This old-fashioned fruitcake is a Southern holiday staple! This version is packed with dried fruits and nuts and soaked in brandy for a rich, moist cake that even the staunchest fruitcake opponents will fall for.
Longtime readers know that my maternal grandmother’s family is from Mississippi. That means southern recipes are a pillar of our family cookbooks.
(We take our homemade pimento cheese and pecan pralines very seriously around here.)
There’s a special subset of these family recipes that require a little bit of deciphering. They’re so old fashioned that sometimes the instructions consist of “Mix until it looks right. Bake.”
I honestly love these recipes. They’re a fun puzzle, and it’s so satisfying to crack them and be able to share them with all of you.
This old-fashioned fruitcake recipe is one such puzzle that I cracked several years back. It comes from my great-great-grandmother’s stepmother, Mama Florence. That makes it my great-great-great-grandmother’s recipe.
I honestly don’t know a whole lot about Mama Florence, aside from the fact that she made this cake every year and that it was a Christmas staple for my momma’s family when she was growing up.
When I say that this recipe was a puzzle, in this particular instance I mean that I had a list of ingredients with no instructions whatsoever and, in some cases, no measurements either.
So, this was quite the experiment on my part, consisting of me piecing together this recipe with what I know about baking and sending up a prayer to all of the southern grandmothers who have ever loved me as I placed these cakes in the oven.
I knew the real test would be feeding the cakes to my grandmother, the only one who truly remembered what Mama Florence’s recipe (or at least what her mother’s version of the recipe) tasted like.
After the first bite, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Having lost Grandmommie a few years back, it makes me so happy to know that I was able to bring this cake back into her life.
The best fruitcake recipe
I know I’m biased, but this really is the best fruitcake recipe. I’ve fed it to even the staunchest fruitcake haters and they agreed that it was delicious. Fruitcake has a bad reputation, but this one will absolutely change your mind if you’re wary of it.
Unlike the questionable bricks you buy at the store, this fruitcake is made with real dried fruit, nuts, and plenty of warm spices.
The cake is rich from a bit of molasses, fruity from the dried fruit and a bit of orange, and absolutely packed with flavor from the spices and brandy.
Yep, this cake gets the classic fruitcake treatment of being soaked in booze over the course of a couple of weeks before serving. This adds flavor and keeps the cake moist.
I’m sharing this fruitcake recipe with you now because it needs to be made at at least 2 weeks in advance, but more is better. You need time to soak the cake in the brandy and for the flavors to age a bit. I promise that it only gets better as it sits.
And if you’re a fruitcake fan, you’ll also love my family’s fruitcake cookies! They’re a favorite at cookie exchanges and one of our favorite holiday desserts.
How to make my family’s old-fashioned fruitcake
This recipe is pretty standard as far as cake recipes go. It’s fairly easy to assemble and since it obviously needs to be made ahead of time, you can cross it off your holiday prep list now!
Ingredients you’ll need
To make my family’s old-fashioned fruitcake, you’ll need:
- Dried fruit: I typically use a combination of golden raisins, dates, and currants, but you can use any combination of dried fruit you like best.
- Brandy: You’ll use some of this in the cake batter. The rest will be used for soaking the cake after baking.
- Fresh orange: You’ll use the zest and the juice.
- Unsalted butter: This will need to be softened to room temperature. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, check out my friend Jamie’s tips for softening butter quickly.
- Granulated sugar: You’ll need 1 cup.
- Molasses: Good ol’ unsulfured molasses, not the blackstrap stuff, please.
- Vanilla: For rounding out the flavor of the cake.
- Large eggs: You’ll need 5 eggs for this fruitcake. Let them come to room temperature before you add them to the batter.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base for the batter.
- Salt: I like using fine sea salt.
- Baking soda: This is a dense cake by design, so there’s just a small amount of baking soda in here.
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice add warmth to the cake.
- Pecans: You can leave these out if needed, but the nuts add some great texture and flavor.
