This recipe will change your mind about fruitcakes! This light, golden, and buttery Candied Holiday Fruitcake filled with fruits and nuts is delicious from the first bite to the last.
Fruitcake. That most maligned of holiday desserts. The butt of hundreds of holiday jokes.
Theories abound about fruitcake. Some people say there's really only one and it gets passed from person to person. Other people swear it's best used as the filler for potholes. And, honestly, there are some fruitcake recipes that are deserving of that treatment.
Still others adore its rich, dark candied texture. People seem to be of two minds about fruitcake - they either hate it or they love it. Not much middle ground with fruitcake.
Fruitcake Has a Long, Long History
Did you know that fruitcake has been around for hundreds of years? In the Middle Ages honey, spices, and dried fruits were added to bread dough for special occasions. Fruitcake was once even protected by laws that restricted its consumption to celebrations such as Christmas and weddings.
Most traditional recipes that have come down to modern cooks contain loads of candied citron, raisins, either dark brown sugar or molasses and a healthy dose of rum or brandy. They're dense, heavy, dark and rich. They're also loaded with booze. Maybe that's part of the appeal for those in the fruitcake lovers camp.
A Lighter Version of Fruitcake
This fruitcake has many of the same ingredients as the traditional, but instead of dark and dense, it's light in color, texture, and taste. It's what southerners call a "blonde fruitcake." It's loaded with candied pineapple, cherries and orange peel (no citron!), and pecans. And the cake is light in color, rich and buttery.
I've been making this fruitcake (with a few personal tweaks by me) every year since I first saw the recipe in the November 1991 issue of Bon Appetit. I really need to re-write that recipe card before I forget what it says in all the places that are spattered with butter and vanilla.
This is one of the treats that BeeBop looks forward to every Christmas and every crumb is consumed by the end of the holidays. For several years I sent one to work with him near Christmas and it became a standing request from the guys he worked with starting about November first each year. It's really that good.
If you haven't made a fruitcake for the holidays yet, I highly recommend this one.
How to Make Candied Holiday Fruitcake
Prepare the Pan and Fruits
Position an oven rack in the lowest third of your oven and preheat to 250°. Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan and set it aside.
Chop the candied pineapple into about ⅓ inch pieces. Cut the cherries in half.
In a large bowl, mix the pecans and fruit with 3 tblsp of flour.
Mix the Batter
In another large bowl, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Sift 1 ¾ cups flour with baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and stir until blended.
Mix the fruit and nuts into the batter. Just a note - at this point the batter becomes heavy weightwise. It gets pretty hard to turn it all around and mix it well, but just keep pulling the wet batter up from the bottom of your bowl and mixing until everything is well combined.
Put the batter into your prepared pan. This is not really a pourable batter. I use a wooden spoon to put big blobs of batter into the pan. When all of the batter is in the pan, smooth the top.
Bake Until Golden Brown
Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted halfway between the outside and tube of the pan comes out clean, about 2 ½ hours. Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes.
Turn out onto a rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar (optional).
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Candied Holiday Fruitcake
Ingredients
- 3 cups chopped pecans
- 16 oz candied pineapple chopped
- 8 oz candied cherries halved
- 4 oz candied orange peel
- 1 ¾ cups plus 3 tblsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- Powdered sugar optional
Instructions
- Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 250°.
- Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix pecans and fruit with 3 tblsp of flour.
- In another large bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Sift 1 ¾ cups flour with baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to batter and stir until blended. Mix fruit and nuts into batter.
- Put batter into prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 2 ½ hours.
- Cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
Lee Thayer says
I made this on 11 Oct 2020, substituting chopped mix fruit for the orange peel. I cooked it for exactly 2 1/2 hours, and it turned out beyond all expectations! I served this after a family get together dinner, and all said this is excellent! My Dad had the best comment, he stated "I could eat this every day instead of regular cake." Thank you Lana for the wonderful recipe, and it will be a regular.
Lana Stuart says
I'm so glad your family liked the fruitcake! It's been our favorite for years.
Jennifer says
I'm not a big pineapple fan... Could I swap out the amount of pineapple with the amount of cherries?
Lana Stuart says
Honestly, I believe that amount of candied cherries would be overwhelming. I'd suggest substituting candied citron instead.
AmyO says
When's the best time to likker it up? My Aunt SadiePearl used to make her secret fruitcake every year. She had tons of orders for it. It was heavy, moist & rich... After making it she'd wrap it in cloth, probably cheesecloth and brown paper & store in a dark cupboard. I remember her opening them every few days & splashing them with more bourbon. This went on for several weeks before she gave it to the person who ordered it, so it must have been good & pickled!
One day she gave me the recipe but when I went out for the day, she'd gone & taken it back! It was HER secret
Lana Stuart says
Amy, sorry I can't help you because I don't put liquor on mine. If I did, I'd probably use a very good bourbon and start several weeks in advance of when I wanted to serve it.
Pru says
Your recipe looks very light and tempting. I intend to make it this Christmas. Could you give NE storing instructions and shelf life if this cake.
Pumla from Cape Town South Africa
Linda says
This is as close as I've ever found to a recipe that was in Woman's Day or Family Circle in the 60's. It was part of my cookbook for ages and disappeared. When you make the fruitcake it seems there isn't going to be enough "cake" to hold it together! Thank you.
DessertForTwo says
Wow, I'm so happy to find this recipe! We made the dark fruitcake from Joy of Cooking this Christmas. It was good, not great. Have you heard of Collin Street Bakery in Texas?
Lana says
No, I've never heard of them. Good, huh?
LimeCake says
Fruit cake is so maligned indeed. I love it though, in moderation. LOL. Happy holidays!
MomandNana says
This DOES look like a wonderful recipe but being a Georgia girl, I can't read a post about fruitcake without mentioning Claxton fruitcake made right here in Claxton, Georgia. Definitely one of my own Christmas indulgences -- I always seek it out. A small square with a glass of eggnog is the best holiday dessert ever!
Polly P says
I agree about Claxton Fruitcake.. none compare. At the Christmas grab bag that's what I would want.. I'm trying this recipe with the container of chopped candied fruit..I hope that works. I have raisins, cranberries and apricots to add if needed. I like this recipe because I have butter on hand, not shortening..Everything baked is better with butter!'
Lana Stuart says
Glad you're trying the recipe, Polly. Just be aware that that container of mixed candied fruit is mostly citron and this recipe calls for only pineapple, cherries, and orange peel, so your cake will be an entirely different taste.
Happier Than A Pig in Mud says
I'll bet this is wonderful! You reminded me about a bread I usually make at Christmas, I call it Christmas Bread (original I know:@). Carrots, cherries, coconut and cloves! Gotta get my apron on and get busy-Merry Christmas!
pegasuslegend says
I have never gotten brave enough to attempt this, you just gave me inspiration, its simply elegant. Everyone loves this cake, all that I bake this is one I have never tried, amazing! I love yours going to book mark thanks for posting this one! Merry Christmas and have a blessed and healthy New Year!