World’s Best Fruit Cake
Classic fruit cake made with soaked unsweetened dried fruit. A festive, flavorful, and moist fruit cake to enjoy all holiday season. This family recipe will make you a fruit cake convert! This post is sponsored by All-Clad.
If you recognize today’s dessert, you deserve a pat on the back!
As hard as it is to believe, I first shared this fruit cake recipe back in 2013. It has been a holiday staple in our household for as long as I can remember. Christmas isn’t Christmas without several slices of my mom’s famous fruit cake!
Nearly six years have passed and since then, it has become one of the most popular holiday recipes on A Beautiful Plate.
If you’re a fruit cake cynic, hear me out! This is the best fruit cake in the world – and the only fruit cake that I’ve ever loved and enjoyed.
While this recipe has received rave reviews and become a staple for many readers, I’ve teamed up with All-Clad to showcase their new Pro-Release Bakeware Set and Silicone Tools, and give this fruit cake recipe a new and improved update for the holiday season.
This fruit cake recipe features their All-Clad Pro-Release Loaf Pan. All of the All-Clad Pro-Release bakeware pieces feature oversized, easy-to-grab handles, and a nonstick (PFOA-free) finish that releases baked goods effortlessly.
This fruit cake batter is sticky and packed with dried fruit pieces, which means that it can be prone to sticking, and thanks to the ceramic, easy release coating, I didn’t have to grease or line the loaf pan with parchment paper. The fruit cakes just slid out without issue. The holidays are hectic enough without worrying about your baked goods sticking!
If you’re looking for durable and high-quality bakeware for yourself (or to gift to others!), I highly recommend checking out the full All-Clad Pro-Release Bakeware Set! You can get more information here.
All-Clad also came out with a wonderful collection of silicone tools that pair with the bakeware set. Their durable handles and platinum silicone heads, which come in a variety of shapes, are great for any baking project (or savory preparation) and have quickly become my favorite baking tools.
The bones of the original fruit cake recipe have remained the same, but it has been re-tested thoroughly.
Several ingredients have been revamped and simplified to make it easier to prepare in your own kitchen.
I’ve also added custom metric measurements to make it accessible to everyone. As you know, I’m a huge advocate for baking scales, particularly for baking. It reduces clean-up and common user errors, such as over measuring flour.
Let’s get baking!
Why You’ll Love this Fruit Cake Recipe:
The words ‘world’s best’ and fruit cake are generally not seen as compatible with one another. After all, fruit cake is one of the most ridiculed baked goods in existence!
You know those ones that are sold in the stores or sent as gifts at this time of the year? The ones that contain the neon candied fruit pieces? I despise those fruit cakes too!
Most fruit cakes are dry, overly sweet, and bland in flavor.
This fruit cake is not your average fruit cake recipe. It is the BEST! Made with wholesome, real ingredients, this fruit cake is moist and perfectly balanced in flavor.
The Story Behind The World’s Best Fruit Cake:
This fruit cake recipe has been passed onto me from my mom. It was first inspired my British grandmother’s recipe. My mom has tweaked and perfected it over the years.
At one point, my mom even attempted a very short-lived fruit cake business – that is until she realized that it is one of those expensive desserts to make (dried fruit and booze!) and she would have to charge a fortune to break even.
With that said, this fruit cake is absolutely worth it!
How to Make The Best Fruit Cake:
This fruit cake recipe, which yields two standard loaf cakes, is all about the dried fruit. We’ll be using only unsweetened dried and fresh fruit for this recipe.
This fruit cake contains a ton of dried fruit. Don’t be alarmed! This recipe uses a wide variety of tart and sweeter dried fruit: golden raisins, dark raisins, figs, prunes, cherries, apricots, and peaches.
To cut the sweetness and add amazing flavor, we’ll soak the dried fruit mixture in dark rum the day before baking. Note: I recommend soaking the fruit for a minimum of 12 hours or as long as 24 hours.
The dried fruit will hydrate and plump up and soak up all of the dark rum during this time. Don’t skip this step!
