Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread
I love seeing fresh cranberries at the grocery store during the holidays. Of course I had to buy them and make some orange cranberry bread. Sweet breads are a weakness of mine this time of year, or maybe just every time of year. Rachel and I love sweet breads. They are fast, easy, and so delicious. I made this vegan orange cranberry bread for Rachel’s baby shower a few weeks ago and it turned out so good! I love the zesty orange flavor and tartness of the cranberries. It’s a bread that isn’t too sweet and reminds you of the holidays. The orange, tangy glaze is probably my favorite. This bread is extra good on day 2, when the flavors have mixed in with each other. Make it the night before and enjoy it the next morning. It is the perfect holiday treat!
Vegan Orange Cranberry Bread
Ingredients
Streusel
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp vegan butter, cold (or coconut oil, hardened)
Bread
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup chopped cranberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw)
- optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 flax egg (mix 1 Tbsp ground flax seed + 2.5 Tbsp warm water and set aside for 5 min)
- 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegan buttermilk (mix 1 cup almond milk + 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar and set aside for 10 min)
- 1/3 cup light olive oil (or canola; or melted coconut oil)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp orange zest
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp orange juice (or a little more)
- as much orange zest as you want
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Make the streusel first: Toss the flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Cut in the cold vegan butter with a pastry cutter, your hands, or two forks. Go for pea-size crumbs.
- Make the bread: In a large bowl, toss the flour, baking soda, salt, cranberries, and pecans together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the flax egg, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until combined. Make sure there are no brown sugar lumps remaining. Whisk in the vegan buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and orange zest. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix until there are no more lumps. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan. Top evenly streusel, pressing the streusel down gently into the top of the bread so it sticks.
- Bake the bread for 45 minutes to 1 hour, covering loosely with foil about halfway through to ensure even browning. Poke the center of the bread with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. Oven times will vary between ovens. Allow bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, cover the bread in plastic wrap and leave it overnight. (This will make the bread more flavorful and moist the next day, but it’s still good day of.)
- Make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and orange juice together. Add more orange juice depending how thick you want the glaze. Whisk in orange zest and drizzle over cooled bread.
- Slice and serve. Bread stays fresh at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 6-7 days.
- (Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)
