I have to tell you, baking these mini loaves was quite an unexpected adventure. Everything was going just fine when I mixed them up and put them in the oven and I had no reason to suspect that they would lead to such chaos. It was a Friday night, the kids were just getting ready for bed, and I was looking forward to having a slice of Cranberry Lime Bread in the morning when my husband noticed that the oven was smoking a lot. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. The loaves hadn’t spilled over their pans, but there was some sort of greasy residue on the bottom of the oven that was smoking like crazy.
Knowing the smoke detectors in our house are quite sensitive, we rushed around opening all the windows and doors. Too late! Since they are hard-wired, every single detector went off together, allowing us no respite from the piercing beeps. My kids went outside to get away from it and my husband and I scrambled to air out the house. But it wouldn’t stop. Even after all the smoke had cleared, the shrieking noise kept on until we felt like we were going to go mad. I rushed down to the basement and pulled the circuit breaker and they STILL didn’t stop. I turned off all of the electricity in the house and they STILL didn’t stop. I knew something had to be wrong.
Finally, we called the fire department, thinking they might have some idea how to shut the system down. We figured they’d send over a single car, but to my children’s delight, and that of the neighbors’ children as well, a huge firetruck with lights flashing and four rugged firemen got out. It didn’t take them long to discover the source of the problem. One of the detectors had malfunctioned, and since they are all hard-wired together, it set them all off. And these are the kind that don’t turn off when you take out the battery. They had to disengage the whole system to get the horrible noise to stop. And what a relief it was when it finally did.
It wasn’t until I thought back on what I had cooked and baked recently that I figured out the culprit. Remember the Mini Maple Pumpkin Cheesecakes? Yes, well, I didn’t think to put a pan under them and it seems that a great deal of oil leached out and dripped to the bottom of the oven. Thankfully, the Mini Cranberry Lime Loaves turned out beautifully despite all the excitement. And I enjoyed a slice with my morning coffee…in sweet, beautiful, blessed silence!
Tender low carb loaves with tangy cranberries and bright citrus flavor. Perfect with a cup of coffee!
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener or granulated erythritol
- 3 large eggs
- 20 drops stevia extract
- 2 tbsp lime zest
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 cup cranberries chopped
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener or powdered erythritol
- 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
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Preheat oven to 325F and butter 4 mini loaf pans very well.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add granulated Swerve and beat until lighter and well-combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at time, scraping down beaters and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in stevia extract and lime zest.
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Beat in half of the almond flour mixture, then beat in lime juice. Beat in remaining almond flour mixture until well combined.
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Stir in chopped cranberries and divide among prepared pans.
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Bake 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 5 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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Combine powdered Swerve and lime juice in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Drizzle over cooled loaves.
Serves 16. Each serving has 7 g of carbs and 2.7 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 4.3 g.
Jeanette says
I can just imagine the running around that went on while the alarm was going on! Thankfully, your beautiful Cranberry Lime Bread came out so beautifully!
Lora @cakeduchess says
My kids would love to see the fire trucks come up w/the sirens on. What a baking adventure and these gorgeous loaves weren’t affected at all from the mishap. Love this recipe, Carolyn:)
Katharine says
YUM! Three Things.
1.) SO grateful for the timing of this post b/c I just made the macadamia/lime muffins and while I did like the muffins, my kids weren’t too fond of them.. HOWEVER, they wanted to eat that glaze with a spoon, so I was thinking “what else could I try a similar glaze on…” and voila!
2.) Our traditional Christmas morning breakfast includes a cranberry/orange bread. Full of gluten and sugar. I’m thinking this will be an awesome replacement.
3.) What’s up with smoke alarms?? Ours was going off all weekend. Hubby finally got it to quiet down, but I’m kinda jealous of your run-in with the firemen and firetruck. That would have been a thrill in our cul-de-sac! 🙂
THANKS!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
These look amazing! Funny story!
shelly (cookies and cups) says
I love this flavor combination!!
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
Well these definitely look like they were worth all the drama–they are gorgeous!
RavieNomNoms says
That looks so amazing! Love cranberry and lime together
[email protected] says
Ahhhh, does that ever look good!
