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This mouthwatering Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread Loaf has Orange flavor throughout. It’s sweet, tart and luscious. A great holiday treat!
Table of Contents
Why Make This Cream Cheese Orange Cranberry Loaf
The best holiday bread to bring to gatherings or for a sweet treat in the morning. Its tart, sweet and all round luscious. The loaf is bright and moist, perfect with a slap of butter or on it’s own.
You can make this bread a bit sweeter with icing, or keep it mildly sweet with a dusting of powdered sugar. Either way, if you are a fan of seasonal cranberries give this cream cheese infused bread try! If you aren’t a huge fan of cranberries or want to try something new, go for my Blueberry Banana Bread.
Ingredients Needed
All Purpose Flour. This is the base of the bread.
Fresh Cranberries. You can use frozen cranberries as well. They can be seasonally stocked in stores but they tend to always be in the product section around October-January.
Oranges. Fresh large navel oranges work best.
Cream Cheese. This is a large flavor component to the bread and it keeps it nice and moist. Also try my Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies.
All other ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations
All purpose Flour. I have only tried this recipe with all purpose flour and all purpose gluten free flour so I suggest you stick to one of those.
Butter. Plant based butter will also work if you need to make this dairy free.
Cream Cheese. Plant based cream cheese will also work to make this dairy free.
Oranges. You can make this recipe without the oranges and orange zest however it will be just a bit more tart.
Steps To Make This Recipe
Step One. preheat oven to 350º F and lightly grease a 13×5 inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan (please note if using a 9×5 cooking time will be longer, you can also make two loaves if using a 9×5 to quicken the cooking time) with butter or non-stick spray. Cream together room temperature butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl or mixer, beat in eggs, orange juice and vanilla.
Step Two. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt until combined. Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring until just incorporated. Next fold in cranberries and walnuts (if using walnuts).
Step Three. Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes, after 25 minutes place a very loose piece of tin foil over the loaf (just to cover the top of the bread to keep it from browning too much!) bake for an additional 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Please note all ovens vary a bit in temperature and so does dish-ware so keep an eye and pack some patience for it to cook through.
Step Four. Remove from oven and let cool at least 20 minutes before adding powdered sugar or icing. Gently slice and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Make this loaf dairy free by using plant based butter and cream cheese in place of the cow’s milk.
Yes! Make this cranberry orange loaf ahead of time, and eat it when you are ready for it. It will last for 3 days on the counter and 5 days in the fridge sealed in an airtight container.
Recipe Tips
Don’t over mix the batter. This will result in a flat bread. Just mix it enough to get everything combined, the oven will do the rest of the work.
If you are using a 9×5 loaf pan and not an extra large loaf pan, no Problem! Just be patient with the cook time, it will take a bit longer since there is less room in the pan. Additionally, you can speed things up and use two 9×5 loaf pans, fill them both half way and keep an eye on them for 30-40 minutes baking time.
If you prefer a sweeter bread, make the 2-ingredient icing. This really sweetens things up and makes the bread more of a treat. Whisk 1/2 cup of powdered sugar with 1 tsp milk or water to make icing.
Other Sweet Breads To Enjoy
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Cream Cheese Cranberry Bread
Equipment
- 9×5 or 9×13 baking loaf
- stand up mix or mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp, *2 sticks
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cup sugar
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice , *see notes
- 2 cup all purpose flour , *see notes
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp baking soda, *see notes
- 2 cup fresh cranberries
- ⅓ cup walnuts, chopped, *optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F and lightly grease a 13×5 inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan (please note if using a 9×5 cooking time will be longer, you can also make two loaves if using a 9×5 to quicken the cooking time) with butter or non-stick spray. Cream together room temperature butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl or mixer, beat in eggs, orange juice and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt until combined. Gradually mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring until just incorporated. Next fold in cranberries and walnuts (if using walnuts).
- Place in oven and bake for 25 minutes, after 25 minutes place a very loose piece of tin foil over the loaf (just to cover the top of the bread to keep it from browning too much – shape it like a tent!) Bake for an additional 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.* Please note all ovens vary a bit in temperature and so does dish-ware so keep an eye and pack some patience for it to cook through.
- Remove from oven and let cool at least 20 minutes before adding powdered sugar or icing. Gently slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was delicious! Mine got a little more brown than yours and took just a few minutes longer but totally worth it, it’s perfectly moist and sweet. I didn’t even need icing or powdered sugar dusting.
Had leftover cranberry in my freezer from the holidays so I whipped this up and it was delicious. I put half in the freezer so I wouldn’t eat it all.
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for the feedback! Happy eating 🙂
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I was amused by your indication that the loaf made “two servings.” That is quite an endorsement! I’ve made desserts before that should have served 6 but only served 3 because they were so good. I’m so looking forward to making this!