe was changed?

Susan

This turned out perfectly except that there was too much batter.

Andrew

I had high hopes for this (I love these two flavors) but it wasn't as good as I hoped. I found the texture to be closer to bread than cake, and the orange flavor didn't come through very well. Any suggestions?

Westchester Peach

Made this in a Pullman loaf pan—longer, narrower—and baked to perfection in 55 minutes. This one’s a keeper, many thanks! Not too sweet, not too dense, tart and festive!

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