If you are looking for a really delicious easy Christmas cranberry cake then you are in the right place. In this fun Christmas loaf cake, I combine the iconic flavours of Terry’s Chocolate Orange and cranberries to make a delicious and easy cranberry chocolate chip cake.
This chocolate cranberry loaf cake is a soft Christmas sponge with chocolate orange pieces. Then I added dried cranberries to add some beautiful sweetness to the finished bake. A wonderful bake for a Christmas afternoon tea. It’s also a lovely easy Christmas chocolate loaf cake for friends and family, which isn’t your usual fruit cake. Enjoy my chocolate cranberry loaf.
Sponsored Post in collaboration with Terry's Chocolate Orange
To celebrate the release of Terry’s Chocolate Orange bars, I have been working with them to create this delicious Chocolate orange and cranberry loaf cake. This chocolate cranberry loaf is a simple bake but tastes even more incredible than it looks from my photos.
Why you’ll love this Chocolate Cranberry Cake recipe
- It’s so adaptable, if you don’t have a chocolate orange chocolate bar then you can use milk chocolate and some grated orange zest to the mix.
- It makes an amazing alternative to Christmas pudding, it’s warm and the chocolate cranberry loaf is wonderful with ice cream.
- It has Terry’s chocolate orange in… need I say more?
Top Questions
Can I use fresh cranberries in a chocolate cranberry cake?
How long will the Chocolate Cranberry Cake last?
What flavours are in a Christmas loaf?
Can I make this Chocolate Cranberry Cake if I can’t find the Terry’s Chocolate Orange bar?
Terry’s Chocolate Orange Bars
It’s a soft and moist loaf cake packed full of the chocolate, orange and cranberry flavours from the new Terry’s Chocolate Orange bar.
I loved making this Christmas loaf cake but I also loved eating it. It was special and totally moreish. I think we all went back for seconds and third slices. Who could blame us, just look at it. The beautiful cream cheese chocolate buttercream was so smooth and licking the spoon is definitely encouraged.
Chocolate Cranberry Cake Ingredients
For the full recipe and instructions scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card.
Terry’s Chocolate Orange Bars
In the range of new bars from Terry’s Chocolate Orange, there was something new to discover. They are the traditional and favourite iconic flavour of the chocolate orange. However, there are also two new flavours.
The two new bars from Terry’s Chocolate Orange are the limited edition cranberry bar and the biscuit bar. They are both the normal chocolate orange chocolate but with tasty things added to add a little extra something special.
There are also two more bars which you are going to have to try. I’ve already bought a few more bars from the supermarket after trying them. I want to make sure I have enough of them to last me for the festive period. Mostly so I can make this chocolate loaf cake again.
I adore this Chocolate cranberry cake. The mix of Terry’s chocolate orange with cranberries is a beautiful combination of rich chocolate, citrus and sweet cranberries. I adore it!
Cranberries
In this christmas loaf cake I used dried cranberries. You can use fresh cranberries but beware they will be more tart and change the overall flavour.
When you use the dried cranberries you can chose to use them straight from the packet or you can soak them in orange juice to rehydrate them a little. I just add them straight into the mix and the moisture from the cake will keep them soft.
Milk chocolate
I use milk chocolate for this recipe but if you want to change it you can. Simply swap out the milk chocolate for dark chocolate or white chocolate.
How to make – step by step
Add the caster sugar and light brown soft sugar to a bowl.
Add in the unsalted butter or stork baking butter.
Mix together until light and fluffy. The mix should be smooth and the sugar should have dissolved.
Add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix well to combine the mixture.
Sieve in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Give it a good stir.
Chop up the Terry’s Chocolate orange bar. Or a milk chocolate bar if you can’t find the bar.
Terry’s Chocolate Orange cranberry bar.
Mix in the chocolate bar. If you have milk chocolate you can add some orange zest at this point to add the extra orange flavour.
Chop up extra dried cranberries and mix them in.
Give everything a great mix together.
Add the mixture to a loaf tin and bake until golden brown.
Christmas chocolate loaf cake ideas
Other ideas I have had for a chocolate cranberry layer cake loaf include orange and cinnamon loaf, chocolate and cherry loaf (a take on a black forest combination of flavours), cranberry and orange loaf and mulled wine loaf (stay tuned for this recipe is coming out soon).
You can also decorate this Christmas Loaf cake with dried orange slices, they smell amazing while cooking/ drying out and look perfect scattered across your cake board.
Top Tips
- Use a few slices of Terry’s chocolate orange to decorate the top of the cranberry chocolate recipes.
- Dried cranberries make a wonderful addition to the cranberry and milk chocolate loaf cake. Fresh cranberries are very tart but are not edible raw. They look gorgeous as decorations but remind guests to remove them before eating.
- Best enjoyed warm as an un-iced cake in my opion when you want a Christmas comfort food.
- Decorating with the chocolate cream cheese is a great way to dress up the chocolate loaf cake for a party.
Serving Suggestions – How to serve a Chocolate Cranberry Cake?
