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This warmly spiced, fruit studded Cranberry Orange and Ginger Loaf Cake Recipe is perfect for sharing with family and friends or as a thoughtful gift from the kitchen. The loaf keeps at covered at room temperature for two to three days so it’s perfect to have on hand at this busy time of year. One of my favourite go-to recipes for the holidays, a slice of Cranberry Orange and Ginger Loaf is perfect with a hot drink for a slightly indulgent breakfast or alongside a cup of tea for dessert or a snack.
In December 2011, former blogger Mary Lenaburg shared a Glazed Cranberry and Crystallized Ginger Loaf that looked so good it had my mouth watering. I adapted the recipe the following year. While Mary’s recipe contains lemon, I prefer the combination of cranberry and orange, so I switched out the lemon for fresh orange rind and juice. I added buttermilk for flavour and texture and bumped up the ginger spice a bit.
I have reduced the sugar since I originally published this recipe seven years ago, from 1⅓ cup down to 1 cup. By increasing the ginger I’ve still achieved what my many taste testers (family, friends and colleagues) say is a good balance. If for some reason you feel the cake needs to be sweeter, by all means bump the sugar up again.
Cranberry Orange and Ginger Loaf is a cut and come again quick bread that is perfect to have on hand for last minute guests – or just as a treat with a cup of tea. The cranberry studded slices make a lovely addition to a cookie tray. Or share the bounty and wrap a whole loaf loosely in foil or cellophane and tie it with a ribbon to make a very welcome gift.
Cranberry Orange and Ginger Loaf – Printable Recipe
Cranberry Orange and Ginger Loaf
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour all-purpose flour is plain flour in the UK
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ cup butter, softened use unsalted butter if possible
- 1 cup granulated or caster sugar
- the grated zest of one orange
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 generous cup fresh or frozen cranberries, washed and picked over to be sure they are all good
- ½ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
- Glaze
- ¾ cup icing sugar Icing sugar is also known as confectioners or powdered sugar
- the grated zest of one orange
- 1 to 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165C). Grease or line a 8½ by 4½ inch (2 lb) loaf pan.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the orange zest and beat in.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Into the reserved flour mixture, toss the cranberries and crystallized ginger. Add this mixture to the wet ingredients. Blend together using a wooden spoon to avoid over beating.
- Carefully blend in the buttermilk using the wooden spoon. The batter should be well blended, but try not to over mix it. (Like muffin batter, quick bread batters are better if you do not over mix them.)
- Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the bread comes out clean.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the loaf to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
- When the bread is completely cool, make the glaze.
- Put the icing sugar in a small bowl with the orange rind. Gradually add the orange juice, a bit at a time, until a drizzle-able consistency is reached.
- Drizzle the glaze over the Cranberry Orange and Ginger Loaf.
did you make this recipe?
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Delicious orange and ginger loaf, Love to try it April.
Thank you, Swathi 🙂
This sounds absolutely amazing! I love cranberry & orange!
Thank you so much, Brandi! I love cranberry and orange too so I find this loaf very hard to resist 🙂
This is such a luscious looking bread! Beautiful!
Thank you, Kecia! It really is delicious 🙂
Your bread looks beautiful and the ingredients sound wonderful. How did you get it to look like that?
Thank you, Judee! I bought a wavy loaf pan at Williams Sonoma. I was worried it might be tricky to use, but I just grease it with butter and the loaf comes out beautifully 🙂 I then just drizzled the glaze into the waves and scattered some crystallised ginger over top. I love easy decorating!
This loaf looks so good April and thanks for sharing it at C&C with J&J.
Thanks for the congrats on my 5 years of blogging. It is because of bloggers like you that i continue with it!!
Have a nice week.
Julie
Thank you so much, Julie, and thank you for the compliment as well! I hope you have a nice week too 🙂
Oh wow, this looks amazing April. I would love to try a slice, right now 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Creative Mondays. Hope you can join us tomorrow.
Thank you so much, Claire. I’m so glad you like it!
April, this sounds wonderful, and I am sure it tastes just as it looks! Would love to have a slice of this enticing Cranberry Orange and Ginger Loaf with my afternoon tea!
Thank you so much, Hadia. It’s one of my favourite quick breads for this time of year!
A gorgeous loaf of bread and all those flavors have my mouthwatering!
Thank you, MJ!
Congratulations!
Your post is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week! Thanks so much for sharing it with us we are really enjoying it. Hope you have a great week and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Thank you so much for the feature, Miz Helen! What a lovely way to start the day 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Wow ~ this looks fantastic. I cannot wait to try it!
Thank you, Sue! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
This looks amazing, April! I’d love to try it
Thank you, Cristina. I hope you will get a chance to try the recipe!
This looks amazing. I’d like to do this recipe as mini loaves instead of one large loaf. How long should mini loaves be cooked, especially if using those mini aluminum loaf pans? Thanks
Hi Julie,
Thank you so much! Mini loaves are so fun, I don’t know why I haven’t tried that myself yet. Re cooking times, it’s hard to say without knowing the exact size of the tins. I think you will need to watch the mini loaves quite carefully the first time you make them. I would set the timer for about 15 minutes to start with and then go very carefully from there. Depending on the kind of oven you have (conventional, fan, convection etc) the cooking time can vary and some mini loaves may cook faster than others. However, once you can insert a skewer in the centre of a mini loaf and it comes out clean it is done. If you watch the loaves carefully the first time you make them you should be fine. Please let me know how it goes. Merry Christmas!
I made this today & it was delicious but my one complaint is while u say “2 teaspoons ground ginger” you never mention where the “2 teaspoons ground ginger” goes.
I’m so glad you liked the cake, Linda! Thank you so much for pointing out my omission. I’m so sorry. No matter how carefully I proofread, occasionally something slips through. I’ve updated the recipe. The ginger should be sifted together with the flour, baking powder and salt.
This looks delicious! That first photo with the pretty loaf mold looks too pretty to eat.
Thank you, Joanne! Merry Christmas!
Like you April, I love a cranberry and orange combination along with the ginger makes this loaf really big hit for the holidays. It will be just perfect for a treat anytime. Hope you had a great Christmas and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday,516. We hope to see you back here again soon!
Miz Helen
April,
What a beautiful looking loaf and the cranberry, orange, and ginger sound divine. I know I’ve seen it before, but I couldn’t help commenting again because it just looks so good. Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
Thank you so much, Judee! That’s so kind of you 🙂 Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year too!
Looks a great make, I will look to make in the next few weeks.
Where do you get the cake mould can’t find it at all on internet
Thank you, Richard. You can use an ordinary loaf pan with the dimensions I specified. I used a decorative Nordic Ware pan for the photographs and if you wish to use one like it, here is an affiliate link to the one I used https://amzn.to/3wcGN73 However an ordinary loaf pan works very well too.