Easy and beautiful Gluten Free Orange Cranberry Bread with Sparkling Cranberries. This Vegan cranberry pound cake is super moist with just the right amount of tart from the cranberries. It’s a traditional cranberry bread but better since this cake is dairy free, egg free, nut free and Vegan.
Thank you to Enjoy Life Foods for sponsoring this post!
My goodness, it’s December. How did that happen? This marks the true beginning for the Holiday craze. Less than 1 month until Christmas which can mean lots of things… Snow. Shopping. Parties. EXHAUSTION.
Every year, I think I’ll work ahead and simplify things so I can enjoy more time with family and friends. Annd every year this doesn’t happen. There are just too many things to do. From extra school projects to special treat days. That silly Elf on the Shelf shows up too… The big Thanksgiving day feast leads directly into this madness, clearly throwing a wrench in simplifying things. You know what I mean.
If I’m being completely honest, right now I’m already dead tired. Exhausted, would really be a better term. But that’s pretty standard following the creation a food allergy friendly Thanksgiving solo every year, right? Food allergy parents don’t have the luxury of dividing dishes for guests to bring (unless you’re very lucky and have friends/relatives that can cook allergy foods) And you can forget heading to the nearest store for a pie or sweet dessert…
But
I am attempting to simplify special treats and holiday baking with this gluten free orange cranberry bread. This lovely loaf was from a box. Yep. A box. I’m starting to realize you cannot do everything all the time. Especially with gluten free egg free baking…fails are inevitably sometimes. So I give you permission to grab a quality boxed mix. That my friend, is exactly what I did recently. I have no shame in admitting I grabbed the new Enjoy Life Foods Muffin Mix to create this gluten free orange cranberry bread or cranberry pound cake. It made things a ton easier. I have not been feeling well lately so this is a huge time saver and allows me to still be the Super Food Allergy Mom I want to be and who is expected to make holiday treats.
I don’t feel guilty using this mix either since it contains whole grains like Teff, Buckwheat, Quinoa and Millet flours. It even has special probiotics that survive the heat with baking. I’ve raved about it before in my review of all the baking mixes but now I appreciate all these things even more!
Want to know the best thing about the Enjoy Life Mixes (and also true of all products)? They are all made in dedicated Top 8 Free Food Allergen facility. I know I won’t have to worry about cross-contamination of peanuts, tree nuts, egg, milk, soy or shellfish/seafood. Zero risk of the Top 8 Allergens = less worrying. And piece of mind is priceless.
So a Muffin Mix for a quick bread or pound cake, huh? Well, why not? Muffins, pound cakes and quick breads are all very similar desserts. Traditional pound cakes called for a ‘pound’ of each ingredient but that doesn’t hold true for most pound cake recipes now. Don’t even get me started with egg free gluten free poundcake… Quick breads are essentially giant muffins with similar structures. But then we have cake and cupcakes. Cupcakes are miniature cakes but have similar shapes as muffins. The ingredients are similar but the toppings typically sets a muffin and cupcake apart. But the lines get blurred when muffins contain sugary glazes and other decadent toppings.
So really, this cranberry bread is a cranberry pound cake or cranberry muffin OR just cranberry cake. Which ever you’d like to call it, it’s down right delicious!
This gluten free orange cranberry pound cake is just one possibility of using a mix that already contains all baking ingredients, binder and sweeter. Just throw everything in a bowl and mix. Washing the cranberries takes the longest. If you can’t find fresh cranberries (or vow you do not like them) you can substitute another fruit like cherries. But if you can find fresh cranberries, and want those lovely sugared cranberries on top (I call them sparkling cranberries, you can find them here), plan on making these in advance the night before or while the bread is baking and cooling. I added applesauce and a little maple syrup for extra texture and keep things super moist.
A few things to note about this recipe and I’ll let you get to baking…
Use a water bath to help control your oven temperature and add moisture. This method will also help avoid an extreme cracked peak in the center. The crust on the bread won’t develop as fast and be able to expand with less of a large crack in the center overall. Just an FYI, a cracked top is considered normal for muffins and quick breads. That’s fine and all but with gluten free egg free baking, that deep crack will cause those middle pieces to fall apart when sliced. And no one wants that. 🙁
This bread will also brown rather quickly at this temperature from the sugar and maple syrup. Check the bread occasionally to ensure over browning (aka burning 😛) doesn’t happen. To control browning, cover the top loosely with a foil tent about half way through at 30-35 minutes. It is completely optional to add the orange juice in the glaze, orange zest, or just use water if you cannot tolerate citrus fruits.
All right, that’s all you need to know about this gorgeous and ridiculously easy gluten free orange cranberry bread.
