Never in a million years did I think fruit cake would make it to my top 10 favourite cakes of all time! I literally despised fruit cake growing up, always finding it too dry or having too many sultanas. UNTIL I developed this super moist fruit cake recipe that is packed with fruit, nuts, dates and so much more!
What is a fruit cake
A fruitcake is a dense and sweet dessert cake that is typically made with candied or dried fruits, nuts, and spices. It is definitely a more ‘mature’ cake, and is often associated with holiday celebrations, particularly Christmas – but they can be enjoyed year-round.
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 🙂
Commonly Asked Questions:
How long will fruit cake last?
This fruit cake will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks at room temperature (when placed in an air tight container) or up to a month in the fridge.
Can I use lemon in replacement of the orange in this recipe?
For the orange zest used in the cake batter, and orange syrup used to soak the cake once it’s baked, you can substitute these both with lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. You may just need to add additional sugar to the syrup used to soak the cake to ensure it’s not too sour.
For the store-bought orange juice in the cake batter, you unfortunately cannot substitute this with lemon juice as it will change the flavour profile of the cake quite drastically. You can however subsitute this with apple juice if you prefer.
Can I use plastic wrap instead of aluminum foil to wrap my fruit cake when storing it?
Yes, plastic wrap will be fine too. Just be sure to keep your fruit cake somewhere out of direct sunlight (preferrably a dark spot – like inside your kitchen cupboard).
What’s the difference between Christmas cake and fruit cake?
Christmas cake can be thought of as a specific variety within the broader category of fruitcakes. The term “Christmas cake” is typically used to describe a particular type of fruitcake that is known for its rich and intricately decorated features, and it is specifically associated with the festive traditions of the Christmas holiday season. In contrast, fruitcake is a more general term encompassing a wide range of cakes that share common ingredients like candied or dried fruits, nuts, and spices, and it can be savored at any time of the year.
Easy Moist Fruit Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Fruit Cake
- ¾ cups (170 g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cups (150 g) soft brown sugar
- 2 cups (350 g) dried fruits - I used a combination of sultanas, raisins, currants, red and green glace cherries and citrus peel (see note 1)
- ½ cup (100 g) dates - pitted and cut into small pieces, see note 2
- ⅔ cups (166 g) store bought sweetened orange juice - like Just Juice, Tropicana etc.
- 1½ tbsp orange zest - the zest of about 1 medium sized orange. The juice of the orange will be used later in the syrup.
- 2 tbsp (36 g) molasses
- 1¾ cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- 1½ tsps baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- 1½ tsps cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp ground ginger powder
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp all spice
- ¼ cup (52 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 cup (100 g) walnuts - halved
Orange Syrup/Glaze
- 3 tbsp (50 g) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1¾ tbsp (20 g) white granulated sugar
Instructions
Boiled Fruit Mixture
- To a large saucepan add in unsalted butter, soft brown sugar, dried fruits, dates (if using firm dates - see note 2), 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 if you don't have a fan function) and grease an 8x3 inch cake tin (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.
Orange Syrup
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the orange syrup. Combine the 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.
- Wrap the cake in two layers of foil (see video for demonstration) and place it into an airtight container. Leave it in a cool dry place for 48 hours before serving (see note 4).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
303 Comments
Thank for the recipe
You’re so welcome Sarah! Hope you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Would it be possible to use this mix to make cupcakes and would they still stay as moist as a larger cake?
Hi Pamela! 🙂 I haven’t tried this recipe as cupcakes but I imagine it would work fine, you would just need to reduce the cooking time. It should also be fine as a large cake too (if you wanted to double or triple the recipe), but again you would just need to adjust the cooking time as needed. If you’re baking the cake in a large tray and the cake is thinner (height wise), then you will need to reduce the cooking time. Hope that helps! 🙂
Sounds delicious. I will try and bake it.
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
Hi, can it be made eggless?
Hi Violeta 🙂 I haven’t tried an egg substitute for this recipe yet so can’t recommend anything at this stage sorry!
Do you think I can omit the orange syrup and use Grand Marnier instead?
Hi Le! 🙂 Yes you can probably do that. I just used orange as a non alcoholic alternative so it can be substituted 🙂
Hi can I boil the mixture n nt bake it. I prefer a pudding to a cake….
Hi Gail 🙂 I haven’t tried that myself so I’m not too sure sorry! You can probably experiment and adapt the recipe to a pudding but I just can’t give any advice myself sorry 🙂
What can I use instead of nutmeg plz and what is a substitute for molasses?
Hi Yemna! If you prefer not to use nutmeg you can simply leave it out, and for the molasses I haven’t tried a substitute myself but I believe golden syrup or brown sugar will work. You may just have a slightly different flavour and colour to your cake but I’m sure it’ll still be great 🙂
Thank you for this recipe MK, the thing is I can’t get my hands on molasses. Is there any substitute for this or can I omit it all together.
Thank you.
You’re welcome Onyinye! 🙂 I haven’t tried a molasses substitute myself but I believe golden syrup or brown sugar will work. You may just have a slightly different flavour and colour to your cake but I’m sure it’ll still be great 🙂
Historical in my research Maple syrup, corn syrup, golden syrup, triticale syrup, or rice syrup can oftentimes used as a substitute for molasses in baking if you can’t find or do not like molasses. In this case sweeter along with the slight bit of flavor is why molasses is used. Hope This helps someone. Ta-da for now.
Thanks for the tips Robin! 😀
Use black treacle as we do in England.
Each time I try to subscribe to MK recipes I get reply saying invalid email adress yet its my genuine email adress.
Oh no sorry about that! I’ll manually add you now and hopefully you’ll receive email updates from next week 🙂
Thank you so much!!! Please what’s the life span of the cake and the best way to preserve it.
You’re so welcome Ann! And it’ll last at room temp in an air tight container for about 2 weeks, and in the fridge for a month 🙂
Hi! I love your recipes.
I have a cuestion about this one, why do you use store bought orange juice and not freshly for the broiled fruit mixture?
Thank you very much for all your work! ❤️
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks so much 😀 and great question! So the reason I used it for the boiled fruit mixture is because of the additional sugar and flavour which gives the cake a slightly different/deeper taste, but you can totally get away with using fresh orange juice too if you prefer 🙂