Cranberry Loaf Cake

This easy cranberry loaf cake is a must make for the holiday season. It’s sweet with just a little bit of tang. Serve it as a dessert or even for Christmas brunch.

Baking a cake is hard for me!

But, baking a loaf cake is not!!

Sounds strange, I realize that. I am so bad at baking, so, I always look for the easy dessert recipes.

If I can bake this cranberry loaf cake, ANYONE can bake it.

Tips for making this loaf cake

• Use frozen cranberries in this recipe. When you make the cranberry pie filling for it and when you add plain cranberries, use frozen. Freeze fresh cranberries when you buy them. I don’t recommend using dried cranberries
• If you don’t want to make the cranberry filling, use cranberry sauce which has the whole cranberries in it.
• In the cake and the icing, I use San Pelligrino’s Aranciata Rossa AKA Sparkling Blood Orange drink.
• The baking pan I used is a silicone baking mold that I got from (Affiliate Link) Amazon. It’s a 2 pack container and very versatile.
• The baking loaf pan is 3.6″ width by 8.6″ length and 2.2″ in height.
• Let the cranberry loaf cake cool to touch before removing it from the pan. Remove it from the pan and let it cool on a rack for about an hour.

The bubbly brings out the best

The secret to the moist and soft cake is the sparkling drink

It makes the cranberry loaf cake so airy. The bubbles in the sprakling water really do make this the best cake you can bake.

The one I used was (Affiliate Link) San Pellegrino’s Italian Sparkling Drink and the flavor is Aranciata Rossa. It’s beyond delicious!

Normally, I get it from Walmart. But, it’s not always in stock. So, when I see it, I grab a few of them at once.

If you can’t find it, a sparkling water with citrus flavors can be used in this recipe. The most commonly found sparkling water with citrus is Bubly’s Orange Sparkling water. It’s easy to find in your local grocery store or at big box store.

What to do with leftover cake

This cake is easy to store. Assuming you have any leftovers, which is rare because the cake is so delicious, you can easily refrigerate or freeze this cake.

Freezing it.

• Wrap it in parchment paper and put it in a zip-lock bag
• Refrigerate for about 3 months.
• When ready to use, heat it in a 350°F oven without thawing it first
• Heat for about 10 minutes or so. It will depend on how much you have left over.
• Top it with ice cream or cranberry filling and serve

Refrigerate it

• Wrap it in parchment and place in zip-lock bag
• Refrigerate it for about 1-2 weeks, no more.
• When ready to use, heat it in a 350°F oven without thawing it first
• Heat for about 10 minutes or so. It will depend on how much you have left over.

Try these desserts

• Giant Cookie
• Olive oil cake
• Blueberry crumble
• Banana split cake
• Rustic apple pie

Want to try vegan desserts? I collected them in one post that you MUST bookmark

How to bake a cranberry loaf cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Start by making the cranberry pie filling first. It’s very easy and made using pantry ingredients
• Assemble the dry ingredients in a glass bowl (Flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt
• Using a whisk, mix the dry ingredients together.
• Mush and add ½ of an overripe banana
• Add the Aranciata Rossa, frozen cranberries, cranberry pie filling and almond milk
• Mix well and set aside. It’s ok if the dough is sticky.
• Use a baking loaf pan or silicone mold. I used 3.6″ width by 8.6″ length and 2.2″ pan. Lightly grease it using butter
• Transfer the cranberry dough to the baking mold and gently tap the container. This way, there are no air pockets in it.
• I like to make swirls on the top just to give it some design. It’s optional
• Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and bake for 35 Minutes
• At the 35 minute mark, do the knife test. Place the tip of the knife into the side of the loaf cake. If it comes out clean, it’s ready. If there is dough stuck on it, it may need to stay in the oven for a few more minutes.
• When it’s cool to touch, remove the loaf cake from the mold and place on a rack. Cool for about an hour before icing it.
• To make the icing, put powdered sugar, Aranciata Rossa, pumpkin spice, vanilla essence and orange zest.
• Mix well and drizzle on the cake.
• Cut into thick slices and serve.

Don’t be shy, chime in below in the comments. Let me hear your opinion on this recipe.

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Easy Christmas Cranberry Loaf Cake

Rini

A quick and easy cranberry loaf cake made with simple ingredients is an easy Thanksgiving dessert.

5 from 11 votes

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Prep Time 40 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 5 people

Calories 435 kcal

Equipment

• Bread Loaf Pan
• Cooling Rack
• Bread Knife

Ingredients

  

For the cake

• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup sugar I use Wholesome's Organic Cane Sugar
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt optional
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 overripe banana about ½ cup
• ½ cup Aranciata Rossa San Pellegrino's Italian Sparkling Water Blood Orange flavor
• ¼ cup cranberry pie filling Make my recipe or use a whole cranberry sauce
• ½ cup almond milk
• ½ cup frozen cranberries

For the icing

• ½ cup powdered sugar I use Wholesome's Powdered Confectioners Sugar
• 1½ Tbsp Aranciata Rossa
• ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ tsp vanilla essence
• ¼ tsp orange zest optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Assemble the dry ingredients in a glass bowl
  2 cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, ¼ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda
• Using a whisk, mix the dry ingredients together.
• Mush and add the overripe banana
  1 overripe banana
• Add the wet ingredients
  ½ cup Aranciata Rossa, ¼ cup cranberry pie filling, ½ cup almond milk, ½ cup frozen cranberries
• Mix well and set aside. It’s ok if the dough is sticky.
• Transfer the cranberry dough to the baking mold and gently tap the container.
• Optional, I like to make swirls on the top just to give it some design.
• Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and bake for 35 Minutes
• At the 35 minute mark, do the knife test. See notes
• If it passes the knife test, turn off the oven and remove the cake from the oven
• When it's cool to touch, remove the loaf cake from the mold
• Place the cake on a rack and cool for an hour.
• Assemble the icing ingredients in a glass bowl
  ½ cup powdered sugar, 1½ Tbsp Aranciata Rossa, ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice, ¼ tsp vanilla essence, ¼ tsp orange zest
• Mix well and drizzle on the cake.
• Cut into thick slices and serve.

Video

Notes

*** CALORIES INFORMATION IS APPROXIMATE.  CONSULT A HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION.

• Use frozen cranberries in this recipe in both the homemade filling and the frozen cranberries.
• From the cranberry pie filling, use the cranberries only and not the sauce. That sauce can be used to drizzle on top of the loaf cake when you serve it.
• If you don’t want to make the cranberry filling, use cranberry sauce which has the whole cranberries in it.  Do not use dried cranberries in this recipe.
• In the cake and the icing, I use San Pelligrino’s Aranciata Rossa AKA Sparkling Blood Orange drink.
• The baking loaf pan is 3.6″ width by 8.6″ length and 2.2″ in height.
• Once you have turned off the oven, remove the cranberry loaf cake and let it cool to touch. Then, remove it from the pan and let it cool on a rack. I let it cool for about an hour before icing it.

Knife Test:  Place the tip of the knife into the side of the loaf cake. If it comes out clean, it’s ready. If there is dough stuck on it, it may need to stay in the oven for a few more minutes.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 5
Amount per serving
Calories	436
% Daily Value*

Keyword Cranberry desserts, cranberry loaf cake, holiday baking