Now that I’ve given you this lovely cake, I have to get on that Christmas shopping thing. I’ve delayed it long enough. It’s off to the malls and stores… gah. Just thinking about it makes me exhausted. Do you feel like this too? If so, I give you my full permission to make things easier this busy holidays season and use a mix. You will thank me later. 😉
- 1 box Enjoy Life Foods Muffin Mix
- ½ cup palm shortening or oil of choice
- 1½ cups unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cups + 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1½ cup fresh cranberry (frozen is ok, do not thaw)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4-5 tsp fresh orange juice
- 1 cup sparkling cranberries (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F for at least 15 minutes with a shallow pan filled with water on the lowest rack.
- In a large bowl combine mix, melted oil, applesauce and maple syrup. Mix well removing any lumps. Fold in cranberries and gently mix. Pour into an oiled a 9x5 bread pan.
- Bake at 375 for 45-1 hour (mine took 54 minutes). Cover with a tent foil halfway (30-35 minute) to avoid over browning.
- Check the center with a toothpick; when it comes out clean it's done. Or use a thermometer to reach 180 F.
- Let bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes then gently move to a wire rack. Allow bread to cool off completely before icing.
- Mix powdered sugar and fresh juice orange until a thick smooth glaze forms. Feel free to add 1-2 tsp orange zest.
- Pour over completely cooled bread and top with sparkling cranberries.
Find all the entire line of Enjoy Life Baking Mixes here. To see all the latest from Enjoy Life Foods including recipes and the latest news, be sure follow them their social media on Facebook and Twitter
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Enjoy Life Foods. Thank you for allowing me to work with brands that fit our allergy needs!
Some other things you may like:
Rainbow Fruit Pizza (dairy free egg free Vegan)
Chocolate Cherry Muffins (gluten free egg free dairy free Vegan)
Snowman Cookie Pops (gluten free egg free dairy free Vegan)
Chocolate Covered Cookie Dough Bites (gluten free Vegan FodMaps Friendly)
Jenn @ peas and crayons says
I didn’t know enjoy life made muffin mix!!! AWESOME!!!
Laura says
Yep, they do! They have a pancake, pizza, brownie and all purpose mix too. All of them are pretty amazing!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
This is just so festive and fun bread! O my goodness and I love how easy it is!
Laura says
Thank you Rebecca! We can all use extra time around the holidays!
Sylvie says
Love the beautiful and very festive topping!
Laura says
Thank you so much Sylvie! The topping makes it look sophisticated even though it’s sooo easy!
Des @ Life's Ambrosia says
Those cranberries are so pretty!! Love this!
Laura says
Thank you so much Des!
Kelly says
This bread is gorgeous, Laura! You are such a super mom! I don’t know how you do it because I’m definitely tired all the time and that’s without having to make allergy-friendly foods on a regular basis. I love that you can grab this mix from Enjoy Life Foods to help make things easier. Good luck with all the holiday prepping!
Laura says
Thank you Kelly! I think your relatives would like this mix too. You are always so supportive baking them special allergy treats. I hope you can rest up for the holidays too!
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven says
How gorgeous is this bread?? I absolutely love that it starts with a muffin mix—so perfect for when you get that holiday sweets craving that demands that you feed the sweet tooth! 😉
Laura says
Right? Easy but impressive desserts are the best! Thanks Sarah!
Andi @ The Weary Chef says
This is my kind of bread! Looks gorgeous and delicious! Love those toppings, too! 🙂
Laura says
Gorgeous is always a good thing, but delicious is even better with allergy baking! 😉 Thanks Andi!
Maryanne @ the little epicurean says
This is beautiful and super festive! During this busy and hectic time, I often use mixes to help ease the stress. It makes relaxing and partying SO MUCH easier 🙂
Laura says
You are SO smart Maryanne! I’m just learning mixes are the way to go during this crazy busy time. Thank you so much!
Mariah @ Mariah's Pleasing Plates says
That is one gorgeous bread girfriend! Cranberries are my favorite this time of year!
Laura says
Thanks Mariah! Cranberries are great in just about anything!
Tessa@TessaDomesticDiva says
I love cranberries and I am eager to try ENjoy Life’s new flours…I have always been happy with their products!
Laura says
I think you’d love the Enjoy Life flours. And I know you’ll appreciate the whole grains filled with nutrition instead of starchy fillers! Thanks so much Tessa!
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says
I have no idea how it became December. It was June just last week…or so it feels anyway. But if being December means I get delicious treats like this bread, then I say Yay December.
Laura says
Right?! Talk about feeling a little panicked on time! The Holidays make all the rushing and party hosting worth it when time is spent with family and friends. And of course you can eat all the cranberry bread you want. 😀
Brianna @Flippin' Delicious says
I just love the cranberries on the top. I’m going to have to make some sparkling cranberries.
The waterbath is a great idea!
Laura says
Thank you so much Brianna! Those sparkling cranberries are so easy to make. They make it look impressive, like you’ve slaved away making an intricate dessert but really didn’t at all!. 😉
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
What a delicious treat! I agree, I’m dragging due to the holidays! I’ll need a vacation when this is all over with!
Bethany says
This bread looks delicious, and the cranberries on top are oh, so beautiful!