Every year, the Beloved makes fruitcake, specifically Alton Brown’s fruitcake, which he has tweaked until it is perfect. This recipe doesn’t contain any candied fruits, so if that is what has been stopping you from making fruitcake, maybe you’ll give this one a try!
It’s so good. Honest!
For ease of browsing, here are all of my muffin and quick bread recipes in one place.
See my Alton Brown fruit cake web story here.
Fruitcake, At a Glance
✔️Skill Level: Beginner
✔️Skills: Macerating (soaking) fruit, Simmering, Mixing
✔️Type: Christmas Cake
✔️Number of Ingredients: 26, many of which are dried fruits and spices
✔️Prep Time: 1 hour
✔️Cook Time: 50 minutes-1 hr
✔️Yield: 1 9 x 5 loaf or 4-5 6″ x 2 1/2″ loaves
Related Recipes: Fruitcake Overnight Baked Oats
Jump Straight to the Recipe
Thanks so much! I loved the fruitcake. I made it this Christmas and it was everything you said it would be. Our local liquor store had a Christmas blend of rum and brandy together so I used that. Very tender and I loved this particular blend of fruits instead of the regular candied ones.
Reader Robbie Potter
Fruitcake from The Beloved
Several years ago, I wrote a post about how The Beloved started making Christmas fruit cake one year and how I thought he had lost his mind.
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Now, he has been making slight variations on the recipe for years, and he makes dozens.
He uses Alton Brown’s standard recipe for Free Range Fruitcake, but over the years, he has put a bit of his own spin on it by changing the spicing a little. And he generally also leaves out the nuts.
It is the best fruitcake recipe ever.
I went from being an avowed fruitcake mocker to looking forward to the start of his baking season.
And, if I have been pleasant, I get to lick the pot after he scrapes the batter out into the pans.
What Dried Fruits You’ll Need
No glaceed cherries or weird, rubbery peel in this stuff, friends. You will need a variety of dried fruits as well as some crystallized ginger.
This fruitcake is made without candied fruit.
Here are the players:
- tart cherries: you could certainly substitute dried sweet cherries here as well
- cranberries: my husband buys unsweetened dried cranberries, but you could also use the Craisin® brand from the grocery store that are lightly sweetened
- blueberries: a little something different. Dried blueberries are fairly mellow, so you can punch up the flavor of your fruitcake by substituting the same amount of either dried cranberries or cherries
- apricots: If you’re not a huge fan of apricots, you can sub in dried mango, or again, add the same amount of one of the other dried fruits
- currants: raisins work here as well
- crystallized ginger: adds a little zip to the whole production. As with the rest, leave it out if you don’t like it, or you can even add more if you’re a huge ginger fan.
PRO TIP: You will need a total of four cups of dried fruit (this includes the golden raisins, which for me are non-negotiable), and this can be made up of any of your favorites. You do not have to stick to the proportions in the recipe as long as you use a total of 4 cups.
Other Dried Fruits That Will Work
Don’t limit yourself to just thes fruits Jeffrey uses. The “master recipe” calls for one cup of currants (or raisins) and a total of 2 additional cups of dried fruits.
You can use any sort of dried fruits you prefer.
Here are some other choices for you:
- dried plums (prunes), snipped into pieces
- dried pineapple (as long as it’s pliable and not hard)
- figs
- dried peaches or nectarines (use in place of the apricots or in addition to)
- dried pear
- dried apple
Do not substitute freeze-dried fruits for dried fruit or you will throw the moisture content off and your fruitcake will end up sad and dry.
Jenni Says: Do not wait until the last minute to make any kind of fruitcake. They will be at their best after 4-6 weeks of aging and being sprayed with brandy.
How to Make Jeffrey’s Fruitcake
One of the great things about this moist fruit cake is that you don’t need a mixer to make it. You need a big old pot, a wooden spoon, your ingredients of course, and some pans to bake in.
Although the ingredient list is long, the procedure is simple.
