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.
954 Comments on “World’s Best Fruit Cake”
Do people serve this cake to children and recovering alcoholis? Not worried about the rum as it cooks off but what about the outside sherry?
Hi Joan! Thanks for the question. I would NOT serve this cake to recovering alcoholics or children (to be honest, I don’t think this is the type of cake that most kids will love – but you never know!) if you’re planning on soaking the cake with sherry. The alcohol does not cook off, so you taste it/smell it. Hope that helps! You could certainly choose not to soak the cake – or reserve a section for kids or anyone else that is unsoaked – it just has the best flavor if you do this step.
Beautiful photos and well written post! You have made a brilliant job of “rewriting” this recipe so it makes sense to others. Try this cake everyone! The holidays are not the same without it! Just add a cup of tea! Yum! Want some right now!
Hey Laura! I’ve made your fruit cake before and it was a real hit, but I SWORE there were currants in the recipe! Did I make that up or did it change?
So happy to hear that!!! You’re not imagining thing. I recently re-tested and made some minor adjustments to the dried fruit mixture to make everything easier to find and more approachable. Also added metric weights. Currants in the US (sometimes called zante currants) are essentially just small raisins (they’re made from grapes), so they don’t offer much of a flavor contrast from the other raisin addition. So instead, I tested and updated the recipe to include regular raisins and golden raisins for contrast. Flavor is just as good, if not better! But you can absolutely substitute the golden raisins with currants if you prefer. It’s flexible! Hope this clarifies thing and apologize for any confusion.
Thank you so much!!! Couldn’t find them this year but I just KNEW I wasn’t crazy????lol. This year I died the raisins, all the other fruits, and then I had a random bag of chopped dates so I threw them in as well!
I’ve got my drunk fruit going since yesterday, And will be soaking the cake till Christmas!
Thank you so much for the hard work on this recipe. It really is the best Fruitcake I’ve ever had!
Great!! I’ve found that just a week of soaking makes the biggest difference in flavor, but your plan also sounds great 🙂 So thrilled you love this recipe as much as my family does!
Best tasting fruitcake! I made this last year and fell in love with it. My adult children did too. I just texted them that it was fruitcake time and their response was “let’s get drunk on cake!” Last year, I didn’t start early enough, but this year pI more with it. I like the dark chocolate added! I hope I can wait while it soaks… thank you.
So thrilled to hear that Christine! It is one of my absolute favorites too. I recently tested this cake and have found that just a week of soaking (or even a few days) makes the biggest difference with flavor, so don’t worry if you can’t soak it longer. I’ve also updated the cake to include metric weights as well, and have simplified a few of the dry fruit ingredients too. Same taste, just easier to make and follow! 🙂 Thank you so much for your feedback and for taking the time to leave your review. I know that I, and others, really appreciate it.
This looks absolutely delicious, can’t wait to try this style of fruit cake. Here’s my way of doing it https://wordanova.com/recipe/fruitcake/
Hope you like it :’)
yummmm ???? Looks so delicious, can’t wait to try this. ❤️
I wanna go to give try this fruits cake recipe thanks for posting.
I made this fruitcake exactly as recipe showed. It is indeed the best fruitcake ever. Thanks Laura.
Great to see Americans seeing the delights of a good fruit cake. Never understood the lack of enthusiasm for them in the USA. Maybe it is the candid fruit?
This is on my next one to try.
I love it too! I must admit, I’m very wary of the candied fruit too because it generally just tastes like sugar to me, but this is the absolute BEST fruit cake I’ve ever had. Slightly biased, but hope you agree!
Can I use Cream sherry to soak the fruit instead of rum?
Hi Julie! Yes – you could definitely use cream sherry if you prefer. I would try to find something on the drier side personally (like an Amontillado), but it will work.
Baked the cakes today and they smell amazing! Did want to point out though that I don’t believe baking powder and nutmeg are mentioned in the recipe itself, but are listed in the ingredients? I hope it wasn’t too detrimental that I added towards the end, before the fruit, because I realized I hadn’t added them yet and couldn’t find mention of them in the steps! It could just be a slip up on my end too. Regardless, I’m very excited to start soaking these and have them ready for Christmas!
Oh my gosh – this was a typo error on my part. Yes, they should have been in the dry flour mixture (ingredients are listed in order of use). I just fixed this. I don’t believe it will be very detrimental to this cake, but I REALLY appreciate you bringing this to my attention. I’m really sorry for somehow missing that when writing and editing the instructions. THANK YOU for again for your feedback, so I could update the recipe for others. I hope you love the fruit cakes!!!
Do you have any suggestions of what I can use to soak the cheesecloths and cake in, since I do not want to use the alcohol? Also, can I soak the fruit in juice as opposed to the rum?
Thank you so much for such a wonderful looking recipe. I am making it this weekend.
Hmmm…I’m not sure if I would soak it honestly if you aren’t going to use alcohol. It will still be extremely moist without the cheesecloth step, and I just don’t think fruit juice will benefit the cake (the alcohol does cut the sweetness; fruit juice won’t really add much to it). I hope this helps!!
