Honey and Blood Orange Loaf
With a soft, moist crumb and a lightly sweetened flavor, this Honey & Blood Orange loaf is a great slice for breakfast, a mid-day coffee or tea break, or dessert. If Blood Oranges are out of season, or you just want to use a different fruit, the citrus can easily be swapped out for regular oranges, lemon, or even grapefruit which means you can make this quick loaf all year long! Yields 1 8.5″x4.5″ or 9″x5″ loaf
Prep Time
15minutes
Cook Time
45-50minutes
Prep Time
15minutes
Cook Time
45-50minutes
Ingredients
Honey & Blood Orange Loaf
Blood Orange Glaze
Instructions
Honey & Blood Orange Loaf
  1. Make sure the oven rack is positioned in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease or coat a 8.5″x4.5″ (or 9″x5″) loaf pan with nonstick spray. Tip: To make removing the loaf a bit easier, line the pan across the long side with a piece of parchment paper (as seen in photos above). Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and the zest of 1.5 blood oranges. Set aside.
  3. In a small bowl or a glass, whisk together the juice of 1 1/2 blood oranges and 1/2 a lemon* with the non-fat, plain Greek yogurt until fully combined. Set aside.
  4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and honey. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until light and fluffy.** Add in the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
  5. Alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the yogurt mixture. Start with 1/3 of the dry ingredients, 1/2 of the yogurt and continue to alternate, ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until the batter just comes together, being careful not to overmix.
  6. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake 45-50 minutes until the edges are firm and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out with just a few crumbs. If using a 9″x5″ pan, note that your loaf may take a couple of minutes less to bake.
  7. Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool completely in the pan set atop a wire cooling rack. Once cool, either turn over the pan or pull on the parchment paper to lift the loaf from the pan; set back on the cooling rack.
Blood Orange Glaze
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted powdered sugar, milk, and the juice from the remaining half of your blood orange until fully combined. Pour or spoon over the top of your loaf and allow to set before slicing.
Recipe Notes

*If using different citrus fruits, keep in mind that you’ll need a total of 1/2 cup (or 100mL) of juice.

**Mixture split or curdle?  That’s okay!  It just means that your butter and eggs were probably at different temperatures.  Just keep going.  Once you add the flour it will all come together and will sort itself out during the bake.

I like to wrap my loaf cakes in wax paper before covering with plastic wrap or foil to help keep the moisture in.  Store the loaf on the counter for two days or in the refrigerator for about 1 week (if it lasts that long!).

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