The soaked dried fruit is folded into the fruit cake batter the following day.
For added flavor, we’ll also be adding orange and lemon zest, orange juice, fresh grated Granny Smith apple, slivered almonds, and diced crystallized ginger (one of my favorite additions!).
You can even add bittersweet chocolate, which is my dad and sister’s favorite variation!
The fruit cake batter is transferred and divided between two loaf pans and baked in a loaf tin at a low temperature for nearly an hour and a half.
If you’re using the loaf pan I’m using from All-Clad, no need to grease the pan or add any parchment paper!
Since this cake has a such a large ratio of dried fruit, we’ll allow the fruit cakes to cool completely in the loaf pans before removing them.
How to Store Homemade Fruit Cake:
After the cakes have cooled, we’ll wrap them tightly in cheesecloth soaked in medium sherry or triple sec. Have I mentioned that this cake is boozy? Because it is.
This step contributes additional moisture, as well as allows the flavors in the cake to meld and deepen over time. The alcohol cuts sweetness and makes this cake so fragrant and delicious!
Some people recommend aging fruit cake for at least a month prior to serving or gifting, but this is not required for this fruit cake. I recommend at week at minimum. However, even just a few days make a huge impact!
These fruit cakes can be stored in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 weeks (or longer!). I recommend re-soaking the cheesecloth every week or so, or whenever it is dry.
Commonly Asked Fruit Cake Baking Questions:
When should I starting baking fruit cake?
Since this fruit cake only improves in flavor as it sits, the sooner the better! I recommend wrapping it with cheesecloth (soaked in alcohol) for one to two weeks, at minimum, for best flavor before serving or gifting.
Can I substitute or use other types of dried fruit?
I’ve included my favorite ratios in the recipe below – as they offer a good balance of tart and sweeter fruits – but you can adapt it to make it your own. If making substitutions, I highly recommend measuring by weight to avoid any issues.
Can I make this fruitcake without alcohol?
While the flavor will not be the same or as originally intended, you can try soaking the dried fruit in orange juice (or even apple juice or hot steeped tea, such as Earl Grey). I haven’t personally tested this variation, but functionally it will plump up the dried fruit in the same way. You will need to skip the soaking of the cake as well, which is absolutely fine, but will result in a less complex flavor, slightly drier cake (though this cake is very moist!) and will reduce its storage life slightly.
How many servings does this recipe make?
This cake yields two loaf cakes. Perfect for keeping one to yourself and another for gifting (or saving for later, your personal choice!).
Since this cake is very dense and rich, one loaf cake goes a long way. We use a serrated knife to cut it into thin slices or cut regular slices in half. It tastes fantastic on its own or with a smear of salted butter!
Can I bake this fruitcake in a smaller loaf tins, round cake pan, etc.?
This cake has only been tested using loaf pans, but several readers have had luck with preparing this recipe in a bundt or tube pan – roughly it will take around 75 minutes minimum. Please watch bake time carefully. Please know that baking times and results will vary. I do not recommend making equipment substitutions, as I haven’t personally tested these adaptations.
Hope this fruit cake recipe becomes a family staple! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d love for you to leave a review in the comment section below.
Thank you All-Clad for sponsoring this post!
World's Best Fruit Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Soaked Fruit Mixture:
- 1¼ cups (200g) dark raisins
- 1¼ cups (200g) golden raisins
- 2 cups (320g) mixed unsweetened dried fruit, chopped (note: I like to use equal parts peaches and apricots. Pears or apples are other great options!)