Thanks for sharing world’s best fruitcake recipe. I have made this and enjoyed a lot with my family.
Hi, any chance to get cup measurement to kilograms please
Hi Mimi! Just wanted to let you know that I’ve added metric measurements to the recipe!!! Hope you have a chance to make it.
Hello Laura
I love the sound of this recipe, I have all my ingredients ready to go but I would like to know if I can make this cake in a 20cm Round cake Tin.
The mixture would need to be doubled for this size.?
Hi Pam! This recipe makes TWO standard loaf cakes – since I don’t know the depth of your cake tin (is it deep, is it shallow?), it’s really hard to say. Plus, I’ve just never made this particular cake in one, so I’m hesitant to say an exact recipe conversion. I would recommend checking out this page: http://dish.allrecipes.com/cake-pan-size-conversions/ and trying to determine the volume of the cake pan you want to use and comparing it to the volume of (two) loaf pans as stated in the recipe. I wish I could be more helpful, but I would need to test it properly to give more detailed advice!
hello from Canada! just got home from the grocery to buy the ingredients. got a question for you, the soaked fruits, am i adding the rum to the batter? or i need to drain the fruits?
also, can i substitute Marsala to Sherry?
thank you.
The fruit should almost entirely soak up the rum, so no need to drain the fruit at all. Hmm, I’m not as sure about the marsala substitute, because I’ve never tried that and my mom hasn’t used that. I wouldn’t personally recommend it, but if you like the taste of marsala (because that flavor will be quite notice since that’s what you’re using to soak the cake), feel free to try it! Sorry I can’t be more specific, but hope this helps.
I just made this for the first time and couldn’t resist taking a sliver while it was still hot. Wow! This is one of the best things I’ve ever baked. There’s no way this is staying around for weeks! I’l be sharing it with friends tomorrow, but will make some more and see what it’s like when it ages. Didn’t have the exact fruits, so improvised, with quite a bit of dates, some dried mango, lots of raisins, some dried cherries, but it really didn’t matter. Thank you so much!
So thrilled to hear that!
I have two loaves in the oven at this moment. What a superb recipe. It’s the first time I’ve wavered from the Craig Claiborne NYT recipe from about 1976. I did not use the figs added extra cherries, plums, peaches, and apricots. Couldn’t find the usual currants and really wanted black currants. I will test in 4-6 weeks. Just leftover rum for the cheesecloth. Otherwise I was faithful.
Wow! My mom will be so honored to hear this. Hope you enjoy the fruitcake and looking forward to hearing your thoughts in a few weeks! I’d love if you could take the time to come back and leave a review/comment. Thank you so much Barbara!
It was abfab superb. The chocolate was almost over the top. I made one without which blew my mind–and tastebuds. And here we are again I am going to make another although just with the items I have on hand. I soaked cranberries and walnuts overnight in Framboises–which was already opened and that I didn’t want to “waste.”
Barbara
Several people have asked how to put marzipan on top. Could you get your mother to advise you and update your response please.
Also, could you let me know if your loaf pans are metal or glass? The temperature gets adjusted depending on the material. Thanks in advance for your help!
I’ll ask my mom about the marzipan – we don’t really do that with these fruitcakes, but I’m sure its more than possible. Also, the loaf pans that my mom uses are metal – thanks for the great question!
So, I just discussed this with my mom! Haha. She doesn’t do a marzipan layer, because she likes to soak/continually brush the fruitcake with booze as it sits and we choose not to do a royal icing on ours (which is *usually* why you would add a marzipan layer) -BUT basically, you want to brush the top and sides of the fruitcake with a glaze – apricot jam thinned on stove and cooled down will work well for this – and then get about 2 tubes of marzipan from store. Roll out into a thin layer, cut into strips the size of the sides / top of the loaf and apply. Hope this helps!
I made this last year and am soaking my fruit again at this moment. I grew up with that fruitcake with glazed cherries and bitter fruit My dear mother made a lovely dark version of it and would take out those old fashioned tins to bake them in. I wish I still had them! I learned to love her fruitcake … But times change and we move forward and this recipe is outstanding !
Last year I gifted this cake to my fruitcake loving friends and family. It was a huge hit.
Thank you for this beautiful recipe !
Can I make this with almond flour instead of wheat flour? I was looking for a booze-soaked, dried-fruit and nuts grain-free sort of fruitcake I could make, partly for an excuse to soak it in sherry (or something). This looks great except for the flour……..
Sorry for only just responding to this Lisa! I’ve never tried this and am a bit hesitant to advise it (especially since it’s not a cheap recipe to make and I don’t want you to get bad results), because it is VERY fruit filled and I’m worried there wouldn’t be much structure left if you used a non-gluten nut flour. Could you try a gluten free 1:1 blend? Perhaps Bob’s Red Mill brand?
Hi, made this tonight and it smells delicious. Mine didn’t turn brown though; they stayed a medium pail brown. Any ideas why? I used mini loaves, otherwise the same. Took around 45 minutes to cook.