Fruitcake

A person who isn't a fan of fruitcake has never had a good fruitcake. At least, that's what we think. These dense, warmly spiced, fruit-filled loaves are usually reviled as dry and bland, but not this recipe. We tasked the Southern Living Test Kitchen we creating the best fruitcake they've ever made—and they delivered.

With eight kinds of dried fruit, two kinds of nuts, and five different baking spices, there's nothing about this fruitcake that can be described as boring. It's also not incredibly difficult to make, which means you won't need to block out weeks of time for all the work. We simplified and streamlined.

Learn how to make fruitcake, and gift a loaf to yourself and friends or family to prove to everyone, once and for all, that fruitcake deserves some respect.

What Is a Fruitcake?

A fruitcake is a dense, sweet loaf filled with dried fruits, nuts, and spices. It's traditionally served at the holidays, a nostalgic recipe that has ebbed and flowed in popularity for centuries. But in the South, it's never been out of fashion. In fact, some of the best fruitcake makers in the world are located in Southern states. They take their craft seriously. And odds are, even if you've never made your own fruitcake, you've had one at a holiday gathering every year for most of your life.

Ingredients in a Fruitcake

Before you get started, take a look at all the ingredients you'll need. The dried fruit is the key to this dessert, but we've crafted this recipe so that you can mix and match the fruits however you like (and leaving out what you don't.) So long as you have about 2 1/2 pounds of dried fruit, your loaf will be spot on.

The Fruits

You can't have fruitcake without all the fruits, and we used plenty of them:

• Chopped dried pitted apricots
• Chopped pitted medjool dates
• Golden raisins or raisins
• Dried cherries
• Glazed red cherries: These may be difficult to find in the grocery store outside of the holiday season, but you can order them online year-round.
• Dried cranberries
• Chopped dried apple
• Chopped glazed orange peel: This is the most controversial of the fruits, so we've made it optional. Our Test Kitchen loved it, but you can omit it if you want. Just add an extra 1/2 cup of any other fruit.

All these fruits are soaked in dark rum or brandy and absorb the liquid and flavor of the spirits.

The Loaf

The rest of the ingredient list reads like a classic quick bread or loaf, with the addition of extra nuts and spices. Here's what you'll need:

• Butter: We call for unsalted butter so that you can control the salt level (different butter brands have different amounts of salt). But if you use salted butter, just omit the extra salt in this recipe.
• Dark brown sugar: For a deeper flavor and more molasses.
• Orange zest: Unlike the candied orange peel, orange zest has more floral notes and sweetness, not that pithy tang.
• Unsulphured molasses: This kind of molasses has a sweeter flavor.
• Vanilla and almond extracts: These extracts elevate the flavor of the loaf, adding notes of warm vanilla, cherry, and nuts.
• Large eggs: You'll need 4 to help bind the batter.
• All-purpose flour: You need a dense flour that can handle the weight of all these ingredients. All-purpose flour is a great option for that.
• Baking powder: Gives rise to the loaf while it bakes.
• Salt: A bit of salt will balance the sweetness of the fruitcake.
• Ground cinnamon, ground allspice, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves: Clear out the spice cabinet for this cake. No one will be able to say it's bland.
• Slivered almonds and pecan halves: Two kinds of nuts add a nice crunch and toothsome chew to the loaves.
• Dark rum or brandy: You'll need more of the spirits for soaking the loaves.
  

How To Make Fruitcake

Fruitcake is not an overly complicated recipe. It's time-consuming, yes. But complicated? We wouldn't say that. Review this brief outline before you get started and see for yourself. The full recipe with step-by-step photos is further below:

• Step 1. Soak the fruit: Combine all the dried fruits in a large baking sheet or casserole dish, and top with the rum or brandy. Let sit for at least 12 hours or up to 24. The fruit will plump up as it soaks in the spirits.
• Step 2. Make the batter: You'll make a classic cake or loaf batter here by first combining the butter and sugar, then mixing in the molasses, extracts and eggs. Combine the dry ingredients separately and gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet until the batter is just mixed.
• Step 3. Add the fruit and nuts: Fold all the soaked fruit and the nuts into the batter until evenly distributed. You can do this part by hand.
• Step 4. Bake: Spoon the batter into two loaf pans lined with parchment paper and coated in cooking spray, and bake until golden brown and a pick comes out clean. This should take about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes.
• Step 5. Cool loaves: Let the fruitcake cool for about 6 hours, and while it does, you'll brush all sides of the cakes with some rum or brandy occasionally. Store until ready to serve.

How Far in Advance Should You Make Fruitcake?

You should plan for the fruit to soak for 12 to 24 hours. Once the fruits are soaked, the cake itself doesn't take long to mix, bake, and cool.

However, you can actually make the fruitcake days, weeks, even months in advance so long as you store it in an airtight container and keep it wrapped in a cheesecloth that is soaked with rum or brandy. (More on that below.) So if you're really a planner, you can get really ahead with your fruitcake.

Tips for the Best Fruitcake You've Ever Had

This recipe is fairly simple, and we think it makes the best fruitcake you'll ever have. But our Test Kitchen provided a few more tips that can help out as you plan to bake:

• Keep going: As you're mixing the eggs into the batter, the mixture may look a little curdled. It'll come back together nicely once you start adding the flour.
• DIY your fruitcake mix: The key to good flavor in a fruitcake is a mixture of high-quality dried fruit. Stay away from those prepackaged fruitcake mixes.
• Don't cut the soak short: Soak the fruits overnight if you can. They stay nice and moist with the longer soak.
• Change the fruits: You can mix and match and substitute with whatever your favorite dried fruits are, but be sure to have a mixture of sweeter and more tart fruits with a variety of textures so your fruitcake will have a good balance.
• Make it pretty: If you're looking to serve this as a holiday dessert, you can brush it with some warmed apricot jam or marmalade just before serving to give it some shine. Decorate the top with additional nuts and fruits. (The jam will act like a glue to hold them in place.)

How To Store Fruitcake

Fruitcake can be stored for up to 2 months. To store, dampen a layer of cheesecloth with rum or brandy; wrap the soaked cheesecloth all around the cake, and store in an airtight container. Replace cheesecloth with a clean layer soaked in more rum or brandy every 5 to 7 days as it dries out.

More Fruitcake Recipes

A big fan of fruitcake? We have even more for you:

• Fruitcake Cookies
• Really Good Fruitcake
• Cassandra's "Light" Fruitcake
• White Fruitcake