- 1 cup (160g) dried unsweetened black figs, chopped
- 1 cup (160g) dried unsweetened tart cherries, chopped
- ¾ cup (120g) dried unsweetened prunes, chopped
- ¾ cup (6 oz; 180 mL) dark rum
Fruit Cake Ingredients:
- 1½ cups (180g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick (4 oz; 115g) unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup (160g) packed light brown sugar
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
- ½ cup (120 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 Granny Smith apple peeled and coarsely grated
- ¾ cup (90g) slivered almonds (or chopped pecans or walnuts)
- 3 tablespoons (36g) finely diced crystallized ginger
- one batch soaked fruit mixture see section above
- ⅔ cup (100g) chopped bittersweet chocolate or dark chocolate chips optional
For Storage:
- medium sherry or triple sec for soaking
Decorative Glaze (Optional):
- ¼ cup (72g) apricot preserves
- ¼ cup (60 mL) water
- whole pecans for garnishing
Instructions
- The Day Before Baking: Combine the dried fruit in a large mixing bowl. Add the dark rum, cover, and allow the mixture to soak at room temperature for a minimum of 12 hours, or ideally 24 hours prior to preparing the fruit cake batter.
- Prepare the Fruitcake: Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) with a rack in the center position. Set aside two 8x4-inch All Clad Pro-Release Bakeware Loaf Pans. If using these pans, you do not need to line or grease the pans prior to adding the batter. Equipment Note: This fruitcake can also be prepared using 9x5-inch loaf pans. If using other types of pans, lightly grease and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and light brown sugar together over medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating just until each egg is incorporated. The mixture will look slightly broken, that’s ok.
- Over low speed, slowly add the flour mixture until just absorbed. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Add the lemon zest, orange zest, fresh orange juice, grated apple, slivered almonds, diced candied ginger, soaked dried fruit mixture (along with any liquid if it hasn’t already been absorbed), and chocoate (if using). Stir mixture with a large spatula, scraping the edges and bottom of the bowl several times, until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated. It is a very thick, fruit heavy mixture.
- Transfer and divide the batter evenly among the loaf pans. Use an offset spatula to smooth the batter into an even layer. Set the loaf pans on the center rack, several inches apart from one another. Bake - rotating the pans halfway - for 75 to 90 minutes or until the batter is set and the tops are golden brown. The edges of the cake may also start to pull away slightly from the edges of the pan. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely before removing from the pans.
- Storing and Aging: Once the cake has cooled, carefully remove the cakes from the loaf pans and set upright. Soak two large pieces of cheesecloth in medium sherry or triple sec (*they should be lightly damp, not soaking wet when you wrap the cakes, so you may need to squeeze out any excess liquor). Wrap each cake tightly. Cover loafs with wax paper and foil before transferring to a large Ziploc bag. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 to 8 weeks (it can often last even longer). You can serve this cake right after it has cooled, but the flavors improve greatly with time (I recommend several days or up to a week, at minimum). Unwrap and re-soak the cheesecloth once a week.
- For Garnishing: If desired, you can top the fruitcake with a light apricot glaze and whole pecans before serving. Note: I don't recommend glazing the cake if you wish to continue to wrap and age the fruitcake. To Prepare the Glaze: Combine the apricot preserves and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a light simmer, stirring until the glaze is shiny and thin. If it is too thin for glazing, reduce to desired consistency. If it becomes too thick, add a teaspoon of water. Brush the tops of the fruitcakes with apricot glaze and garnish with whole pecans.
- Serving Notes: Slice fruit cake with a serrated knife. Serve on its own or spread with a small amount of salted butter.
Tips for Success:
- Be sure to use unsweetened dried fruit for best results.
- Many readers have had success substituting different varieties of dried fruit in this recipe; if doing this, please keep in mind the tartness and sweetness of various fruits for good balance.
Commonly Asked Questions:
- When should I starting baking fruit cake? Since this fruit cake only improves in flavor as it sits, the sooner the better! I recommend wrapping it with cheesecloth (soaked in alcohol) for one to two weeks, at minimum, for best flavor before serving or gifting.
- Can I substitute or use other types of dried fruit? I’ve included my favorite ratios in the recipe below - as they offer a good balance of tart and sweeter fruits - but you can adapt it to make it your own. If making substitutions, I highly recommend measuring by weight to avoid any issues.