- Macerate (fancy word for soak) a ton of dried–not candied and weird–fruits and citrus zest in golden rum for a few days.
- Plop all of that into a pot with some apple cider, sugar, and spices and simmer for a while.
- Let the fruit mixture cool then stir in eggs, dry ingredients and then bake. No mixer needed, and the house smells amazing.
- Put the cakes in airtight containers and brush or spray them with brandy every couple of days for at least four to six weeks.
No Alcohol Variation
Rather than plumping the fruit and zest in rum, macerate in 7 ouncjes of water and 1 whole ounce (2 Tablespoons) of rum extract. (For a total of 1 cup liquid)
After soaking, just scrape fruit and any liquid that hasn’t been absorbed into the cooking pot and proceed with the recipe as written.
Instead of brushing the fruitcake with brandy, wrap them well and store them in a cool, dark place.
I can attest that they are Incredibly Good! I actually like this version better than the alcoholic version.
Fruitcake Spices
If you’re asking yourself if you need to have the whole versions of all the spices called for, the answer is not necessarily.
Generally speaking, whole spices have stronger, fresher flavor than the ground versions, but do not let not having whole spices deter you from making this most delicious of fruitcakes.
Here are the whole spices Jeffrey uses:
- whole cloves
- whole allspice berries
- black peppercorns
He grinds these three together using a mortar and pestle, but you could also use a spice grinder.
And these are ones he uses already ground:
- cinnamon
- ginger
The nutmeg he grates separately with either a Microplane or a Microplane Spice Mill, which works shockingly well.
Serving Suggestions
We visited the Claxton Fruitcake factory once, and they suggested we serve their fruitcake sliced very thin and straight from the fridge.
With this fruitcake, heating it up really brings out the spices. We always cut fairly thick slabs and toast them in our toaster oven. Spread with cream cheese, it really doesn’t get much better.
You could also spread it with some salted butter and maybe some seasonal jam like this cranberry orange jam.
Where To Get The Paper Baking Pans
Jeffrey has tried several sizes as well as baking full-sized fruitcake in loaf pans.
The ones he has settled on for gift-giving are 6″ x 2 1/2″, and we think they make the most beautiful loaves.
If you use this size, you can get 5 lovely little fruit cakes from one batch of batter.
Some of the paper loaf pans he tried were too long or too narrow. These Junior loaf pans are just right for his purposes. These are all he uses for his fruitcake now, unless he wants to bake a full-sized loaf to keep at home.
Other Christmas Dessert Recipes
I have a lot of Christmas-themed recipes on my site–cookies, cakes, etc–but I have a couple of favorites.
First, my Auntie Ev’s Trifle, which is one of our family’s traditional Christmas desserts that her family brought with them from England.
And I cannot forget angel slices, which are my favorite Christmas cookies ever. Another legacy of Auntie Ev, via the Joy of Cooking.
If you like gooey pecan and coconut filling baked on a shortbread crust and then glazed with a crackling thin lemon glaze, angel slices are for you!
Free Printable Christmas Recipe Card
And here are the printable recipe cards for this recipe. The .pdf has both on one page, and both are linked to it. Click either picture to open and save the recipe, or you can right-click each picture and save them that way if you prefer. Get all my free Christmas recipe cards if you like!
I have 3 different templates for printable recipe cards for Christmas/winter holidays, so take a look and download them all. They’re free!
There’s fruitcake… then there’s FRUITCAKE….
Paul Lally, Ciao Italia
Thanks to daughter, Sarah Lally Brown, I devoured her UPPER CAPS version to the very last crumb.
Questions
If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.
Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.
If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.
A Note About Measurements
My recipes are almost all written by weight, including liquids, unless otherwise specified.
For accuracy and consistency of results, I encourage you to buy–and use–a kitchen scale.
I promise that baking and cleanup will be so much quicker and easier.
