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–+ servings
Fruit Cake

Easy Moist Fruit Cake

5 from 130 votes
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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!
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes
Resting Time: 2 days
Total: 2 days 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 12 people
Author: Cakes by MK

IMPORTANT: 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

Note 1. I used a fruit mix from my local grocery store that has a combination of sultanas, raisins, currants, red and green glace cherries and citrus peel. You can use more of what you like, and omit what you don't like, but altogether the dried fruits should be 350g. 
Note 2. You can use either fresh juicy dates or firmer pre packaged dates. If you decide to use firmer dates, then add them into the initial boiled fruit mixture to soften up. If using fresh dates which are soft and juicy (like medjool dates) then add them in with the walnuts later on in the mixture as they don't need to be softened.
Note 3. In this recipe I use an oven with the fan function turned on. The fan forced function cooks cakes/cupcakes faster, so if your oven doesn't have a fan option, then you will need to increase the baking temperature to 155°C (310°F) so that the cake/cupcake bakes at the same rate as mine 🙂
Note 4. 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 :)

Nutrition

Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 179mg | Potassium: 280mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 480IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 2mg

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.

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