- Can I make this fruitcake without alcohol? While the flavor will not be the same or as originally intended, you can try soaking the dried fruit in orange juice (or even apple juice or hot steeped tea, such as Earl Grey). I haven’t personally tested this variation, but functionally it will plump up the dried fruit in the same way. You will need to skip the soaking of the cake as well, which is absolutely fine, but will result in a less complex flavor, slightly drier cake (though this cake is very moist!) and will reduce its storage life slightly.
- How many servings does this recipe make? This cake yields two loaf cakes. Perfect for keeping one to yourself and another for gifting (or saving for later, your personal choice!). Since this cake is very dense and rich, one loaf cake goes a long way. We use a serrated knife to cut it into thin slices or cut regular slices in half. It tastes fantastic on its own or with a smear of salted butter!
- Can I bake this fruitcake in a smaller loaf tins, round cake pan, etc.? This cake has only been tested using loaf pans, but several readers have had luck with preparing this recipe in a bundt or tube pan - roughly it will take around 75 minutes minimum. Please watch bake time carefully. Please know that baking times and results will vary. I do not recommend making equipment substitutions, as I haven't personally tested these adaptations.
This post is sponsored by All-Clad. Thank you for supporting brands I love and use in my kitchen.
955 Comments on “World’s Best Fruit Cake”
Hi, I’m really excited to try out your recipe. If I wish to give these loaves to friends and family, do I have to make sure the loaves are still wrapped in the soaked cheesecloth? Or is it possible to remove the cheesecloth after a week of wrapping and maybe wrap the loaves in clingfilm thereafter? Thank you in advance for your advice!
Ideally the cakes would soak for a week or two, but you could definitely do this – just keep it in mind it might not have quite as much of an aged flavor! Foil for this cake is best than plastic wrap – so maybe gift in a nice way but tell them to wrap tightly for their own storage.
Hi, thank you so much for your prompt reply to my earlier query. I have another question – the recipe states that the loaf tins should be on the centre rack. This means that the top of the tins will be pretty close to the heating element, yes?
I was afraid the tops would burn, so I placed the rack one level below the centre mark. However, I had to add time to get a more golden brown finish and unfortunately, that caused the top of the cakes to crack a little. I would really appreciate some clarification on this matter. Thank you! ☺️
Hi Lizzie. Typically baked goods should always be baked on the center rack in a standard oven, because it’s where heat is the most even generally. Although based on your comment, it sounds like you’re baking in a very small capacity oven (are you based in Europe?) or in a countertop oven. Is this accurate? A normal loaf tin shouldn’t be super close to the heating elements if you’re using the oven below a standard range/cooktop. I don’t know the equipment you’re working with, so of course, everyone’s experience might vary a bit, but that’s the standard that is generally used when people develop recipes!
The top of the cake shouldn’t crack on this cake – I wonder if it was due to fruit not being cut small enough, etc. Really, you should be looking for more of the batter being set, than a particular color, but generally that is lightly golden brown. Did the rest of the cake come together similarly as stated or were other changes made?
Hi Laura, sorry for the late reply but I have since made 4 more loaves of your cake for friends and family and they have all LOVED it. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe and being so prompt and detailed in your answers to my questions. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Very happy to hear this! Thank you!
Hi… can I add molasses to this recipe to make it darker?
Hi! It’s fairly dark as it is. I personally wouldn’t do this because molasses is essentially sugar and adding more sugar (to an already rich cake) definitely changes things. But you could substitute the light brown sugar for dark brown sugar for a touch more of that flavor.
With an abundance of persimmons this year I made Hoshigaki (dried persimmon). Having so many dried persimmon, I thought a great way to use the fruit would be a fruitcake which lead me to this recipe. This recipe is fabulous. After separating the batter in half I made one fruitcake with chocolate and the other fruitcake without it. My preference is without chocolate. I think the chocolate distracts from the fruit. My daughter and wife prefer it with chocolate. We tasted the fruitcake after it had aged for a week and can’t wait to try it at Christmas after the flavor develops further. Thanks for sharing a great recipe. Now to figure out what to do with the hundreds of dried persimmon I have left 🙂
Seems like a blessing to have so many! I only recently learned about Hoshigaki and found a farmer who makes them and then sells them. So while you’re drowning in dried persimmon, I’m waiting for mine to arrive. (By the way, they were about $50 for 12 Hoshigaki!)
