Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Prep and preheat
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan, using a visual check to ensure the sides are coated.
Mix dry and wet
- Whisk all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest together in a bowl until evenly combined and pale speckling disappears. This should look uniform and dry.
- Whisk orange juice, egg, butter, melted, and vanilla extract together until smooth. The mixture should look glossy and fully incorporated.
Combine and bake
- Stir wet into dry just until moistened, avoiding overmixing; the batter should be thick with no dry flour pockets. Stop as soon as it comes together.
- Fold in cranberries, roughly chopped and walnuts, toasted and chopped, spreading them through the batter. You should see even red and walnut pieces throughout.
- Transfer batter to the loaf pan and spread into an even layer. Tap the pan once to settle the top.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350F until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. The loaf should spring back lightly when pressed.
Cool and slice
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a rack to fully cool before slicing. The loaf should feel set, not warm in the center.
Notes
For best texture, toast walnuts until fragrant and cool before chopping so they don’t soften the crumb. Store wrapped at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days; freeze wrapped slices up to 2 months for easy reheating. For a lighter option, swap half the sugar for brown sugar or use a 1:1 baking sugar substitute (check package instructions) while keeping the baking powder and baking soda the same.