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cranberry bread with tangerine glaze

Little Cranberry Cardamom Loaves with Tangerine Glaze

The tangerine glaze in this recipe is a nice finish, but not essential, so skip it if you prefer. If preparing loaves in bulk, you can double the recipe, making six mini loaves or two standard loaves. Be sure to use a very large mixing bowl and stir the dough gently and just enough, so that your finished loaves are pleasingly tender.
Course Baked Goods
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 3 mini loaves or 1 standard loaf.
Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup fresh tangerine/mandarin juice
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup melted butter (salted or unsalted)
  • 2 to 2 1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh cranberries (see notes)

For the Glaze (optional)

  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1 scant tablespoon fresh tangerine juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three mini loaf pans (mine are 5 3/4" x 3") or 1 standard loaf pan with oil or butter. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, cardamom, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, vigorously beat together (by hand or with an electric mixer) the buttermilk, tangerine juice, sugar, and egg. Slowly add the melted to butter, beating continuously until it is blended.
  3. Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the liquids and mix just until incorporated with no obvious streaks of flour.
  4. Add the cranberries to the batter and use a rubber spatula to mix just until blended. Do not overmix!
  5. Transfer the batter to the loaf pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top of a loaf is fairly firm to the touch. About 40 minutes for a 5 3/4" x 3" mini loaf, 1 hour for a standard-size loaf.
  6. Let the breads cool completely before glazing or slicing.
  7. To make the glaze, put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl, add the tangerine juice, and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the top of each loaf. Wait until the glaze has cooled and hardened before wrapping.

Recipe Notes

A 12-ounce bag of cranberries has about 3 cups of cranberries. If frozen, put in a colander and run under warm water to expedite defrosting. Chop by hand or by pulsing in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. I like to pack my loaves with cranberries, but feel free to scale back to 2 cups instead of 2 1/2, if desired.