Category: Fruit Cake

My mother used to make one of these Japanese fruitcakes every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is rich and full of bright flavors.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

211	Calories
8g	Fat
34g	Carbs
3g	Protein

Ingredients

1x2x4x

Original recipe (1X) yields 48 servings

• 2 cups raisins
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 6 large egg yolks
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup milk
• 6 large egg whites

Filling:

• 2 cups white sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups water
• 2 oranges, peeled and seeded
• 2 lemons, peeled and seeded
• 2 cups flaked coconut

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour four (9-inch) round cake pans.
2. Toss together raisins, coconut, and pecans with 1 cup flour in a medium bowl until well coated. Set aside.
3. Cream sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift together remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture to egg mixture in batches, alternating with milk, beating briefly after each addition. Fold in raisin mixture until incorporated.
4. Whip egg whites in a separate clean bowl to stiff peaks. Fold into batter until no streaks remain. Divide batter into the prepared cake pans.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to finish cooling.
6. Make filling: Combine sugar and flour in a saucepan; add water and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Chop oranges and lemons into small pieces and add to water mixture in the saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in coconut and set aside to cool.
7. Assemble cake with filling between cooled cake layers; end with filling on top.

I don’t know if this is a regional dish or what … but NO ONE I talk to seems to have ever heard of it except the people in my family… and most people act like it’s sooooo ODD … but it’s really yummy and it’s really simple common ingredients …

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

356	Calories
18g	Fat
46g	Carbs
6g	Protein

Ingredients

1x2x4x

Original recipe (1X) yields 14 servings

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup chopped raisins
• 1 (4 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers, crushed

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the pecans, raisins, walnuts, cherries, condensed milk and vanilla wafers. Dough will be very thick, you will need to use your hands.
2. Form dough into a ring shape on top of a dinner plate. Wrap in many layers of plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil. Allow to age in the refrigerator for at least a week. The flavors will have a chance to blend and all of the milk will be absorbed into the cake.

Fruitcake is generally one of those misunderstood recipes, and it’s time for that to change! A fruitcake should be a celebration of the holidays, bringing flavors of cranberries, pineapple, citrus, and walnuts to a soft, bright form. This modern take on a holiday fixture will make you rethink your baking ways.

Prep Time20minutes mins

Cook Time1hour hr

Total Time1hour hr 20minutes mins

Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.

• Sour cream
• Baking powder
• Dried diced fruit
• Walnuts
• Orange zest

Here’s how to make this recipe.

1. Create the batter. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer. Add sour cream, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix together. Once combined, slowly mix in the eggs one by one. Then, grate in the zest of an orange and add flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Mix until the flour is incorporated. Roughly chop the walnuts and fold into the batter with the yuletide mix.

2. Bake the fruitcake. Split the batter into two 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pans. If desired, run a line lengthwise through the center of the loaves with a knife to create a crack. Place into the preheated 350°F oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool before serving.

3. Add additional flavor. Brush 3 tbsp of liqueur/bourbon on top of each loaf. Do it while it is still warm from the oven, then repeat once or twice per week until serving, for up to four weeks.

These pro tips will make this recipe a success.

• Mixing in the eggs one by one helps create a good consistency in the batter. By slowly mixing them in, the batter is also more evenly incorporated, making for a superior fruitcake.
• Be mindful when baking with flour. When measuring, don’t pack it into the measuring cup. Instead, gently sift it into the cup using a scoop. This gives you a proper measurement. When it comes to mixing it in the batter, mix just until it’s incorporated. Overmixing can make the batter coarse and dry.
• Brushing on the liqueur once weekly adds incredible flavor to the cake. It can be made up to four weeks prior to serving.

This boiled fruitcake recipe produces a really moist fruitcake. It was given to me by my mom, and it’s really easy. My mom uses it for Christmas cake by icing it. I use it for birthdays, Christmas, or just for a treat.

