Frosted Cranberry-Orange Loaf Cake

Add this irresistible cranberry-orange loaf cake to your holiday baking list right this very minute. Effortless in preparation, this loaf cake has a moist, tender crumb, with a sweet and tangy seasonal cranberry flavor. Lightly drizzled with glaze, this easy, fruit-forward loaf cake is perfect for breakfast, dessert, or anything in between.

Unlike most cranberry loaf recipes, I don’t use fresh cranberries. Instead, I swirl in homemade cranberry sauce adding flavor and moisture to the cake itself. The addition of fresh, homemade cranberry sauce layered within elevates this loaf cake to a different playing field and makes a wonderful addition to Christmas morning.

Sweet Loaf Vs. Cake

Most people don’t know the difference between a sweet loaf and a cake. I get it. The most obvious difference is the vessel one bakes them in. For loaf cakes, you use a rectangular loaf pan, but for cakes, you typically use a square or round pan. Although both cakes and loaf cakes share similar ingredients, the ratio of flour, fat, sugar, and the mixing methods differ, yielding a different result.

Quick breads, such as banana bread, scones, and muffins, are commonly made by combining the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in the other and then mixing the two till just combined with a few lumps. Cakes, in contrast, are made by creaming the butter and sugar together. Or, at times, by folding whipped egg whites into flour, sugar, and egg yolks, to create a finer crumb.

As a result. cakes are generally lighter than loaves and other quick breads. Think of it as similar to the difference between a muffin and a cupcake, a cupcake being a mini cake and a muffin being a type of quick bread. Additionally, loaf cakes almost always with some kind of fruit within them, whereas cakes can be with or without fruit. Add this festive cranberry loaf to your lazy holiday morning and all you need to do is add a great cup of coffee to go along with it.