I’ll be honest – I wasn’t always a fruit cake fan. Back when I was little, the idea of dried fruit in a cake just wasn’t it. But, as I grew older, nowadays, I’m baking not one, but two of these bad boys – one for me and one for the guests. I pack it with pineapple, apricots, cherries, raisins, pecans, dates and a little rum y’all. Yeah, it’s that good, y’all!! It does require a bit of patience and love, but trust me, it’s worth every single minute you spend on it. Thanks to my assistant Lindsay for testing this until it was absolutely perfect.
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How To Make Fruit Cake
Step 1: Soak The Fruit
- Pour rum and cider over all dried fruit, in a shallow enough dish to cover the fruit. Let it sit at least four hours up to overnight.
- Drain any remaining soaking liquid from the fruit. Measure ¼ cup, and reserve the rest.
Step 2: Mix The Cake Batter
- Add butter, both sugars and zests to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Beat on high speed until pale and fluffy. Then, decrease speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, waiting for each to incorporate, scraping the sides of the bowl between each addition.
- Decrease speed to low and add flour, salt, baking powder and soda, and spices. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix!
- Add in soaked fruit, ¼ cup soaking liquid, orange juice, ginger, and pecans. Still on low speed, mix until just combined.
Step 3: Bake And Brush the Cakes
- Prepare two 9×5 inch loaf pans by spraying them liberally with nonstick baking spray.
- Divide the batter evenly into the pans.
- Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached. Then, cool the cakes inside the pans on a wire rack.
- Remove the cakes from the pans, place them on a wire rack, and brush the remaining soaking liquid onto both cakes while warm.
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Fruit Cake Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Soaked Fruit Mixture
- 1 cup pitted dates chopped
- 1 cup dried pineapple chopped
- 1 cup dried apricots chopped
- 1 cup dried cherries
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 1 cup rum
- ½ cup apple cider
For the Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
- ½ cup crystallized ginger
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans toasted
Instructions
For Soaking the Fruit
- Add all fruit to a shallow bowl. Pour rum and cider over all dried fruit making sure all the fruit is covered.Let sit at least four hours up to overnight.
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 300F. Set rack in middle position. Prepare two 9×5 inch loaf pans by spraying liberally with nonstick baking spray.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter, both sugars and zests on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Decrease speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, waiting for each to incorporate, scraping the sides of the bowl between each addition.
- Decrease speed to low and add flour, salt, baking powder and soda, and spices. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Measure 1/4 cup of the soaking liquid from the fruit. Reserve the rest.
- Still on low, add in soaked fruit, ¼ cup soaking liquid you measured, orange juice, ginger, and pecans until just combined.
- Divide batter evenly into prepared pans.
- Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour 35-45 minutes.
- Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan on wire rack.
- Brush the remaining soaking liquid onto both cakes while warm. Cool completely. You can enjoy this cake immediately or later. This cake gets better the longer it sits. You can age the fruit cake by wrapping the loaves in cheesecloth and continually brushing rum onto the cakes and allowing to sit and soak in.
Notes
How To Store
Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil.How Long Will This Fruit Cake Recipe Last?
At room temperature, the fruit cake will stay fresh and delicious for about a week. In the fridge, it can last for up to 3 weeks.Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Fruit cake freezes exceptionally well! To freeze, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil or place it in a freezer-safe bag or container. In the freezer, it can last for up to 6 months.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Soak the Fruit Just Right: Make sure your dried fruits are thoroughly soaked in the rum and cider mix, but not swimming in it. Aim for a good 4 hours to overnight soak.
- Age Your Cake: Wrap it in cheesecloth and periodically brush it with rum over a few days or weeks. This process deepens the flavors and moistens the cake.
- Even Distribution in Pans: This helps both cakes bake uniformly, preventing one from being doughy in the middle while the other is overdone.
Recipe Help
Yep! You can swap in an equal amount of apple juice or another fruit juice.
I don’t recommend it. It can make the cake too moist.
Aging a fruit cake can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on how deep you want the flavors to develop. A minimum of two weeks is usually a good start, but if you have the patience, letting it age for two to three months will intensify the flavors even more.
More Classic Cake Recipes
- The BEST Yellow Cake
- Real Deal Southern Caramel Cake Recipe
- White Cake Recipe
- Easy Carrot Cake Recipe
- Berry Cake
- Jamaican Black Cake
- Rum Cake
*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!* Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!
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I’m definitely a skeptic, but with the soaking and real fruits, I gave your recipe a try…it was totally different. The whole family enjoyed it and have asked me to make it again for Christmas.
You have some great tips for this recipe, but aging the cake is a great tip! Especially with the added rum..so amazing!!
I’m so so glad you enjoyed it!
I never thought I’d say this, but this fruitcake was absolutely delicious. I have never had a fruitcake that makes me want a second piece until this one!
I made this fruit cake over the weekend and it turned out perfectly! Going to make again for Christmas gifts!
Yessss! You are speaking my language here. I will eat fruit cake once a year but I certainly don’t love it. This is the version I prefer with the more approachable dried fruit and loads of rum. It’s the best of both worlds.
This makes me so happy! Fruit cake is definitely necessary during this time of year.
I am excited to try this fruit packed fruit cake. It looks and sounds marvelous.
thanks for the tip to let the cake sit, and add more liquid for a few days/weeks. I could only wait a few days, but it made a big difference!
This recipe tasted great and we were pleasantly surprised on how easy it was, will make it again for sure!
This furit cake gturned out so good! Perfect with a cup of Earl Grey tea.
It has been ages since I made fruit cake. I will say once you make your own, store bought does not cut it. I love soaking the fruit in rum and brandy.