Hi, I’m looking forward to trying your recipe. I’m wondering if I can put in some fresh pineapple?
I haven’t done this before, but I don’t see why you couldn’t add a touch – just be careful because pineapple has a high sugar percentage and that, combined with all the added moisture, could have an impact if added in large quantities.
I just put them in the oven. I did not use the pineapple and I added currants and dried barberries in place of dark raisins. I was just a bit shy of enuf orange juice so I topped it up with Gran Marnier.
A few years ago I put some dried fruit and clove, cinnamon, and candied ginger in a jar and doused it with whatever was on hand. Brandy probably. Every year I use some and top it up again. Gets better every year so it went in with your recipe until I had enuf grams.
Can’t wait to see how this tastes. Never made fruitcake before.
Had some once that consisted of densely packed whole Brazil nuts. Delish. Would love that recipe. Have you ever seen that type of holiday cake?
Can you add nuts to this cake?
This cake already contains some nuts, but yes, you could switch up the kind or use a touch more!
Can you add nuts to this cake?
I used this recipe to bake my first fruit cake ever. I have never eaten a homemade fruit cake. I was making this for a friend’s Mom. All I have to do is wrap them up. But had to do a taste test. It turned out good. I recommend this recipe for sure.
That’s an amazing recipe
I will give it a try.
Cathrine
This is my 2nd year making this marvelous fruit cake… I’ve dabbled in so many recipes in the past, but this for now is my absolute favourite.
I don’t think I will resort to any others 😉
So very happy to hear this! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review, means a lot. Happy holidays! ☺️
My fruit is marinating as I type this since last night and will put this together once i get home from work. Thanks for the recipe!
Thrilled to hear that!
Hi Laura,
I’m very excited to try this recipe out. Your cake looks delicious and you have given some excellent tips. I am hoping to make quite a few for gifts. I was wondering, can you store them outside the fridge in air tight containers. Just thinking, I do not have enough fridge space to store the amount of cakes I want to make.
Kind regards
Lucy
Hi! Ideally these should be stored in the fridge or at the least a very cold cellar (does anyone have one of those these days? 😅) if they’re being aged for a while. With the amount of sugar and alcohol, they’re pretty safe – but I don’t want to advise something against food safety guidelines.
Alternatively, if you wrapped with marzipan and royal icing – they can be stored for an EXTREMELY long time at room temp.
Hello, I’ve been looking for a fruit cake recipe and read all the great reviews about your recipe; but I have a question is it really almost 7 cups of dried fruit you need for this recipe? Or I misread.
Thank you
Yes! This is correct. The recipe yields two loaf cakes though and is very dried fruit heavy! I recommend using metric weights for best results, but the cup measurements are accurate.
Hi Laura- I work in a Long Term Care home and we are going to be making some homemade fruitcake in our baking program along with some reminiscing and history of fruitcake etc. I have looked at several recipes as well as my Grandma’s recipe and I am torn as to which one I should do. Time is the issue as well I am wondering about leaving out the alcohol??? (oh the horrors of leaving out the alcohol! haha). My Grandma’s recipe calls for grapefruit juice in it instead. Can I substitute the alcohol for grapefruit juice in your recipe??? I will be doing this tomorrow with my residents (Tuesday, Nov. 23rd).
If you see this before that do you mind sending me a quick reply please? Thanks!
Hi Lisa! Thanks for your question! Ideally, this cake should age for at least a week or two before serving. The alcohol really lends it a unique and wonderful flavor and aroma, but I’ve had people leave it out! I have never used grapefruit juice. Honestly, if you’ve had success with that in other recipes, it might work for this – I just can’t really say for sure, because the recipe wasn’t tested with that intention or variation, and the flavor will be very different. I wish I could be more helpful!
In the past, I’ve suggested soaking the fruit in orange juice or something of that sort too. You could also dilute the alcohol if you’re worried about it being too strong (substitute half the soaking alcohol with water, and that could help?). I always recommend making the recipe as written though for best results.