[email protected] says
That was quite an exciting night! I can’t stand the sound of smoke alarms!
Love these flavors together! Glad it all turned out well!
Sarah says
I don’t have any mini-loaf pans. Could they translate into 1 or 2 large loaf pans?
Just found out recently our alarms don’t seem to work at all…brand new too. I grabbed one off the wall and stuck it over some smoking item from the stove…nothing, no beeps. Way to feel safe…time for a new brand ASAP.
Carolyn says
Yes, you can easily make one large loaf…You’ll need to bake for more like 50-60 minutes. Glad you found out those smoke alarms weren’t working!
Sarah says
So, would that quadruple the carb count per slice?
Carolyn says
No, no, not at all. When baked in a large loaf, you can cut this into much smaller slices. My recipe made four mini loaves, and I figured they were about 4 servings per mini-loaf. But make a large version and you can cut this into 12 to 16 larger slices. The basic recipe is another version of my Almond Crusted Butter Cake. I adore that recipe, the variations are practically endless! 🙂
Sarah says
Awesome! I am so excited to make this!!
Amanda says
LOVE these loaves!! Cranberry and Lime, what a perfect flavor combo!
Beth @ Tasty Yummies says
These look amazing! Love the colors. Ha and what a fiasco surrounding them too, I bet your kids thought the fire trucks were so cool, but I cannot imagine all of the craziness with that sound carrying on, that is enough to make me feel insane just reading about it 🙂
Carol Lovett says
I would a serving of cranberry lime mini loaves and a side of 4 rugged firemen!
Carolyn says
LOL! Yes, that’s about all we need in life, isn’t it???
claire @ the realistic nutritionist says
These look so awesome!! gluten free too? shuddup.
Alyssa | Queen of Quinoa says
I REALLY need to pick up some almond flour!!! This recipe looks absolutely outstanding 🙂
Carolyn says
Girl, you keep saying that…go out and get yourself some almond flour! 😉
[email protected] says
Oh my goodness….what a funny story! The bread sure did turn out beautiful despite the chaos.
Megans Cookin says
These little breads look awesome and sound awesome!
Funny story about the fire alarm. I know my dog freaks when ours goes off. I hate that sound and I can only imagine your frustration. Glad all is well now!
CJ at Food Stories says
Wow, What a great food story you have here 🙂
You have been nominated for my Food Stories Award for Excellence in Storytelling. I know some bloggers don’t participate in blog awards but I hope you’ll at least check it out because mine is unique in the fact that it is only given to food sites and all the nominees are in the running for the monthly award and prize. If you’re interested, you can check out the details at my site, FoodStoriesBlog dot com and then click on “Food Stories Award” up in the top navigation bar … Either way, love your site and I hope you’re having a great foodie day!
Cindi M. says
Love this recipe & the story to go with it. Already tried your Almond Crusted Butter Cake, which was wonderful. Thank you for sharing!
LG says
this looks fantastic! yum! I can’t wait to try it!
One question — 16 servings is for the whole batch right? (not per loaf)
Carolyn says
For the whole batch, it makes 4 mini loaves, 4 portions per loaf. 🙂
Michele says
Wow. I absolutely adore your web log more with every recipe you post.
Carolyn says
Thank you, Michele! I love hearing that.
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal says
OHHH my WOW! Totally pinning. Totally making it. SOON
Chelsea {Whatcha Makin' Now?} says
Oh my! I love cranberries in baked goods! I never thought about adding lime. That sounds even more delicious.
Sandra's Easy Cooking says
Oh wow…that loaf does look amazing and perfect for the season! Gorgeous pics!
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says
I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t stop laughing. I can only imagine the rush trying to silence those fire-alarms. Glad to hear everything turned out OK and these mini loaves look beautiful!