Ingredients

1x2x4x

Original recipe (1X) yields 10 servings

• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 12 ounces candied mixed fruit
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup butter
• 5 ounces glace cherries, roughly chopped
• 2 ounces candied mixed citrus peel
• 2 ounces chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 12 ounces sifted self-rising flour
• 2 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Line an 8-inch deep cake pan with parchment paper.
2. Place sugar, candied mixed fruit, milk, butter, cherries, citrus peel, walnuts, allspice, and baking soda in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. Stir flour and eggs into fruit mixture. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with brown paper or newspaper.
4. Bake cake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and continue baking cake for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Let cake sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, then invert it onto a wired rack. Remove parchment paper, flip cake, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Cake may be stored wrapped in foil and in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

588	Calories
19g	Fat
99g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Key ingredients in a fruit cake

Candied fruits: Fruits like cherries, orange peel, pineapple and citron and are often candied by preserving them in sugar syrup. They add sweetness and a wonderful vibrant colour to fruit cake, and can often be bought at your local grocery store to save time!

Dried fruits: Raisins, currants, dates, and apricots are commonly used dried fruits in fruitcakes. They provide a chewy and fruity texture to the cake and add moisture too.

Nuts: Chopped nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, or almonds, are often added to provide a crunchy element and enhance the flavor. For me, nuts are a MUST in a fruit cake otherwise there’s nothing to cut through the dried fruit which can sometimes be overwhelming (well for me anyway). 🙂

Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice are typical spices used in fruitcakes to add warmth and depth of flavor.

Liquor: Some fruitcakes are soaked in alcohol, such as brandy, rum, or whiskey, which helps preserve the cake and adds a unique flavor. Because I personally don’t drink alcohol I have left this out of this recipe. I have used the the boiled fruit cake method which doesn’t require a long aging or curing time and therefore no alcohol 🙂

How to make fruit cake

This fruit comes together really easily with no mixer required! You can find the full written recipe, quantities of ingredients and recipe video in the recipe card at the end of the blog post, but you can follow along here for visual steps 🙂

Boiled Fruit Mixture

Begin with making the boiled fruit mixture. To a large saucepan add in unsalted butter, soft brown sugar, dried fruits, dates (if using firm dates – see note 2 on recipe card below), orange juice, orange zest and molasses. Bring that to a simmer over a medium heat, and once simmering, continue to let it simmer for a few more minutes.

Once done, pour the mixture in a large shallow dish to cool. To speed up the process I like to place the mixture into the freezer for about 45 minutes. Once ready it should have thickened up in consistency. Make sure it’s at room temperature (not hot or cold) before moving onto the next step.

Fruit Cake

Preheat oven to 140 °C (285°F) with the fan on (see note 3 on recipe card below if you don’t have a fan function) and grease an 8×3 inch cake pan (I use my homemade cake release), and line the bottom with baking paper.

Sift together your flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder, ground ginger powder, nutmeg and all spice. Mix together with a whisk or fork and set aside for now.

In a small bowl combine the unflavoured vegetable oil and eggs. Whisk with a fork and set aside.

In a large bowl add in the boiled fruit mixture from earlier (make sure it’s at room temperature), and add in the oil/egg mixture. Using a spatula, fold until it’s well combined. The mixture is quite thick so may take a bit of mixing to get it all combined properly.

Next add in the walnuts (and dates if you didn’t add them to the boiled fruit mixture), and fold until well combined.

Next add in the sifted dry ingredients from earlier and fold until just combined. Do not overmix, so only mix until you can’t see any more streaks of flour.

Pour the batter into the cake tin and spread it out evenly. Drop the cake tin lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles, and then bake for 75-85 minutes, or until a skewer or knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the cake tin for 30 minutes and then run a thin knife around the edges of the cake tin to release the cake, and then turn it out onto a wire rack (right side up) to cool.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the orange syrup. Combine orange juice and sugar in a bowl, and then heat it up (in the microwave or on the stove top) until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Using a pastry brush, brush the orange syrup all over the top and sides of the cake while the cake is still warm. Be sure to use all the syrup up as you want it to soak deep into the cake.

Wrap the cake in two layers of foil (see video below for demonstration) and place it into an airtight container. Leave it in a cool dry place for 48 hours before serving. I know it’s hard to wait, but it is crucial to allow the fruit cake to sit for 48 hours before serving it. This is going to allow the flavours to develop and the cake to become nice and moist. If you cut the cake too early, it may seem a little crumbly. It will still taste nice, but for the perfect texture it’s best to wait 🙂