This Easy Cranberry Orange Babka is a flavorful sweet bread that’s perfect for the cranberry and Christmas season. The babka is beautifully braided and has an impressive look. With its soft crumb and tangy cranberry-orange filling, this bread makes a great treat for breakfast or as a snack throughout the day.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Babka.
For this easy babka recipe, you must first prepare the dough. Knead all ingredients together and let rise at room temperature or in a warm place for about an hour until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, prepare the cranberry and orange filling. It’s quick and easy and takes no longer than 10 minutes. I like to sift the cranberry sauce for a smooth filling, but feel free to puree it or leave it as is.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a rectangle. Spread the cranberry and orange filling evenly, leaving a border of about 1 inch around the edges. Roll out the dough and cut the stem in half lengthways with a sharp knife.
Carefully braid the two pieces and place the braided bread in a loaf tin lined with parchment paper. Cover with a kitchen towel, leave to rest and let rise at room temperature for another 20-30 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven.
Bake for about 45 minutes until done. I recommend covering the babka with aluminum foil after the first 15-20 minutes of baking.
Allow to cool completely before slicing. I hope you will try this amazing Cranberry Orange Babka, tag me on Instagram if you do and enjoy as much as we do.
More bread recipes you might like
If you like sweet bread recipes, you might also like this Orange Nutella Walnut Babka. Even if it takes more time to prepare, this babka has an amazing crumb that is irresistible. For easier and quick bread recipes, you might want to try this Cinnamon Braided Bread or this Chocolate Swirl Milk Bread. This Nutella Pull Apart Bread is also a great choice, perfect for any day of the year. For a hearty plaited bread, this Christmas themed plaited bread is a great choice for the Christmas table.
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Cranberry Orange Babka
ingredients
Babka dough
- 2 ⅔ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 Cup (50g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp (2g) salt
- 1¼ tsp (4g) active dry yeast
- 2/3 Cup (160 ml) lukewarm milk
- 1 tsp (5g) Vanilla Extract
- 3 tablespoon (40 g) melted butter
- zest of an orange
- 1 egg beaten
cranberry sauce
- 10 oz (300 g) fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 Cup (100g) sugar
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) orange juice
- zest of an orange
instructions
Prepare the dough.
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In a medium bowl, combine yeast, 1 tsp (5g) sugar, and ⅓ cup (80mL) lukewarm milk. Leave for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the remaining milk, activated yeast, egg, vanilla extract, orange zest and melted butter. Start kneading it until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You can knead the dough by hand or use a hand mixer or stand mixer.
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Give the dough the shape of a ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to stand at room temperature (warm room) for about 1 hour until the volume has doubled.
Meanwhile, prepare the cranberry sauce.
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Place cranberries, sugar and orange juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until thickened.
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Remove from the stove and sieve. Add orange zest, stir and let cool until ready to use.
Assemble Babka.
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On a floured surface, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle about 45 x 25 cm (18 x 10 inches).
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Spread the cranberry sauce evenly, leaving a border of about 1 cm around the edges. Roll up the dough and cut the roll in half lengthways with a sharp knife.
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Start braiding the two sections, trying to reveal the open layers so the cut ends stay up.
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Place the cranberry and orange babka in a 23 x 13 cm (9 x 5 inch) loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
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Leave to rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
How to bake the babka.
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In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C.
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Brush the bread with beaten egg.
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Reduce the oven temperature to 320F (160C).
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Bake for about 45-50 minutes.
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Cover with aluminum foil after about 15-20 minutes if it browns too quickly.
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Allow the cranberry orange babka to cool completely before slicing.
Video
nutrition
Portion: 1 serving of 10Calories: 240kcalCarbohydrates: 44.3GProtein: 4.7GFat: 4.4GSaturated Fatty Acids: 2.4GCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 115mgPotassium: 118mgFiber: 2.1GSugar: 17.3GCalcium: 33mgIron: 2mg