A traditional holiday Fruitcake Recipe that people will actually love! It’s made with toasted nuts and plump dried fruits in a rich, dense, moist cake, flavored with brown sugar, spices, and molasses.
This festive recipe can be made with or without alcohol to suit your preferences, and loaves make excellent Christmas gifts.
Fruitcake: The King of Holiday Desserts
Get ready to bake a cake as old as time! Fruitcake, as we know it today, is undoubtedly the most well-known and also the most misunderstood baked good around.
This traditional Christmas loaf has a reputation for being hard, dense, and inedible, but that’s really not fair! I promise that making this recipe from scratch will change your mind about fruitcake, especially if your only experience with it has been store-bought, chewy, dry bricks.
My old-fashioned fruitcake cake is dense, but in a good way, with a flavorful cake batter seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and molasses. The cake is studded with plump fruits and crunchy nuts, and can be baked well ahead of time, as it can be stored for weeks without losing its freshness.
Soak the dried fruits in brandy if you want to be extra traditional, but this recipe works just the same without any alcohol too.
In the UK, holiday fruitcakes are often covered in marzipan and icing and served with warm cream or custard sauce. This cake can be finished in that way, but it’s just as tasty plain, along with a cup of tea or coffee.
Ingredient Notes
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Mixed Dried Fruits: Leading up to Christmas, I often see this product on display at grocery stores. Your best option is usually called “dried mixed fruits”, and will include some combination of unsweetened and dehydrated raisins, pineapple bits, apricots, cranberries, apples, and dates. If your fruit doesn’t come already diced, cut it into smaller pieces before soaking it in brandy or fruit juice.
- Nuts: Use walnuts or pecans, and be sure to toast them first! Add the nuts to a sheetpan and bake for about 7 minutes at 350°F (180°C) oven. Let cool, then chop into small pieces.
- Flour, Salt, and Baking Powder: Mix your dry ingredients together first before adding them to the wet ingredients. This will help to avoid any pockets of salt or baking powder in the final loaf. I did test this recipe with gluten-free flour for you, and unfortunately, it didn’t work very well, and left me with a crumbly cake. Instead, use regular all-purpose flour for fruitcake.
- Butter: Let the butter soften at room temperature before you start the recipe.
- Eggs: These help to bind all of the heavy ingredients together in the fruitcake batter. Room temperature eggs are also recommended, as they mix in more smoothly.
- Molasses: This is an old-fashioned sweetener, and a must for this recipe. Choose light or original/regular/unsulphured molasses (Grandma’s Molasses is a commonly found brand) rather than blackstrap molasses, which would be too strong.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is just granulated sugar mixed with molasses. Use dark brown sugar for the deepest flavor, or light brown sugar if that’s what you have on hand.
- Flavorings: Pure vanilla extract, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg will make this bread smell amazing as it bakes!
- Fruitcake Glaze: Briefly cook a mixture of brown sugar, water, and brandy (or juice) to create a glaze for your fruitcake loaf. This syrup adds moisture to the cake and helps to keep it that way.
Tip!
Some recipes for fruitcake or Christmas cake call for candied fruits, which are sticky, sugary fruit bits that are also available around the holidays. I’d avoid these for this recipe, as they will change the texture and flavor of the loaf. If you like, add just a handful of chopped glacé cherries (candied cherries) for a pop of color, along with the unsweetened, dried fruits.
How to Soak fruit for Fruitcake
I’ve outlined two different methods that you can use to rehydrate the dried fruit before making the cake batter.
- The best option is to soak the fruit in either brandy, apple juice, or orange juice for 1-2 days in the refrigerator. This method allows the dried fruit to soak up all of the liquid and become plump and delicious. If needed, stir an extra tablespoon or two of liquid into the batter to get it to the right consistency.
- If you’re not quite so patient, I have a shortcut method too! Combine the fruit and alcohol/juice and microwave for a minute. Stir, and let sit for an hour or so. Add the fruit and any remaining liquid to the cake batter.
More Traditional Holiday Recipes
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This is a fruitcake recipe that people will actually love to eat! Make more than one loaf so that you can gift homemade fruit cakes to your friends and neighbors, too.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Fruitcake Recipe
Equipment
- Microwave safe bowl for quick soaking method
- Small saucepan
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons
- Small sheet pan for toasting nuts
- 9x 5 in (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan
- Parchment paper or silicone liner for the pan
- Toothpick or skewer
Ingredients
Cake:
- 12 ounces (340 g) dried mixed fruit
- ½ cup (120 ml) brandy or fruit juice like orange or apple
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar or light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) unsulphured molasses
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (115 g) toasted chopped walnuts or pecans
Syrup:
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
- 1 cup (200 g) packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) brandy or fruit juice
Instructions
Soak the fruit. Choose one method:
- Overnight method: Combine the dried mixed fruit with the brandy or juice and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- Quick method: Combine the dried fruit with the brandy or juice and vanilla in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute or until hot, stir, cover, and let sit for 1 hour.
Bake the Fruitcake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly grease it.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter with the brown sugar until light.
- Add the eggs, molasses, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix until smooth.
- Drain the soaked fruit and save any remaining liquid. Add this liquid to the batter.
- Toss the drained fruit with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the flour. Set aside.
- Combine the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Then add this flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
- Fold in the floured fruit and the toasted nuts.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for 60 to 80 minutes. Begin checking at 60 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- As the cake bakes, prepare the syrup. Add the water, brown sugar, and brandy or juice to a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and poke small holes across the top with a toothpick or skewer.
- Brush a layer of warm syrup over the surface. Let it absorb, then brush on more. You may not need all of the syrup.
- Let the cake cool fully. Store in an airtight container.
Notes:
- To toast the nuts: place whole walnuts or pecans on a small sheet pan and toast in a 350°F (180°C) oven for about 7 minutes. Let them cool before chopping.
- Soaking the fruit: The quick soaking method will likely leave some liquid unabsorbed. That liquid can be added to the cake batter. If you soak the fruit overnight, there may not be any additional liquid. Add an extra splash of juice if needed to bring the batter together.
- If the top of the cake browns too quickly, set a piece of foil over the top for the remainder of the baking time.
- Skip the syrup for a simpler version of this classic fruitcake.
- You can bake this batter in a cupcake pan to make small, individual fruitcakes. Check for doneness starting at 30 minutes.
- This fruitcake does not require “feeding”, which is the old-fashioned method of aging the cake and keeping it “fresh” by adding alcohol every week or so. Instead, store your glazed fruitcake well-wrapped in an airtight container at room temperature. It should keep on the counter for up to 3-4 weeks.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Recipe Variations and Tips
- Fruitcake Glaze: If you’re planning on eating this cake relatively soon, you can skip the brown sugar syrup. It does add a lot of flavor, but it’s not entirely necessary if you don’t have the time or don’t want the extra sugar.
- Make Cupcakes or Mini Loaves: For smaller cakes, check for doneness around 50-60 minutes. You may not need to bake them for the entire time.
- Variations: This recipe is endlessly customizable, depending on the fruits and liquor that you use. Instead of brandy, try dark rum, sherry, whiskey, or bourbon. You might also enjoy orange liqueur or Amaretto. Other dried fruits that work well include currants, sultanas (golden raisins), mixed citrus peel, and dried apples or pears.
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