Whole Wheat Orange Cranberry Loaf

Wow!  What a beautiful Sunday we had here in Halifax.  Real 'Spring' must be coming soon, PLEASE let it be coming soon.  The day just flies by when we can get out for leisurely walks, park trips, or just puttering around the backyard.

We got Boo's new sand and water table set up today.  It was an early Easter gift from her grandparents and probably the best gift ever for her.  She just loves shoveling the sand into her little animal cups and when it's warm enough to put water in the other side, she is going to be beside herself :)

The weather forecast for the rest of the week looks less than lovely, so I decided to put off my weekly baking and enjoy this beautiful day as much as I could.  This delicious loaf is one that I made last weekend and will be making again this week.  Truthfully, I adore lemon loaf more than anything, but this is a pretty good alternative, especially with it's Cointreau-spiked glaze.

My Whole Wheat Orange Cranberry Loaf

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp grated orange zest (zest of one medium orange)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (LOCAL!)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup orange juice (juice of 1 1/2 oranges, topped up with water, milk or almond/soy milk to 3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Grease and flour and 9x5" loaf pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter and sugar together well.  Add egg and continue to beat another minute or so.  Add in juice and vanilla and mix until well combined.  Combine remaining dry ingredients (except cranberries) and mix in by hand until just moistened, adding in cranberries at the very end.  Scrape into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.

While loaf is baking, prepare glaze:

Juice of half an orange (1/4 cup ish)
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp Cointreau (optional, but Mmm!)

Mix together juice and sugar and heat in small saucepan until sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add Cointreau.  (I normally throw the sugar and juice in the microwave for 30-60 seconds instead).

When loaf is done, immediately poke a few holes in the hot loaf with a toothpick or wooden skewer and spoon glaze over the loaf, allowing it to sink in.

This loaf really really needs to rest.  Please let it cool and wrap it up airtight and let it rest for at least 24 hours before slicing, it gets better over time.