Author: The clouds part, and a chorus of angles sing as a picture of this Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf appears. 🎶 "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh" 🎶
Too dramatic? NEVER!
But seriously, does this or doesn't this loaf look heavenly. It does. It really does. Pour me some coffee and serve me a slice of this cake and you just found my happy place. The cake is moist, sweet, and I love how every now and then you get a tart taste of cranberry or a crunch of pistachio.
Not a fan of all that icing? It's totally fantastic without and still looks just as pretty as a picture. ...well it is a picture, so... you get it. I am loving how the cranberries and pistachios make this loaf so festive! Perfect to serve Christmas morning or during the holiday season.
Now for story time: Find a comfortable seat. Ready?
I became friends with Andrew from One Ingredient Chef, when I unsubscribed from his blog newsletter. Let me explain. I decided to follow all of my favourite people on Bloglovin' because as a blogger, I get A LOT of email, and I thought it would be easier to keep track of my favourite blogs this way. I didn't want Andrew to get offended so I sent him an email explaining and it turns out we became good buds and started sending music videos back and forth to each other. (I like reggae, he likes dance).
Then one fine email day, we thought it might be fun to do something where we could collaborate on some awesome vegan ideas, and so we came up with something we like to call the Vegan Mystery Box Challenge!
"What is this mysterious challenge", you ask?
Andrew and I selected 3 mystery ingredients, and then we challenged vegan (or mostly vegan) bloggers from across the web to create a recipe using these three ingredients! Everyone posts their recipes at the same time, and share each others recipes with our readers to see what everyone came up with! How fun is that, right!? It's very fun.
We were so excited when so many people signed up, and I was even more excited when I saw how different each and every recipe turned out.
So what were the three mystery ingredients? Cranberries, pistachios, and coconut milk! (Yeah, we went for the holiday colours). The recipe I came up with was this Vegan Cranberry Pistachio Loaf.
Check out all of these amazing recipes from the first ever Vegan Mystery Box Challenge:
Magic Fruit Cake Bars with White Chocolate Drizzle by One Ingredient Chef
Cranberry Cheesecake & Pistachio Stuffed Vegan French Toast by Connoisseurus Veg
Pistachio Crusted Cranberry Cashew Coconut Cheese by Lemon and Coconut
Cranberry Pistachio and Mango Salad by Veggies Save the Day
Cranberry Cointreau Coconut Ice Cream with Candied Pistachios by Vegan Yack Attack
Cranberry Pistachio Donuts by Two City Vegans (Casey)
Cranberry Pistachio Gingersnap Truffles by Two City Vegans (Alix)
Warm Barley Bowl with Roasted Brussels, Sweet Potatoes and a Coconut Curry Dressing by Taste Space
Whole Wheat Cranberry Pistachio Vegan Biscotti by Veggie Inspired Journey
Coconut Pistachio Cashew Cheese Panini with Cranberry Jam by Peppers and Peaches
Toasted Pistachio Rice Pudding with Candied Cranberries by The Lazy Vegan Baker
Pistachio and Cranberry Cream Sandwich Cookies by Love Me Feed Me
Vegan Meringue Nests with Cranberry Coconut Whip and Crushed Pistachios by The Viet Vegan
Vegan Coconut Quinoa Salad by Beets Not Meats
Cranberry Orange & Pistachio Muffins With Vanilla Cream by A Virtual Vegan
Gourmet Lazy Cabbage Rolls by Choose to Cook
Sweet Potato Coconut Curry with Cranberries and Pistachios by The Tofu Diaries
Lebanese Semolina Pudding (Layali Lubnan) by Lands and Flavors
Vegan Chocolate Cranberry Cake by The Seasonal Diet
Jolly Bollywood Holiday Curry by Sexie Veggies
Are you not blown away by that list!? I am seriously so impressed at how many people participated AND how many creative recipes everyone came up with. It just shows that you can take the same 3 ingredients and have endless ways to prepare them! So much fun.
Let me know in the comments if you love this challenge, and if you think Andrew and I should start working on round two! If you're a vegan blogger and would to join in on the fun, sign up for the next Vegan Mystery Box Challenge. Follow the Vegan Mystery Box Challenge on social media with #VMBC
Once you are done drooling over all of the recipes, we return to my cranberry pistachio loaf cake, and I'll show you how to make this heavenly cake.
Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk together all the wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
Pour the wet into the dry, and stir until just combined. Add in the cranberries and pistachios and mix in. Be careful not to over mix.
Pour the batter into a lightly greased loaf pan, then sprinkle some more cranberries and pistachios down the center of the batter. Bake for around 1 hour until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
If you wish to make the icing, mix together all the icing ingredients, then drizzle over the completely cooked cake.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Cranberry & Pistachio Loaf
Servings: loaf (about 12 slices)
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Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup light oil, (such as canola or vegetable oil)
- 2 tablespoons orange or lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the fruit & nuts:
- 1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, (plus ¼ cup for topping)
- ⅓ cup shelled pistachios, (plus 1 tablespoon for topping)
For the Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- To make the loaf: Preheat the oven to 375F (190C). Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl whisk together all of the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add in 1 cup of cranberries, and ⅓ cup pistachios into the batter, and stir until they are just mixed in. Don't over mix your batter.
- Pour into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of cranberries, and 1 tablespoon of pistachios down the center of the batter. Bake for about 55 to 65 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- To make the icing: Mix all of the icing ingredients together. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle the icing over the cake.
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕
Bon Appetegan!
Sam.
grace says
you aced this challenge, i'd say! the colorful add-ins are perfect for the season too. 🙂
Sam says
Aww thanks so much Grace!
