Cranberries to me spell fall and the holiday season. I love cranberry sauce and when I make it, I always make extra, so I can enjoy it with toast for breakfast. This cranberry orange pecan loaf uses the same sauce that I make for thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Once you try the sauce, you will know why I love it so much.

This cranberry loaf is so moist and delicious and easy to make. Bursting with the citrus flavour of oranges and the aroma and flavour of cloves and cinnamon, it’s going to become your go to.

Ingredients for Leftover Cranberry Sauce Loaf

Fresh cranberries, fresh orange, some pecans, and the usual baking ingredients are what is needed for this recipe.

Ingredients List for Leftover Cranberry Sauce Loaf:

• For the cranberry sauce
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• Zest of one orange
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• For the loaf
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cups light brown sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk (see notes)
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup pecans toasted

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More Breakfast Ideas you will Like:

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Making the Cranberry Sauce

In a medium sized pan, add 2 cups of fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup sugar, the zest of one orange, 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 whole cloves, and salt. Let cook for about 7 -8 mins so most of the cranberries have popped.

Let the sauce cool completely before you make the loaf. Cranberries pop and let go of a lot of their liquid when heated. But once they cool down, the sauce naturally thickens up.

Pecans taste best if they are toasted before you add them to the loaf. Of course, you can add them without toasting, but you will be able to tell the difference if you toast them first.

The Cranberry Loaf Batter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter and 3/4 cup light brown sugar – the sugar and butter should mix well and become slightly fluffy. Add 2 eggs one at a time to the sugar and butter mix. Mix well and then add 1 cup of buttermilk.

NOTE: If you don’t have buttermilk, it’s ok, don’t fret. Take one cup of milk and add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to it and let it sit for about 5 mins. This will help the milk curdle a slight bit and will work just as well as buttermilk does.

In a separate bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. To this, add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Mix well and ensure that the spices are well mixed into the batter.

It’s time to add the cranberry sauce. Again, you want to ensure that the sauce is completely cooled. Add it to the batter and mix the batter really well to combine the cranberries.

Baking the Leftover Cranberry Sauce Loaf

Once you mix the cranberry sauce into the batter, the entire batter’s colour will change and it will take on a pinkish hue. Add the pecans to the batter and with a spatula combine the nuts into the batter.

Butter a 9 x 5 inch bread pan and then sprinkle some all purpose flour in it to coat the butter. Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

Bake the cranberry loaf for about 70 mins. Note that each oven is different, so the baking time will differ. After about 55 mins, insert a toothpick or wooden skewer into the loaf to check for readiness. If the toothpick comes out with some batter on it, then it’s not quite ready. If it comes out clean, the loaf is done. Do not overbake the bread because if you leave it in the oven for too long, it will no longer be moist and will dry up.

Let the loaf cool down in the bread pan for about 5 mins then turn it out onto a cookie tray and let it cool down completely before you cut it into slices.

Serving Suggestions:

Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea, or with ice cream for dessert. I like to warm it up a little and spread a little bit of butter and more cranberry sauce on it.

Variations:

• Don’t like pecans, replace them with walnuts, or blanched whole almonds.
• Try using lemon zest in place of orange zest.

Tried and Liked the Recipe?

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