Katharine says
Am currently eating a piece of this delicious bread. Didn’t even get to the glaze part… perhaps I’ll add some tomorrow… it’s wonderful without it! I can’t believe how much the texture reminds me of a gluten-filled version I used to make. I’m digging the unflavored whey protein powder way more than the vanilla whey protein in recipes. I can’t even detect it. FYI – I think your instructions mean to say “lime zest” in step 3 (there is no mention of lime zest in the instructions). I added the lime juice in step 3. Then saw I was supposed to add lime juice in step 4. It all worked out great, but just for future bakers…
Sharon Glanville at BeBetsy says
This is my kind of recipe – always on the lookout for something low carb and really delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Oh, did I say I love cranberries? I so do. Oh, and the frosting on the top looks really, really yummy!
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal says
Shared this om my blog. Amazing! http://www.sensualappealblog.com/2012/09/29/saturday-pow-1/
Stephanie says
Just wondering if there is anything that could be used as a substitute for the protein powder ?
Carolyn says
YOu need to replace the protein in gluten somehow, but any kind of protein powder will do…hemp, soy or what have you.
Arhelia says
I made these over the weekend! So yummy, my son and I ate a whole loaf but it’s mini :). I did toss the chopped frozen cranberries with a couple tablespoons of truvia and vanilla extract thenit was very liquid which turned my loaves a greyish color so next time I will not let the cranberries bleed into the loaves otherwise very yummy!
Russell van Kraayenburg says
Holy moly these little loafs look incredible! I love the flavor combination here.
TracyKM says
I’ve never paired limes with anything but chocolate! I want to try this! I get confused with recipes that call for “whey protein powder” though. I used to buy a whey concentrate, then was told that whey isolate is better for you. The texture, and amount of protein per scoop is different. I made one recipe that specifically called for whey isolate and some people used whey concentrate and said it turned out tough. So I’m wondering what do you use? I’d love to make these this week!
Carolyn says
I just use whey protein powder, the sort that athletes use to increase muscle. It’s not so much because of the health (when only using a scoop, it adds about 2 carbs for the whole recipe, so that’s not much), but because the protein helps give the baked good structure in the absence of gluten. This is the brand I use: http://www.thehealthyelement.com/products/whey-protein-unflavored-32-oz?gclid=CK7mr42J4rICFYyZ4AodSFEARw#.UGq67lEfg_g but I am sure there are others. I don’t use the isolate at all.
TracyKM says
Thanks for the link! It’s got a lot less protein in it than the isolate I have (and less than the old whey concentrate that I used to use). I think it’s okay to use the isolate in recipes that use the concentrate, because it’s a finer texture, but if you use concentrate when it should be isolate, they turn out chewy.
Just realized I don’t have nearly enough lime juice so I have to wait even longer 🙁 Was hoping to make them for Thanksgiving this weekend!
king says
I already feel hungry after reading it. Looks yummy, need to prepared some soon
Maia @ MaiTreat says
This recipe looks delicious! Now that the weather has turned to fall, a loaf that has the fall element of cranberries, with the summery freshness of lime sounds great. Thanks for sharing! Have you tried using Stevia in this recipe?
Carolyn says
This recipe does contain some stevia…I never use all stevia because I don’t like the aftertaste if I do.
Karen says
If you are allergic to almond can I just substitute gluten free flour mixture? thanks.
Carolyn says
It won’t be a direct substitution. I’d suggest finding a GF quick bread recipe that uses GF flour, and then adding my flavourings.
Vera Zecevic – Cupcakes Garden says
Really nice loaves ! I adore recipe! It goes to my bookmark !
Karen says
One of the many things I love about your page is the fact that you give the nutritional values for each recipe. So many do not and I end up eating too many carbs. You are fantastic in you writing and your recipes. Thanks.
Jan says
These turned out perfectly and were a great excuse to use my mini loaf pans. My best low-carb bread/cake baking effort to date!
Pam says
These were wonderful! I loved the flavor combination and the texture was so like a wheat-flour muffin – as close as anything I’ve tried, and I’ve made a lot of recipes! Thanks, Carolyn.
bilena says
Are you using fresh or dried cranberries in the Mini Cranberry Lime Loaves?
Thanks in advance
Bill
Carolyn says
Fresh! I’d always specify if they were dried. Enjoy!