This is the scale that I recommend for home use. I have owned and used one for years.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
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Christmas Fruitcake
Ingredients
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup currants (or prunes snipped into tiny pieces)
- ½ cup each dried cranberries blueberries, cherries and apricots (chop the apricots into pieces) or a total of 2 cups dried fruit
- zest of one lemon (Microplaned)
- zest of 1 orange
- ¼ cup minced crystallized ginger
- 1 cup gold rum NON-ALCOHOLIC VERSION: 1 oz (2 Tablespoons rum extract and 7 oz water)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 oz unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
- 1 cup unfiltered apple juice (orange juice works well here too)
- 4 whole cloves ground (or 1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground)
- 6 allspice berries ground (or 1/4 teaspoon ground)
- 10 peppercorns ground fresh (or 1/4 teaspoon ground)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- several gratings fresh nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon ground
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4-1/2 cup pecan halves (optional)
- brandy for basting/spraying OMIT for Non-Alcoholic version. Just wrap the cake while still warm to keep it moist and store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat it/gift it
Instructions
- At least a day before, soak the raisins, the rest of the dried fruit, the crystallized ginger and the zests in golden rum (or water and rum extract). You can do this in a zip-top bag if you want. Shake the bag occasionally.
- When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325F and then dump the contents of the zip-top bag, including any liquid, into a 3 1/2 quart saucepan (or similar size. Don't go buy a new pan).
- Add the sugar, butter, juice, and spices (The Beloved grinds the cloves, allspice, pepper and salt together with a mortar and pestle. He wanted me to tell you that) and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for 30-45 minutes.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda and baking powder into the fruit mixture, combining it quickly with a wooden spoon.
- Stir in the eggs thoroughly, one at a time.
- Pour/scrape the batter into your prepared pan/pans, smooth the top and press on the optional pecans (in a design or not).
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You're looking for an internal temperature of 200F. This will take about an hour or a bit longer, so test at a hour and go from there.
- Remove cake from oven and liberally brush the top with brandy.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, turn it out of the pan and put it in an airtight container. Brush or spray it well with brandy every 2 or 3 days and let it age for at least 2 weeks or up to pretty much forever.
- Enjoy toasted and spread with cream cheese as we do. So delicious!
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
Nutrition
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I can not wait to make this fabulous fruit cake! Off to get all of the dried fruit! Wish me luck!!
Nettie
I think you’ll be so happy with how easy it comes together, and how long it keeps (if you can make it last)! I really hope you guys enjoy it, Nettie! xo
Hi would love to know if eggs and rum can be replaced with?
Really would love to bake this if I can substitute the two ingredient s. Thanks
You can replace the eggs with flax eggs or a vegan egg product such as Just Eggs. As for the rum, my husband uses an ounce of rum extract and 7 oz filtered water. You could also use orange juice, apple juice, etc, but you may need to cut down a bit on the sugar to make up for the extra sweetness. Enjoy!
I’m back to make this recipe for Christmas , i have to make one gluten free any suggestions on what to use for the flour and does anything change in baking times?
Thanks
Hey Joe! Hooray for Christmas fruitcake! I think you should be fine using any cup for cup gluten-free flour mix. I know Bob’s Red Mill has one I’ve heard good things about. Gluten-free baking isn’t my forte, so I will also refer you to my friend Sandi at https://fearlessdining.com. All her recipes are gluten-free, and I’m sure she can point you in the right direction/let you know what blends work best in certain applications.
Thank you !! Making this last year helped me get through covid lockdown, it allowed me to share joy with people I had not seen in awhile!
