This aromatic fruit and nut loaf is loaded with the natural sweetness of dried cranberries and raisins, paired with the satisfying crunch of walnuts. Some orange zest goes a long way to making this loaf smell heavenly, and we recommend pairing this with a dab of salted butter and a cup of citrus tea!
About the water… You’ll notice this recipe’s ingredients calls for 500ml of hot water. Don’t worry – this isn’t actually for baking. You’ll be soaking the dried berries in the hot water. This plumps them up and gets them nice and juicy. The second thing is that we’ll be filling a baking tray with water and placing it at the bottom rung or rack of your oven. What we’re doing is essentially a water bath. The water bath adds moisture to the oven’s environment so that your bakes receive moist, even heat all around and don’t crack. It’s great when you’re baking foods like cheesecakes, custards or soft breads. You can thank us later!
Lastly, keep an eye on the loaf towards the end of the baking time. If it starts browning too fast, cover it with aluminium foil – this will slow down the heating process for the top.