Beth says
I made the Cranberry Lime Mini Loaves recipe today. I didn’t have any cranberries or lime in the house but I was dying to try this recipe. So, I subbed blueberries and vanilla in the cake and lemon for the icing. It was great! It was my first time using Swerve and I can’t tell the difference between that and sugar! Thank you so much for posting such wonderful recipes!
Carolyn says
Blueberries and lemon are a great combination too!
Ania says
If you made this as a bread loaf how long would you bake it for and would you change anything else? Also, looking to use-up apples from kids’ apple-picking trips. Do you think replacing the cranberries with chopped apples would work?
Carolyn says
It would be fine with chopped apples, although it would have a lot more carbs. For a whole loaf, you’re looking at baking it for almost an hour. Start checking at the 45 minute mark, though.
Angela says
Your bread looks delicious! I can’t use stevia due to intolerance. Do you suppose I could leave it out? Would I just need to add a little more sweetener? I would use xylitol for the sweetener.
Carolyn says
Sure, add about 1/4 cup xylitol.
Aubrey B says
Hello, I was wondering about substituting the whey protein powered for a different kind of protein powder. I was thinking either hemp or egg white. Witch do you think would work best? I really want to make this tomorrow! Looks so good!
Carolyn says
As long as they have about 18 g of protein per 1/4 cup, either would be fine.
Aubrey B says
Would xylitol work as the main sweetener instead of erythritol? I don’t have any erythritol on hand at the moment. Thank you.
Carolyn says
Yes, xylitol would be fine. It might not end up quite as sweet, though, so I would add a little more.
Rachel says
Would this recipe work in a bundt pan?? I don’t have mini loaf pans, and I think the presentation for Thanksgiving would be really pretty as a bundt. Any ideas on cooking time?
Thanks!
P.S. – I love all of your recipes! Any time I make them for a party people go nuts over them. 🙂
Carolyn says
Yes, it absolutely would work in a bundt pan. Check out my hazelnut chocolate chip bundt cake. The baking time should be comparable.
jillian says
having admired these for awhile i finally geared up to make them. the first batch was a failure..a gunky mess. since i tried making them with coconut sugar and egg replacer i decided to try them as is but using sugar as i am allergic to swerve. first they exploded in the oven all over the racks and floor , you can imagine that…but then they sunk down like craters and even after 40 minutes were again gooey and uncooked. disappointed, but giving up now. maybe the sugar does not work?
Anne O says
Carolyn have I told you lately what a HUGE fan I am of yours! I bought a 1lb bag of sugarless dried cranberries from amazon because of this recipe. I just made them…YUM with a capital Y! No mini loaf pans so I filled 12 muffin tins to the brim, baked for 23 minutes at 325 and the results are splendid. Tea and muffins for me in the morning and these are some of your best. Many thanks! Brought the net carb count up to just shy of 6 net carbs per muffin….but so what? I love em.
Carolyn says
Thanks so much, Anne! Glad you love them.
Sandie says
I made this recipe a couple times and love the taste. It has turned out to be my favorite dessert. A year ago, i have up sugar and carbs, so this is my first dessert in a year! Just one question. Both times I made it, when I attempt to cut it, it just crumbles. Am I doing something wrong? I followed the ingredients closely.
Carolyn says
Are you cutting it before it’s completely cool? Because with gluten-free stuff like this, it really needs to be cool. Also just make sure you are gently cutting with a serrated knife.
Sandie says
Yes, I was cutting it when it was cool, but not using a serrated knife. Thanks
Lulu says
This made 12 large lovely muffins with only 5.7g net per muffin. l love cranberries and limes, so this is perfect! The texture is very like cornbread so now I’m eager to try your cranberry jalapeno corn muffins!
Dana says
New to baking low carb and using almond and coconut flours! My bread crumbles, is this expected? or did I miss something? Help is appreciated. Flavor is great!
Carolyn says
What almond flour and coconut flour are you using?
Jennifer Blankinship says
Are the nutrition facts correct?
Carolyn says
As far as I am aware, yes.
Fara says
Hi dear, will it be ok if I don’t add the whey protein powder? Will I need to sub something? I have asked you before if gluten free whey protein powder does the same as a not gluten free but I didn’t get any answer? I have to use a gluten free if I want to, anyway. Thanks