Serving this cake is easy. Place the loaf cake on a nice shopping board or decorative plate. I leaving a few of the decorations on the plate so little fingers and big kids can start nibbling before the cake has been cut. I would recommend a good inch to two inch thick piece. It’s a good chunky slice but believe me that is a good quantity for an adult. It will be enjoyed a lot!
If you have added a the chocolate segments like in the photo below I would cut a slice so each slice had two pieces of chocolate on. It’s a great way to help keep the slices the same size.
Equipment
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- Mixing bowl,
- Wooden spoon
- Electric hand mixer
- Sieve
- Loaf tin and loaf tin liner or greaseproof paper
- Weight scales!
Dark Chocolate Cranberry Loaf Cake Substitutions and variations
If you wanted to make this cranberry chocolate chip cake even more Christmassy the other flavours I would recommend adding to your Christmas loaf include ground cinnamon, maybe a little pinch of ground cloves as that flavour goes so well with cranberries and orange.
Cloves and chocolate are a bit more unusual together but I adore them. I would definitely say only add a little though as it is a strong flavour for sure. Other flavours you could add include ground ginger and mixed spice. Oh the new Christmas loaf ideas I’m having right now!
Storing Chocolate Cranberry Cake / Making ahead of time options
Chocolate cranberry loaf cake is so tasty straight out of the oven, serve it warm with ice cream or fresh cream. It’s the perfect Christmas layer dessert.
You can store the loaf cake in an air-tight container in a cool, dark cupboard. It will keep for about 3 days. If you want to make this cranberry orange loaf cake ahead of time, simply bake and then wait to decorate when you’re ready to serve.
FAQS
Can I use fresh cranberries in a chocolate cranberry cake?
You can use fresh cranberries in a chocolate cranberry cake but I wouldn’t recommend it, fresh cranberries are incredibly tart and can overtake the chocolate orange flavours in the chocolate cranberry cake.
How long will the Chocolate Cranberry Cake last?
The Chocolate cranberry cake will last about 3-5 days if stored in a cool place, in an air tight container. Somewhere cool is preferred to the fridge. As cake doesn’t like the fridge too much as it’s a bit cold and will affect the cake. ,
What flavours are in a Christmas loaf?
To make a Christmas loaf you need the iconic flavours of Christmas. In the case of this Christmas loaf I have opted for chocolate, orange and cranberry. Three flavours which work so well together. A few people don’t believe cranberry and chocolate go together but they really really do. I promise.
Can I make this Chocolate Cranberry Cake if I can’t find the Terry’s Chocolate Orange bar?
Yes you absolutely can make this if the new limited edition is unavailable. If you can’t find the Terry’s Chocolate Orange Cranberry bar you can use a normal chocolate bar chopped up and add some dried cranberries into the cake mix.
For the best results chop the chocolate bar on an angle. By chopping against the normal squares you can create a beautiful shard of chocolate. This then mixes in really easily and is so tasty! It also looks so good too. I find this helps keeps the chunks smaller so the chocolate doesn’t sink while the chocolate orange loaf is baking.
The incredible flavours of this cake is easy and I’m sure it will be enjoyed time and time again. It definitely will in out house.
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Recipe
Milk Chocolate Cranberry Cake
Equipment
- 2lb Loaf tin
- loaf tin liner
- Sieve
- hand whisker
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 250 grams (8.82 oz) unsalted butter or a baking butter like stork
- 250 grams (1.14 cups) light brown soft sugar
- 4 (4) medium eggs
- 250 grams (2 cups) self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1 (1) Terry’s Chocolate Bar with cranberries or 90g milk chocolate
- 50 g (0.41 cups) dried cranberries
- zest of half an orange
- 125 g (4.41 oz) unsalted butter
- 150 g (1.25 cups) icing sugar / confectioners sugar
- 180 g (6.35 oz) Cream Cheese
- 3 tablespoons (3 tablespoons) cocoa powder
- sprinkles
- dried cranberries
Instructions
- Line a 2lb loaf tin with a liner and preheat the oven to 180ºC/160º fan.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one a time and mix in.
- Sieve the flour and baking powder in to the mix and gently stir it in.
- Chop up the chocolate bar and add to the mix.
- Lightly chop the dried cranberries and add to the mixture along with the orange zest.
- Add to the prepared loaf tin.
- Pop into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack.
- In a mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar together to make a smooth buttercream.
- Drain off any excess water in the cream cheese and add it to the buttercream mix along with the vanilla extract.
- Beat again until smooth and pop it in the fridge to set slightly.
- When the cake is cool add the cream cheese buttercream and use the back of spoon to smear it all over.
- Add your decorations and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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This was great! Had lots of great flavors, love it!
Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This loaf is beautiful! Such a perfect centerpiece for the holidays.
Thank you. A centre piece for sure. I will have to make another.
This looks so delicious and yummy! I can’t wait to make this! My family is going to love this recipe!
I really hope they love it x
This looks so decadent and delicious!! Can’t wait to try the recipe 🙂
I really hope you enjoy it!
I love this idea of cake topping! So smart and looks beautiful. Just a perfect cake for holidays!
Thank you that is so kind of you