Name: Easy Cranberry Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Glaze
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 9 Servings
Cuisine: American

Cooking with Conks Verified

February 3, 2026

This cranberry orange loaf cake is a celebration of winter fruit flavor. The orange zest in the cake gives the crumb the taste of ripe winter citrus, and the fresh cranberries are bursting with a satisfying tartness and punch. The whole loaf cake gets coated in an orange glaze for additional crisp, sunny notes. It’s moist, tangy, and just the right amount of sweet.

Easy Cranberry Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Glaze

Easy Cranberry Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Glaze cover

From the Cook

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Easy Cranberry Orange Loaf Cake with Orange Glaze

Cooking with Conks Verified

Ingredients

WarningMilk and 5 other allergens identified

Instructions

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray or butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang on 2 of the sides.

Toss the cranberries with 1 tablespoon of flour.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in a bowl and set aside.

In a separate large bowl, add the sugar and zest of 1 orange and rub them together with your fingers. This will help infuse the sugar with the orange flavor.

Mix the melted butter, orange juice, and sour cream with the sugar, then mix in the eggs and vanilla.

Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined, then gently fold the floured cranberries into the cake batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. It should fill the pan about ⅔ full and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean and the middle looks cooked through.

Remove the cake from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, then gently lift the cake out of the loaf pan and place it on a wire rack or serving dish to cool.

While the cake cools, whisk together the glaze ingredients. Pour glaze over the cooled cake. Decorate with sugared cranberries and candied orange slices, if desired.

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Tips & Tricks (5)

Cranberry Coating Trick 🍇
Toss fresh cranberries in a light dusting of flour before folding into the batter to prevent them from sinking and ensure even distribution throughout the loaf.
Zest Maximization Technique 🍊
Use a microplane grater to capture maximum orange zest oils, being careful to only grate the bright orange outer layer and avoid the bitter white pith underneath.
Moisture Preservation Method 💧
Add sour cream to the batter to create an incredibly moist crumb that stays soft and tender for days, preventing the loaf from drying out quickly.
Glaze Application Pro Tip 🧁
Allow the loaf to cool completely before applying the orange glaze to prevent it from becoming too thin and running off the sides of the cake.
Cranberry Burst Prevention 🚫
Use fresh, firm cranberries and fold them in gently at the last moment to prevent excess moisture from making the batter too wet and compromising the cake's structure.

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About the Cook

Cooking with Conks

We’re Rachel & Emily Conklin (“Conks” for short), sisters, lifelong foodies, and the voices behind Cooking with Conks. We grew up in Southern California, surrounded by bold flavors, big family meals, and the kind of kitchen chaos that turns into inside jokes