Go Back
+ servings
side view shot of christmas fruitcake with a large piece missing
Print Recipe Add to Collection
4.60 from 10 votes

Christmas Fruit Cake

This tasty traditional Christmas Fruit Cake is packed with plenty of sweet fruit, nuts, and cozy spices - a perfect addition to your holiday baking list! Super easy and quick to make, no overnight soaking, but incredible delicious!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 35 minutes
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: christmas cake, fruitcake
Servings: 16
Calories: 381kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg ground
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves ground
  • 1 cup butter unsalted, softened
  • 1 ¼ cup sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • zest of one orange
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • ½ cup green maraschino cherries chopped
  • ½ cup red maraschino cherries chopped
  • ¾ cup dried apricots chopped (or dates)
  • 1 cup walnuts chopped
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons cointreau optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven: To 350℉, and generously grease a large 10 inch tube pan with butter, followed by a dusting of flour.
  • In a large bowl: Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cloves; set aside.
  • In a different bowl: Cream together the butter and sugar; mix well. Next, beat in the eggs, one at a time. Note - the batter may look curdled and that's okay! Finally, stir in half the cointreau or the alcohol of your choice and the orange zest.
  • Combine ingredients: Gradually combine both bowls of wet and dry ingredients, until well incorporated.
  • Mix fruits and nuts: In a bowl, mix together the raisins, cherries, apricots, and walnuts. Drizzle with remaining 2 tbsp of flour and stir again. Next, fold the fruit mixture into the cake batter.
  • Prepare batter: Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the top - optionally you can use the walnuts to garnish the cake as well - I used whole pecans instead!
  • Bake: Transfer the tube pan to the oven and bake for 75 minutes or until cooked through.
  • Finish the cake: Let the cake cool for 5 minutes in the tube pan. Then transfer onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. To finish the cake, poke holes in it with a skewer or toothpick and drizzle the rest of the cointreau over the cake!

Video

Notes

  1. Room temperature: When stored properly at room temperature, covered with foil or placed in a plastic bag, this fruitcake will last up to 1 month.
  2. Fridge: Again, properly covered or wrapped in foil or plastic bag, this fruitcake will have a life expectancy of up to 6 months.
  3. Freezer: Fruitcake will maintain it's best quality up to 12 months in the freezer but will keep safe indefinitely (yes you read that right!) when stored properly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 279mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 689IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 2mg