How kind you are replying almost immediately to this question. Not many bloggers would be so thoughtful!
‘Tis the season for fruitcake. I can’t wait to get baking! I’ve been searching on line for quite awhile hoping to find the best recipe and, according to the reviews, this may be the one. But before I begin, can you please tell me how long it should be baked in a 12 cup Bundt pan? Looking forward to posting a rave review.
Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas & Happy Baking
Hi Jan! I haven’t personally tested this cake in a bundt pan – although I know other people have with great success – so I can’t give you an exact bake time. I would suggest keeping an eye on it, checking after 1 hour and every 15 minutes or so afterwords. I would assume it will take at least 75-90 minutes, but I don’t want to give a high estimate because it’s best to be more cautious and check on the early side.
I do plan on testing this cake again next fall in a bundt pan and will plan on adding specific notes regarding bake time when I do! Hope this helps and hope you love it!
Just a note for Jan, that I did this recipe last year in a large round springform cake pan and it worked wonderfully! I think it did take 75 min to cook so do leave longer than an hour, just in case!
So helpful, thanks Sandy!
I’m not a cook, but I made this fruitcake last night because my mother loves fruitcake but is allergic to corn, and I couldn’t find any that weren’t loaded with high fructose corn syrup.
I changed a few things, some out of necessity and some just to see what would happen. It all turned out very well! Again, I have minimal experience in the kitchen. I think this recipe is very versatile and can be adjusted to suit your tastes.
I used cupcake liners in muffin pans for about half the batter (about 24 small cupcakes) and put the other half in a loaf pan. Didn’t change cooking times because I’m pretty ignorant about that kind of thing, just popped them in the oven together.
My house smelled HEAVENLY while it was baking. The cupcakes came out more like thick cookies or brownies, because I didn’t know how much it would rise if at all (I did mention I’m new to this, right?), and the loaf came out perfect. I broke the rules and tried it warm and it was delicious! I decided aging the cake is for more accomplished (and disciplined) bakers, and we’re eating it now. Mother-approved. Fool-proof. This is going in the recipe box. I need to start a recipe box.
If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, that’s the best source for dried fruit – there is no additional sugar added at all and that’s what I always recommend. Glad you were able to adjust and enjoyed it!
When you say soak in cheesecloth moistened with triple sec or sherry- do yo have a preference? Also when you say sherry, could you list brands. Dry, sweet, cream? This will be my first time making fruitcake so complete novice here. Thank you Looking forward to making and sharing it this holiday season.
Hi Christine! Great questions. Honestly, they both have different flavor profiles – our family tends to use sherry more, but triple sec is great (and if you love orange, I would go with triple sec!) choice as well. I do list more details in the recipe box, you’ll want to use a medium sherry (medium dry). It will list that on the bottle. Alvear and Savory & James are brands we’ve used, but we’re not brand loyal, so anything in the mid-range quality wise would be a good choice. You might not have a ton of options, depending on your liquor store.
For Triple Sec, I would probably go with Cointreau. A good reliable choice. If you really want to take it up a notch, Grand Marnier would be delicious, but it’s a lot more expensive obviously. Again, mid-quality is best, nothing too cheap, but I don’t know if top shelf is needed here.
Hope this helps!
So very helpful!!! Thank you so much!
In 1984 my boss was received the absolute best rum fruit cake for Christmas. Every year since I have tried a monastery brand or a street brand ….pretty much everyone I find and I was always disappointed. So I decided to make some. I found this recipe and struck gold! It is moist. It tastes wonderful. And I have had friends and family who were your typical fruit cake naysayers try it and they are now fruit cake aficionados. Make it. You will not be disappointed!
Thrilled to hear this! Thank you!
Hi ive got a couple of questions- why does my cake not look as brown and rich as yours despite using the exact same measurements with the only different thing being I used bleached flour (can only find that here). I am planning to feed my fruit cake once a week until Christmas- will it stay fresh for that long?
