It’s as aromatic as it is delicious and makes a wonderful, make-ahead hostess gift!
What is Fruit Cake?
Fruitcake, sometimes called Christmas Cake or Plum Cake, is one of the oldest recipes around! Originally, fruitcakes were prepared to preserve fruits and nuts by baking them in a dense cake. It has certainly been transformed throughout the generations into the festive, holiday offering it is today!
Gourmet: This easy recipe makes a loaf of fruitcake filled with jewel-toned dried fruits, nuts, and fragrant spices. Make-ahead: Fruit cake should be made well in advance (even months in advance) and it freezes well. Perfect gift: Homemade fruit cake can be wrapped in parchment paper and tied with a ribbon or twine for a thoughtful and personalized gift.
Ingredients for Fruit Cake
Batter – Keep fruitcake batter rich and moist using grape juice (or apple juice). Use all-purpose flour, real butter, and large eggs for the best results. Fruits – Dark or golden raisins, currants, dates, and candied cherries are the standard fruits for fruitcake, this recipe also has a kick of citrus peel to bring the flavors up a notch. You can find these ingredients in the baking aisle, however, I’ve included links above as well. Ensure the cherries are candied or glazed, not maraschino cherries. The citrus peel can be orange peel, lemon or a mixture. As long as the measurements are the same, you can replace the fruits with other dried candied fruits such as pineapple or apricots. Nuts – Walnuts and almonds are used in this recipe, but you can mix and match any variety of nuts, like pecans or even macadamia nuts. Spices – This recipe only needs a dash of allspice and cinnamon to accent the other ingredients. You can add 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger or use homemade spice blends like apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice will punch up the flavors!
How to Make Fruit Cake
How to Store Fruit Cake
Fruit cake should be refrigerated for at least 1 week before eating. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months and in the freezer for up to a year! I leave the alcohol-soaked cloth on the fruit cake when freezing, wrap it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and then place it in an airtight container or freezer bag. Did your family love this Old Fashioned Fruit Cake? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below! Recipe Slightly Adapted. “Inexpensive Fruit Cake”. Recipe. Purity Cook Book. Winnipeg, MB, 1932. 50. Print. © SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
