Are you a fruit cake lover like me? Nothing quite captures the essence of tradition and celebration like a homemade fruit cake. Bursting with flavours from nuts, fruits etc., this moist and decadent dessert is a treat to your senses. And when indulging in the flavour of tradition and celebration, few desserts can match fruit cake’s timeless and delectable taste. If you are looking for a dessert to create a delectable treat that captures the essence of tradition and celebration, this recipe is a perfect choice. And this cake is so tasty that every time I bake it, I make two so I can eat one right after and one later.
So, the roots of fruit cake can be traced back to ancient Rome, where pomegranate seeds and pine nuts were mixed into barley mash. Throughout time, variations of fruit cake emerged from different cultures. In medieval Europe, dried fruits such as raisins, figs and currants were combined with spices, honey and preserved fruits. The fruit cake became associated with occasions, particularly the Christmas season.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe?
- It has a rich and moist texture: fruit cake is known for its dense and moist texture. The combination of butter, eggs and dry fruits makes it luscious and gives a satisfying mouth feel that is hard to resist.
- It’s bursting with flavours: the blend of dry fruits such as apricots, figs, and raisins infuses the cake with delightful flavours. The dry fruit adds natural sweetness and tanginess to the cake creating a balance of taste.
- It is easy and quick: it is one of the easiest and quickest moist fruit cake recipes you will ever make.
- It gives the joy of baking: making this cake is a memorable and enjoyable experience. Soaking fruits, preparing the batter then baking brings a sense of creativity and accomplishment.
Important Ingredients Used In The Recipe
- Dry fruits: for this recipe, I have used dried figs, raisins, dried apricots and tutty fruity. I have soaked dried figs, dried apricots and raisins in hot water. Doing this step makes the dry fruits soft and enhances the flavours. You can soak them in rum, brandy, and orange juice to make them more flavorful.
- Powdered/icing sugar: using icing sugar for this cake creates a lighter texture. And when combined with other ingredients, it helps aerate the batter, resulting in softer and more tender crumbs.
- All-purpose flour: all-purpose flour contains enough gluten that provides structure and tender crumbs to the cake. You can also replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour to make it healthier. And to make it gluten-free, you can replace it with almond flour, but remember that if you replace it with almond flour, you may have to adjust the other ingredient’s ratios.
How To Make Fruit Cake?
For the quantity of the detailed ingredients, check the recipe box below.
Preparation: Prepare the ingredients in separate bowls. Use a kitchen scale for accurate measurements. Preheat oven to 180C (OTG mode: lower rod + upper rod + fan). Prepare a rectangular tin by greasing it with butter and placing butter paper at the bottom. Here I have used a 7.5 * 3.5 size bread tin. But you can use any tin that you have or want to use.
Prep The Dry fruits: Chop the dry fruits into small pieces. Soak dry apricots, raisins and dried figs in hot water in a bowl for 10 minutes.
Creaming: Cream soft room-temperature butter and icing sugar until they are light and fluffy in texture.
Add Eggs: Gradually add eggs and egg yolk into the butter and mix until properly incorporated.
Add Dry Ingredients: Sieve the dry ingredients, all-purpose flour and baking powder, then mix them to combine.
Coat Dry Fruits In Flour: Remove dried figs, apricot and raisins from the water. Now coat these dry fruits along with tutty fruity with all-purpose flour. To coat them in flour, add 1-2 tsp all-purpose flour to the dry fruits, toss them and then use a sieve to remove excess flour.
Add Dry Fruits: Fold all the coated dry fruits into the batter and transfer it to the prepared tin.
Bake: Bake the cake at 180°C (350°F) (OTG mode: lower rod mode only) for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean with a few crumbs sticking to it.
Cool and Serve: Let the cake cool down after baking, then unmold the cake carefully with a bent palette knife, or you can use a simple cutting knife as well.
Chef’s Tip For The Recipe
Tip For Dry Fruits
Soak the dry fruits to soften them and enhance the flavour. Make sure that the dry fruits are submerged in water. Also, cover the bowl with plastic wrap; this helps the fruits to soak moisture and plump up.
Coat the dry fruits with all-purpose flour. We do this step so that the fruits do not sink while baking.
Tip For Slicing Cake
Use a serrated knife, such as a bread knife, to slice the cake. If you use a plain knife, you may end up with broken pieces of the cake.
More Easy Recipes
If you want to try more easy recipes like this, you can try our other recipes, such as
Starbucks lemon loaf (copycat)
Eggless apple loaf with cinnamon cream cheese glaze
How To Store Fruit Cake?
You can store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
You can freeze the baked cake by wrapping it with food-grade plastic. You just have to thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and warm it in the microwave for a few minutes before eating it with your favourite evening drink.
Frequently Asked Questions
While dry fruits are traditionally used to make fruit cake, you can experiment with fresh fruits. But keep in mind that fresh fruit may affect the cake’s texture. Make sure to adjust the recipe quantities if using fresh fruits.
I have soaked the dry fruits in hot water for 10-12 minutes before adding them to the batter. But if you are soaking them in normal water, you can soak them overnight or a few hours before baking.
Be careful of the time and oven temperature to prevent a dry fruit. Do not overbake. Also, soaking dry fruits in liquid retains moisture. If you feel your batter doesn’t have enough moisture or is hard to mix, you can add a little milk or orange juice to the batter.
To prevent dry fruits from sinking to the bottom, drain the excess water and coat them with a small amount of all-purpose flour before adding them to the batter. Coating them with flour helps them to adhere to the batter and prevents sinking to the bottom.
Absolutely! Adding nuts such as almonds, walnuts or pecans can elevate the flavour and give it a nice crunch. Simply chop them, toss them with the dry fruits, and coat them with flour before adding them.