Thank you in advance for your reply!
Another question- how does this bake in a 1lb loaf pan?
Hi! I’m not sure what you mean by rich looking – did you use metric weights? Also, what do you mean, how does this bake in a 1 lb loaf? This recipe yields 2 (9 x 5 inch) loaves. But every type of dried fruit can vary a bit and ovens also vary. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, I’m just not sure what you mean by your questions at the moment!
Hi Laura, first, thank you (and your mom) for sharing this lovely recipe with us. I can’t wait to try it. I have been making Alton Brown’s fruit cake recipe for years but can’t resist trying yours this year due to all the wonderful reviews. I am planning to make 3 cakes, 1 for our holiday family gathering, 1 divided up to give away in my cookie platters for neighbors and 1 reserved for after the holidays. In prior years, I have used rum, brandy, and triple sac for my fruitcakes. This year I would like to use whisky…”why?” you may ask… Not that I like whisky in particular, but …I was helping my 90 year old mom clean out her cupboards last week and found close to 10 bottles of whisky that were given to her by various visitors from years past. I guess that’s what people do back in the days. Any how, I was wondering if you have any thoughts on replacing the rum and brandy/triple sac with the whisky. Would it be more flavorful to use 2 different types of liquor for soaking and basting ? Would it taste too strong if I use only whisky for both purposes?
Also would like to bring your attention to the area of the recipe where one can change the quantity of the recipe. I noticed that when I tried to size up the portion in the “Print Mode”, the ingredients listed in metric/grams measurements do NOT adjust, only the “cups” measurements changed. Just want to point that out.
I am going to start cutting and macerating the dried fruits tomorrow so the cakes have plenty of time to age and develop before Christmas. Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks so much Karen! I’m really excited to hear what you think of it, and am honored that you’re changing up your usual routine to try our family recipe. I hope you love it. I totally understand the temptation to use up the whisky that your mom already has on hand, but I don’t think it’s ideal (unless you’re a big whisky fan!).
Dark rum is just so much more delicate (in a good way!) in flavor and brandy is much better suited for baked goods too. If you were going to use whisky at all, I would only use a small amount – I don’t see a huge benefit in using two kinds, personally, or at least whisky being one of them – and use it for soaking the fruit, NOT soaking the cake.
Thank you for bringing the recipe (automatic sizing) print function to my attention! I actually have to manually input all of my metric weights, because they are not automatically created – they are tested – which is why it won’t automatically adjust those numbers, since they are a custom field. It is a customization print option that I share, but don’t really encourage using, because it doesn’t have the ability to adjust the equipment instructions (four loaf pans vs. two loaf pans) in the recipe.
I’m going to have my website designer and developer look at this and see if we can come up with a solution, it is frustrating for me too and I don’t want it to cause issues for anyone, but the options are limited (I could remove that sizing up/sizing down feature entirely, which might be the best solution for now, but might be frustrating for others). In the meantime, I would definitely recommend printing the standard recipe and writing in the double quantities, just to avoid confusion when you’re following! I also strongly recommend using metric weights for this recipe, especially when doubling, it will make the whole process much faster!
Appreciate your comment!
I just used this recipe (a second time) and it’s indeed a wonderful one! I am aging the cake for a week, as recommended, soaked in Triple Sec and will serve to guests this weekend. However, wanted to know how much earlier should I bring it out of the refrigerator before serving? And should I warm it up a bit before serving? Thanks!
Hi! It prefer it slightly chilled from the refrigerator, but you could also leave it out and let it come to more room temperature. I would not warm it up, personally, but I think this is subjective choice, so maybe try it all three ways 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Great fruit cake! I didn’t change anything. I decided to give it a try because of the infamous wrap fruit cakes have gained over the years. Some believe you’re supposed to save fruit cake to enjoy in the following year to show you have discipline…Lol ! Well , this cake just blew that challenge out the back door. No discipline here —we didn’t even have a sliver to take into the new year last year! bahaha! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I plan to make again this year!
Love hearing this Kimberly! Thank you for your feedback!