Like the recipes for Irish soda bread? If so, you’re going to enjoy this! A festive take on the classic, my Cranberry Soda Bread is ideal for Thanksgiving, Christmas, holiday entertaining, or just to enjoy with tea.
I felt it would be fitting to make my Irish Soda Bread a little more festive over the holidays, years ago.
So instead of using my usual raisins, I thought I would try adding fresh cranberries and lime zest.
This not only worked, but it’s also quite beautiful and tasty! Everyone who has tried this cranberry soda bread is in love with it—it’s so festive!
Consider a food present, a brunch or breakfast for Christmas, or just because. Delicious!
My Cranberry Soda Bread recipe is delicious and juicy. It’s not at all dry. The tangy taste is well bursted by the cranberries.
I was alone myself in my kitchen, literally, eating bite after bite from the enormous chunk. As I ate, I made pleasant noises like food, haha!
When comparing this “cake-like bread” to a regular Irish soda bread, can you perceive how wet it is? This dish tastes and feels more like a large cranberry scone if you’re a fan of cranberry scones.
I was thinking, “Mmmmm, omnmnmn, mmrrrffffhh, ummmppfhhh,” when I was alone myself in my house. I began to laugh out loud as I realized what I was doing!
I think this bread tastes best warm, kind of like traditional Irish Soda Bread. It’s delicious at any time, but especially fresh from the oven—you’ll be making joyful noises while eating it, hehe!
The dough may be simply placed in your pan and baked as you go. That’s what I usually decide to do. Alternatively, bake it in your own oven and, if it’s still warm, cover it loosely with foil as it travels. Enable steam to escape from the top by leaving the foil open while wrapping from the bottom.
This is a fantastic holiday or everyday food gift idea. Allow it to cool, then place it on a platter and wrap it up with a bow and recipe using one of those see-through gift bags!
What You’ll Need For This Recipe:
- cranberries
- flour
- sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- baking soda
- butter
- lime (optional)
- buttermilk
- heavy cream
- egg
- coarse sugar for dusting
Tips for making soda bread
- You can prepare soda bread in one bowl, and it’s really forgiving. You may put it in the oven in less than ten minutes after preheating the oven and gathering the necessary ingredients and bowl.
- Whether you cook it in an oven-safe pan, a cake pan, or even a cast iron skillet (mine is almost a century old), parchment paper is essential. To help it maintain its form, you should utilize one of those things. Either way, as long as it’s lined with parchment paper, it won’t matter whether it protrudes from the pan. These parchment paper sheets are the greatest; I never travel without them!
- When baking, always make sure your baking soda is fresh—that is, not opened more than a month ago.
- Since American buttermilk lacks the fat content of Irish buttermilk, heavy cream must be added.
- Because cranberries are sour, I suggest halving them and sprinkling them with ¼ cup of sugar while you prepare the batter. Fold them into the batter (if you have time, let them sit that way for around 15 to 30 minutes).
- Let the faeries out at all times! Or the devil, depending on which theory you follow! Once the batter is on the pan lined with parchment paper, create an X or cross on top using a clean, sharp knife.
- For an added sweetness and a shimmering crust, sprinkle coarse decorator sugar over the batter. The finest! These may be purchased on Amazon or in the baking department of most craft stores. I also like to use this sugar to decorate my sugar cookies.
- Bake using the middle rack on top (no rack above).
- When a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mainly clean, not moist, it is done.
- You may split this into two smaller loaves, or bake it into one huge loaf. While smaller loaves will take less time in total, they will usually still require at least 40 minutes.
- A bright pop of color for Christmas, lime zest is entirely optional.
More Cakes You Might Like
Cranberry Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries
- 4 ½ cups of flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar divided
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Dash of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup butter softened
- 2 TBS lime zest optional for a festive look
- 2 cups buttermilk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- Coarse sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Assume a 350° oven temperature.
- A 10- to 12-inch cast iron pan or an ovenproof skillet with two-inch or better sides can be used to produce one big loaf; two smaller cast iron skillets, ovenproof pans, or cake pans can be used to make two loaves.
- Cut a circle of parchment paper large enough to cover the sides and bottom of your pan(s).
- Combine the cranberries and ¼ cup of sugar, then put them aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 ¼ cups sugar until well combined.
- To the dry ingredients, add the buttermilk, heavy cream, egg, cranberries that were tossed with sugar, and butter lime zest. Gently whisk until combined; do not stir too much.
- Scrape mixture into pan(s) and use a sharp knife to cut a shallow “x” in the middle of the dough to “let the faeries out”. To get a lovely crust, dust the loaf(s) with ordinary or coarse decorator sugar. Bake for one hour to one hour and fifteen minutes, or until a toothpick or spear inserted comes out dry. If the loaves are smaller, check them after 45 minutes; otherwise, the baking time may increase to an hour.
- It’s finished when a wooden skewer pushed into it emerges out it not “wet.” Not batter, but wet crumbs will do. If you don’t simply dig in as my family and I do, the bread will cool down a little before being removed from the pan(s) and allowed to cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
To make the loaf more sweet overall, include an extra 2-4 TBS sugar into the dough.
Because this recipe makes a huge loaf, I usually save 25–30% of the batter for a smaller bread for my family, which we devour nearly immediately! I check the smaller loaf after about 35 minutes, depending on its size; the larger loaf often takes an hour.As long as you keep it tightly wrapped, this is fantastic for several days after you prepare it. Simply zap a slice in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds to reheat it thoroughly and spread butter on it.
Wrap a hot loaf in foil if you plan to transport it, but be sure to leave the top open to avoid the heat trapping moisture in the crust.