For the full recipe, including ingredient amounts, be sure to check out the recipe card below.
Cake pan options
My great-grandmother always used an 8-inch ring pan and a loaf pan for making her fruitcakes.
An 8-inch (6-cup) bundt pan will also work well. You can also use three 8×4-inch loaf pans.
For one larger cake, use a standard-size (12-cup) bundt pan.
I have folks who have used a regular 8-inch cake pan, too. If you do this, you’ll likely need to lightly cover the top of the cake with foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking to prevent the top from browning too much while the center finishes cooking.
My mother-in-law often uses disposable mini loaf pans for her fruitcakes so she can easily gift them. Just keep an eye on your baking time if you decide to make mini loaves.
Making this fruitcake
Start by soaking the dried fruit. Add all of the dried fruit to a large bowl and add 1/2 cup of the brandy and all of the orange juice.
You can either cover this and let the fruit soak overnight, or you can cover lightly with plastic wrap and microwave it on high for 5 minutes. If you go the microwave route, let the mixture cool.
Using a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. This will take about 3-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Add the orange zest, molasses, and vanilla; mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, and the spices. Gradually add this to the butter mixture, mixing until just combined. Fold in the soaked fruit, along with any remaining liquid, and the pecans.
Divide the batter between a buttered and floured 8-inch ring pan and 9×5-inch loaf pan or 3 8×4-inch loaf pans. Bake at 350°F for 60-75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pans until cool enough to handle, then run a knife around the edges and turn them out onto wire racks to finish cooling.
Pour the remaining brandy in a clean spray bottle. Spritz the tops of the cakes with the brandy, then wrap tightly in foil.
Store the fruitcakes in a cool, dark place for 2-4 weeks. Unwrap and spritz with the brandy every 2-3 days.
If desired, dust the cakes with powdered sugar before serving and top with a dollop of whipped cream.
Storage
If kept well wrapped, this old-fashioned fruitcake will keep for up to a month at room temperature. It will keep for up to 6 months if frozen.
Ingredient substitutions
I most often use a combination of golden raisins, chopped pitted dates, and dried currants in this old-fashioned fruitcake. But you can use any combination of dried fruit that you like best, as long as you have a total of 2 1/4 pounds.
Some other fruits I’ve used that work well include:
- Dried pears (chopped into small pieces)
- Dried cherries
- Prunes (roughly chopped)
- Dried cranberries
- Dried apples (chopped into small pieces)
Brandy is the spirit that my family likes best for adding moisture to our fruitcakes, but you could also use rum, an orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier for a more citrus-forward flavor, or a spiced pear liqueur for a more pear-forward flavor.
Frequently asked questions
Old-Fashioned Fruitcake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound golden raisins
- 1 pound chopped dates
- 1/4 pound dried currants
- 2 cups brandy divided use
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice
- 1/2 pound chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour (1) 12-cup bundt pan, (1) 9×5-inch loaf pan and (1) 8-inch ring pan or 6-cup bundt pan, OR (3) 8×4 inch loaf pans. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the raisins, dates and currants. Add 1/2 cup of the brandy and the orange juice. Cover and soak overnight, or cover lightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes. If microwaving, allow mixture to cool.1 pound golden raisins, 1 pound chopped dates, 1/4 pound dried currants, 2 cups brandy, 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange zest, molasses and vanilla, and beat until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, Zest of 1 orange, 1/2 cup molasses, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 5 large eggs
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on medium speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then fold in the dried fruit (including any remaining liquid) and pecans.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves, 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice, 1/2 pound chopped pecans
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake cakes for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool cakes in the pans, then gently remove from the pans (run a knife along the edges of the pan before attempting to remove). Allow to cool completely.
- Place the remaining brandy in a clean spray bottle. Spritz the tops of the cakes with the brandy, then wrap tightly in heavy duty foil. Store in a cool, dark place for 2-4 weeks, unwrapping and spritzing with the brandy every 2-3 days.2 cups brandy