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For the Love of Food

Holiday Fruitcake Everyone Will Love

December 29, 2013 20 Comments

12.6K shares
  • 99
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Let’s be honest, fruitcake has a bad rap. I will admit, I, like many others never had any interest in trying fruitcake before.  But my husband loves fruitcake so I decided to make him some for the holidays. But if I was going to make fruitcake I wanted to make a Holiday Fruitcake Everyone Will Love!
I baked this recipe both in a jar to mail overseas to Ashton and in the more traditional loaf pan to serve up at home. 
I used a large selection  of chopped fruits and walnuts and then made a simple batter and mixed them together. The end result was a surprisingly delicious, moist fruitcake packed with flavor!
View my tips and recipe for baking a cake in a jar: here!
 

 

 

 
One day late but hope you give this fruitcake a try and celebrate National Fruitcake Day!
Print Recipe

Holiday Fruitcake

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries
  • 1/2 cup dried apricots
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup butter cubed and softened
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  • Put all chopped fruit and nuts in a large bowl.
  • Add orange juice and mix well.
  • In a separate large mixing bowl, beat together on medium speed, butter and brown sugar until creamy.
  • Next, add eggs and mix well.
  • Then add flour and vanilla.
  • Finally, mix in spices.
  • Now add fruit mixture to batter.
  • Pour into a greased baking dish, loaf pan, or mason jar and place on a baking sheet.
  • Bake for approx. 60 minutes or until cooked through but still soft and moist.
  • Remove from oven, cool,  then remove from baking dish and cut into slices.
Did you make this Recipe?Tag @flchefnicole or hashtag #fortheloveoffoodblog

For The Love of Food Blog

 
I saw this mix on the shelf at Wal-Mart. This is the gooey, hard stuff that scares me!
Skip buying this and use this recipe instead!
I choose a variety of dried fruits and nuts for this recipe.
This is something that you can vary according to your tastes.
Mix all the chopped fruits and walnuts together in a bowl.
Add orange juice and mix well.
 
Beat together cubed softened butter and brown sugar until creamy. 
Next, add eggs and beat over medium.
Add flour and vanilla and beat until combined.
Finally, add seasonings: I used both allspice and cardamom.
Now just mix the fruit mix into the batter.
Now you have a pretty delicious fruitcake batter! 
Make sure to preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
Spray your baking pans with nonstick spray and place on a baking sheet.
Fill 3/4 way with fruitcake batter.
Place in the oven and bake for approx 60 minutes.
Let cool and then cut into slices and serve.
 
Isn’t it pretty? Sweet, crunchy, and moist fruitcake that everyone will love!

Pretty Ava hanging out in the kitchen with her Mama!
 

Ashton loved his fruitcake in a jar! Here he is eating it overseas on Skype!
 
I also made my 7 Minute Peanut Brittle for Ashton.
 
12.6K shares
  • 99

Filed Under: Christmas, Desserts, Gift Ideas, Holiday, Popular Tagged With: baking, bread, cake, Christmas, fruitcake, gift idea, holiday

Previous Post: « My Top 12 Pumpkin Recipes
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tara

    December 29, 2013 at 10:38 pm

    My dad loved fruit cake but it had to be soaked in brandy!! Yours looks great!!

    Reply
  2. Crystal

    December 30, 2013 at 5:01 pm

    My grandmother makes the best fruitcake cookies…maybe I'll combine the 2 recipes!

    Reply
  3. graceandfavor

    January 3, 2017 at 4:23 pm

    Don't be afraid of the fruitcake mix! Just soak it in brandy, rum, or OJ (even red wine would work) for a couple of weeks (or days) and it'll be fine. If using OJ, pour the juice over the fruit in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and let cool completely before adding it to the mix. Work with what you've got!

    Reply
  4. Kathy

    December 28, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    This recipe looks great and I will try it, but can I just say, Ava’s sweet baby face just stole my heart! 💞

    Reply
  5. Pat Morris

    January 3, 2021 at 8:30 am

    I won’t go so far as to say that I hate fruitcake; but what makes me dislike most is all the citron in it. This one looks easy and yummy! I will have to give it a try. Thanks for posting!

    Reply
  6. Donna

    July 11, 2021 at 9:38 am

    What size are the loaf pans??

    Reply
    • Nicole

      July 20, 2021 at 10:20 pm

      I used regular 9×5 loaf pans.

      Reply
  7. Karen

    December 8, 2022 at 4:33 pm

    Can you use a bunit pan

    Reply
    • Nicole

      December 10, 2022 at 12:42 am

      Sure! You will just have to adjust the baking time for a bigger, deeper pan.

      Reply
  8. Mary

    December 15, 2022 at 7:51 am

    Most recipes say flour I see there isn’t any baking powder so is the flour all purpose or self rising. Baby Ava is beautiful!!

    Reply
    • Nicole

      December 15, 2022 at 1:34 pm

      Hi Mary. Thanks so much. Unless stated flour is always AP. No baking powder needed for this recipe. Enjoy!

      Reply
  9. Pat

    November 3, 2023 at 9:24 am

    If I were to use mini loaf pans how long would I bake for.

    Reply
    • Nicole

      November 8, 2023 at 1:14 am

      I would try half the baking time, so around 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick in the center to see if it is fully cooked then bake for 5-10 minutes more if needed.

      Reply
  10. RG

    September 2, 2024 at 12:01 pm

    How many small bundle pans and degree and time please?
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Nicole

      September 6, 2024 at 1:33 am

      Hi there, I have never baked in small individual pans so you will just have to try half the time and test for doneness. I would still bake at 300 degrees and start with 30 minutes and go from there.

      Reply
  11. RG

    September 2, 2024 at 12:03 pm

    How many small bundt pans and degree and time please?
    Thank you!

    Reply
  12. Judy Johnson

    December 3, 2024 at 3:49 pm

    This was delicious. Just use small loaf pan – there isn’t that much batter. I didn’t have any orange juice so I used grapefruit juice and it was delicious!

    Reply
  13. Asheema

    December 12, 2024 at 2:23 pm

    Hi can the fruit cake be left in the counter and if so for how many days

    Reply
    • Nicole

      December 15, 2024 at 2:35 am

      Yes it can and it’s great for shipping too! I would say it’s good for up to a week as long as it is wrapped up.

      Reply

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