Cranberry lime loaf cake with honey butter glaze

I froze a small box of fresh cranberries leftover from making the orange cranberry cake over Christmas last year. Since that cake went down a treat, I decided to use the rest of the cranberries to make a cranberry and lime loaf. 

Cranberry lime loaf with honey butter glaze

Ingredients

yields a loaf (12 servings)

2 C almond flour

¼ C coconut flour

1 tbsp milled chia seeds, heaped

1½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

⅛ tsp pink salt

½ C Kerrygold butter, softened

½ C demerara sugar + coconut sugar

3 free range extra large eggs

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 tbsp lime zest

juice of 2 limes (≈ ½ C)

1 C fresh cranberries, chopped

2 tbsp organic honey
2 tsbp (28-30g) Kerrygold butter

Method

1. In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add in the sugar mix and beat until lighter and well-combined.
2. Beat in the eggs, one at time, scraping down beaters and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure all ingredients are mixed through.
3. Beat in the vanilla bean paste and lime zest.
4. Mix in the chia seeds and let soak for 10 minutes.
5. In the meantime, mix together the sifted flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
6. When the chia seeds have sufficiently absorbed the liquid, mix in half of the flour mixture, then beat in half the lime juice. Combine thoroughly. The batter may get a bit goopy. Then beat in remaining flour mixture and lime juice until well combined.
7. Fold in the chopped cranberries and let the batter sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
   
8. Preheat the oven to 165°C and grease the loaf pan if required.
9. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and tap a few times on the counter.
10. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.
    
11. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
    
12. To make the glaze: mix the honey and butter in a small pan over medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring until the butter has melted. Boil briefly, for about 1 min, until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and leave to cool until thickened and opaque (this doesn't take long, about 1-2 minutes). 
    
13. Spoon the glaze over the top of the loaf and leave to set.
    
14. Store the loaf in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Slice of cranberry lime loaf with honey butter glaze (glaze just set)

Again, a beautiful loaf. I experimented with milled chia seeds as a binding agent. It worked like a charm and the loaf held together well while still retaining moisture and lightness. I also like the glaze, how simple it was to make, but the taste of honey was a little too obvious and competed with the subtle flavours of cranberry and lime. So I guess I'm still in search of a way to make glaze without icing sugar (or honey!). Any suggestions? I may also do with doubling the recipe for the glaze to cover the whole of the loaf (but this is not essential).

Slice of cranberry lime loaf with honey butter glaze (after chilling)

Another thing is I think more cranberries wouldn't hurt, so I shall add another half two full cup next time.