Maureen Cram says
Can I use dried cranberries instead of the fresh ones? Can't get them here in South Africa. Guess it would work and then just reduce the sugar a bit to counteract the sugar in the dried cranberries? And are the pistachios salted or just shelled or what?
Sam says
Hi Maureen, I haven't tried it with dried cranberries myself, but I think it would work just fine. If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out for you. The pistachios are just shelled, but if you have salted ones those would work well too. Enjoy!
Emilie @ Emilie Eats says
This is such a cool idea!! Good thing the ingredients all worked together and weren't weird (sometimes I watch Chopped and I'm just like, WHAT?). This bread looks like something my non-vegan crew would loooove!
Sam says
Haha! We weren't up for making everyone sweat, we just wanted everyone to make something delicious! I don't think anyone would know this cake was vegan!
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack says
I feel as though to leave off the icing would be a sin! This loaf is certainly gorgeous! Thank you for putting the VMBC together! 🙂
Sam says
I do LOVE the icing, in my mind it is necessary as well! Thanks so much for being part of the challenge Jackie 🙂
Natalie Tamara says
Hehe that's a great story of how you two met! I love the look of this recipe - I'm already imagining a slice (or two) with a mug of coffee, yum. Thanks so much for organising the challenge, it's been so much fun taking part 🙂
Sam says
Haha thanks! Thanks for being part of the challenge Natalie!
Sarah says
This cake is beautiful! Thanks for letting us be part of your challenge! Super Fun:)
Sam says
Thank you! I'm so happy you were part of it 🙂
Omar @ Lands & Flavors says
This looks superb! I love that you used fresh cranberries so they can burst into little pops of tanginess throughout the loaf. And that drizzle! 🙂 Thanks again for organizing the VMBC!
Sam says
You're very welcome Omar! Yes, the cranberries are an awesome taste surprise throughout the loaf 🙂
Arlene says
I LOVE the idea. You are definitely on to something. Perfect for a Vegan Chopped TV show. The concept is terrific and since becoming vegan, I've stopped watching Chopped and would love to see this instead. You guys did a great job launch this, the possibilities are endless.
Sam says
Aww shucks, thanks so much Arlene!! (and also thanks for feeding me delicious vegan things last night!)
Andrew - One Ingredient Chef says
Incredible! I know what to do with the mountains of pistachios and cranberries that I bought for this challenge, haha!
Thank you for setting this up with me! Everyone did an amazing job and it couldn't have been better 🙂
Sam says
Didn't they!! I feel like a proud parent, so happy that everyone made such scrumptious recipes. Thanks for doing this with me pal! Was so fun 😀
angie says
This sounds really yummy! Are there any other subs for the oil?
Sam says
Here are some tips on baking without oil. I haven't tried any of these in this recipe, so I don't know how it will turn out, but if you give it a go, let us know!
Monique Nelson says
This loaf defintely looks at heavenly as you describe - I can't wait to try it! This is the first year I'm bringing my "Vegan" self home to my family for the holiday and a lot of these recipes are going to be featured! I'll be doing a lot of cooking to eliminate the "I don't know what to feed you" woes AND convince everyone just how easy and great it is to be Vegan!
Thanks for hosting this challenge, letting me be a part of it, and just for being great like you are!
Sam says
Haha, sounds like my holiday! It's always fun to impress omnis with your amazing vegan cooking!
Aww shucks! You're very welcome, glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Leah M @ love me, feed me says
This is such a gorgeous loaf!
Thanks so much for organizing this challenge Sam! It was so much fun! Hope there are more in the future 🙂
Sam says
You're welcome Leah! It was a lot of fun, I'm glad you enjoyed it too 🙂
Amy (Lemon and Coconut) says
Hey Sam! The cake looks gorgeous! Have loved being a part of VMBC - thanks! X X
Sam says
Thank you, and you're so welcome!
Casey says
Sam, this looks incredible! LOVE that icing, too. Thanks so much to you both or hosting this. Alix and I will do it again for sure!
Sam says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed the challenge, and thank you so much!
Tiffany says
Looks so yummy! ☺ How would one get in on this vegan recipe creating fun?
Sam says
You can sign up here: Vegan Mystery Box Challenge.
Amy Katz says
This looks amazing, Sam! Thank you for including me in the VMBC. It was so much fun! I can't wait to do it again.
Sam says
You're so welcome Amy! I look very forward to the next one as well 🙂
Angie S says
That looks AMAZING! Is the coconut milk from the can? I'm assuming so, but want to make sure, because I WILL be making this!
Sam says
Yes, canned coconut milk it is. I hope you love the recipe 🙂
Angie S says
Thank you! We are going to use this to replace the Pumpkin bread we gave out to friends/neighbors/co-workers... you get the idea. I was looking for a "Change serving size" option but didn't find one so I guess I'll have to "math" and hope for the best! 🙂
Sam says
You're welcome! If you would like to calculate a different portion size you can try using this calorie counter Hope that helps!
Jenn says
This was such a fun challenge!! Thanks for "hosting" it! And this loaf looks amazing!! Can't wait to try it!
Sam says
You're so super welcome Jenn! 😀
janet @ the taste space says
Great ingredient selection, Sam. It was nice to work with some festive flavours.
Your loaf looks like it would fit right in for the holidays.
Sam says
Thanks Janet! We were hoping for some festive recipes. Thanks for being part of the challenge 🙂
Jenny D says
Definitely yes to the frosting!! I wish I had a slice right now with my coffee...as soon as I restock my pistachios & cranberries it's happening. Love how Easy it is to make. Thanks for creating the VMBC - so awesome!
Sam says
I wish I did too!! Me and my roommate plowed through this cake, not a scrap left. You're so welcome! It was so much fun to do, I hope we repeat it many times to come in the future. 🙂