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This delicious and moist White Fruitcake Recipe, filled with nuts and fruits soaked in brandy, will encourage you to put fruitcake back into your holiday baking plans. If you’re looking for how to make a light, moist fruit cake for your holiday table and gift-giving, this is the best fruit cake recipe.
I can no longer sit idly by while traditional values are being thrown asunder. Our global world and its people will only thrive if the bedrock is a firm and stable foundation. The foundation that our forefathers established was nourished by some essential ingredients, chief among those was… Fruitcake.
For too many years, our world has mocked fruitcake and ignored the important role this traditional holiday fare played in the success of our universe, and it’s people. An old fashioned family fruitcake recipe is a treasure destined to be passed along for generations, a light, moist fruitcake recipe is the stuff of holiday family legend.
That is why today I announce my candidacy with one overriding theme…
It’s Time to Bring Fruitcake Back!
My staff has been busy behind the scenes setting the groundwork for a successful campaign. We are rolling out the bumper stickers and buttons today. Let me know what you think…
Table of Contents
But first things first…
It’s time to bake some Fruitcake!
Both of my grandmas baked fruitcake; one baked the dark spicy, rum-soaked fruitcake recipe and the other baked a lighter, fresher white fruitcake recipe. It is this lighter, moist Fruitcake recipe that I was hoping to replicate this year with the anticipation that this delectable holiday treat will encourage you to put fruitcake back in your holiday baking plans.
After searching all of grandma’s recipes, my mom and I think that the original White Fruitcake recipe came from a 1961 edition of Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cookbook…it was the best fruitcake recipe I found I altered the original recipe only slightly. Truly, if you’re looking for an old fashion recipe for moist fruitcake just like the one Grandma used to make, this is the one.
I don’t know about you, but I think the demise of fruitcake might have had something to do with the unnaturally colored red and green cherries that punctuated the cake.
My White Fruitcake recipe throws aside the glazed green and red cherries (along with the Red #40, Blue #5, and Yellow #1) for the completely natural dried cherries, white raisins, and candied fruit (candied citron, candied orange peel, and candied pineapple.
Soak Your Dried Fruits in Brandy For a Couple of Days
Before the baking day, these fruits spend a couple of days in Brandy Heaven…getting nice and plump while soaking up all sorts of divine flavor. A key to baking a moist fruitcake is to allow the dried fruit to soften and plump up by fully absorbing the liquid. This will enable them to stay moist and juicy during the baking process and not dry the cake by soaking up moisture from the batter. I purchased my fruits from Nuts.Com…they were very fresh and I’ve already placed a second order!
A sprinkling of coconut, a handful of crunchy nuts, and BAM…Fruitcake Magic!
Some of these are affiliate links and I will earn a small commission off of the sale of these products, but the price you are charged is not affected. You can see my full disclosure policy here.
This Nordicware Bundt Quartet pan is the perfect size as I can bake 4 Fruitcakes simultaneously with this recipe.
There were no problems whatsoever with the batter sticking to all the nooks and crannies of the pans. Just make sure you use a good baking release spray.
White Fruit Cake
lynn
Boozy and Moist, Nutty and Fruity with a dash of coconut...add this to your holiday baking.
4.55 from 44 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr
Additional Time 1 day d
Total Time 1 day d 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Course Baking Recipes + Tips
Cuisine American
Servings 4 small bundt cakes or 1 large
Calories 241 kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 5 beaten eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups flour all-purpose
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1-2 cups brandy or cognac enough to cover your dried fruit
- 6 ounces white raisins
- 6 ounces dried cherries
- 3 ounces glazed citron
- 3 ounces glazed orange peel
- 2 ounces candied pineapple
- 2 cups pecans pistachios, almond slivers, chopped hazelnuts or walnuts, or a combination
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
- cheesecloth
Instructions
A day or two before you want to bake your fruitcake, combine all the dried fruit and soak it in enough brandy or cognac to cover, in an airtight container or a large bowl that can be covered.
Preheat oven to 275° F.
Drain the dried fruit mixture, reserving the brandy/cognac to soak the fruitcakes (or use it to soak another batch of fruit...because you will want to make this again!)
Butter and flour your pans; alternately, use Bak-Klene...this stuff is amazing. I used Nordic Ware 9-cup Bundt Quartet for the 4 small fruitcakes and a 10-inch Tube Pan or Bundt Pan for the large fruitcake. You could also use mini loaf pans for the smaller fruit cakes.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside
Beat butter and sugar together at high speed until fluffy, 3 minutes.
Add beaten eggs to the cream butter mixture, and mix until fully incorporated.
Mix orange juice and vanilla together in a separate bowl and set aside
Add dry ingredients in 3 increments, alternating with the orange juice mixture at medium speed until just mixed. Don't overmix.
Gently fold in the fruit, nuts, and coconut.
If using the mini bundt pans, spoon batter equally among the prepared pans or into the one larger bundt pan. Tap the pans on the counter to encourage the dough to settle into the crevices of the pans.
Bake the small pans for 55-60 minutes and a large pan for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, for both the quartet pan and single bundt pan.
Let cool on a wire cake rack for a couple of minutes and then invert the pan to let the cakes gently come out.
Once cool, wrap the cakes in cheesecloth soaked in brandy and then wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Re-douse your fruitcake with the brandy every week or so to keep it moist.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 4gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 120mgFiber: 2gSugar: 13g
Keyword baking, Christmas, dried fruit, fruitcake, nuts, white fruitcake
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This White Fruitcake Recipe results in a cake that is boozy and moist with bits of crunch from the nuts… One bite is all it will take to silence those Fruitcake naysayers.
Grab these tags if you plan on gifting your White Fruitcake.
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Now, were we a disciplined family, we would have 9 White Fruitcakes set aside for gifting and eating this upcoming holiday. However, we have already consumed 4 of them, so…I’ll be baking more. But this really is an easy and delicious white fruit cake recipe. Just get your fruit macerating a day or two ahead of time and then the cakes come together very quickly.
And that Bundt pan has more than paid for itself. The ability to bake 4 gift-size fruitcakes at one time is priceless.
So, my friends, it’s time to search your soul and decide whether you will join me on my Fruitcake Crusade! Together, all of us along with this wonderful, delicious, and moist white fruit cake recipe, we can…
Bring Fruitcake Back!
And truthfully, a good old fashion moist and delicious white fruit cake is the perfect way to celebrate the holidays and makes perfect holiday gifts.
Let’s Answer Some of Your Questions About this White Fruitcake Recipe:
Can I substitute different fruit and nuts in my fruit cake recipe?
You can substitute the fruit as long as you stick with dried fruit.
Can I substitute different alcohol?
Yes! Some other alcohols you can try are dark rum, rum, whiskey, brandy, and orange liqueur.
How far in advance can I bake this white fruit cake recipe?
Your fruitcake actually gets better with age as it is wrapped in alcohol. So, plan to bake your fruitcake several weeks before you plan to eat or gift them. This brings us to the next question…
How long does fruitcake last?
According to the USDA, a fruitcake made with dried fruit and alcohol will safely last for 2-3 months. Re-douse the fruitcakes every week or so with alcohol to keep them moist.
What is the difference between Dark Fruit Cake and White Fruit Cake?
Dark fruit cake gets its warm golden color from the molasses and brown sugar used to make it. White Fruit Cake uses only white sugar.
Bookmark this page or pin the following image to add this White Fruitcake recipe to your Christmas baking repertoire.
And when you make this fruitcake recipe, promise me you’ll pop back in and tell me how much you love it (‘cuz I know you will!) And leaving a star rating will help other fruitcake lovers find this recipe as well.
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