I cannot tell you how happy this comment makes me, Joseph! So glad you love the recipe and that gifting it helps you stay connected to loved ones. Have a wonderful Christmas, and stay safe and well. 🙂
I just used the Bobs Red Mill 1-1 flour and I changed a few other things too. Added the cup of orange juice and 1/2 cup of apple cidar vinegar. No alcohol here, plus the only dried fruit i had was 1 cup golden raisins and 1 cup low sugar cranberries. So I opened a can of pineapple bits, mashed them up a little to get out some of the liquid, then took a can of cherry pie filling (LOL I know but it’s all I had) rinsed off the “gel” and used them. It made batter for 3 of the small paper loaf gift-size pans, plus 2 small cupcake sized ramekins. It took 45 mins for the ramekins, but the full hour for the 3 mini loaf pans. They taste good, my husband is the fruitcake expert, and he says its great and tastes the way fruitcake is su[posed to taste! I never ate it before, but it tastes good.
This is awesome! So glad you used what you had and that it worked out so well. That’s what I call being fearless!
Hi Jenni,
I’m going to bake these in small mini aluminum loaf pans 5 23/32”x3 5/16” x 1 7/8 “.
How long do you think the bake time should be?
My husband bakes 4 at a time (1 batch split among 4 pans) and they take right at about 45 minutes to bake. Occasionally he has to give them an extra 5 minutes, but most of the time, they are fine at 45 minutes. Enjoy!
I am so excited to try this recipe, Jenni. I have two questions: (1) The cakes are sprayed once a week with rum or brandy. Is the entire cake sprayed (top, sides, bottom) or just the tops. (2) Will storing in a too warm environment cause mold to form on the cake? My apt is warm, despite my having the heat turned off, and the cakes need to be stored for 4 to 6 weeks in a cool place, not in the fridge.
Hi! You will love the fruitcake! When my husband makes them, he sprays all surfaces if he has baked in a metal pan and then “depanned.” If he has baked in paper to give away as gifts, he just sprays the tops really well. Both ways work fine. The alcohol should inhibit any molding, but to be safe, you can keep the cake/s well-wrapped in the fridge and take them out to spray. Let them come up to room temp before spraying so the alcohol can soak in more easily, then wrap them back up and stick them back in the fridge. Please let me know how you like the cake. My husband will be thrilled that his version of AB’s cake is being enjoyed by another happy, fruitcake lover!
Jenni,
There are conflicting instructions regarding amount of fruit.
On recipe card it calls for four cup total of fruit.
In the article in the PRO Tip it says three cups total.
I used four cups myself , just wondering
Ah, I meant 3 cups plus the cup of golden raisins. I’ve updated the Pro Tip to reflect a total of 4 cups, 1 of which is non-negotiable golden raisins. Non-negotiable for me, anyway! I hope you enjoyed the fruitcake, Joe, and thanks for asking, because obviously it needed clarification. Here’s to a happy, healthy, and all-around better 2021!
Hi Jenni,
I made two of these bad boys the smell in the kitchen was So good. Now to baste them with the brandy for two weeks ( the anticipation)!
I have another question for your ONE
I’m going to make more to use up the rest of my fruit. They will be in small mini aluminum loaf pans 5 23/32”x3 5/16” x 1 7/8 “.
How long do you think the bake time should be?
Thanks
Hi there i love fruitcake I’ll say it loud and proud lol! What are the equivalents in measurements for the whole spices ? I only have already ground spices.
I have the fruit soaking as we speak
Apparently today 12/27 is fruitcake lovers day
Hey, Joe! I just asked my husband (because this is his deal!), and he says you should be good with 1/4 teaspoon each of ground allspice and clove. If all you have is ground black pepper, go with 1/4 teaspoon of that as well. He also adds in some grated nutmeg which he *just* told me, so I will have to amend the recipe to include about 12 gratings of fresh nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon ground. I’ll add the equivalents in ground spices too, so thanks for asking. Enjoy the fruitcake!
Thanks for the reply . I didn’t get all unsweetened dried fruit oops some have sugar added it’ll be fine right?
Yes, it’ll be fine! Let us know how it turns out!
How does your husband store these as they age? Other recipes often wrap in alcohol-soaked cheesecloth then an airtight wrap, then you can just stack them like bricks – lol! I baked a couple batches of this one and am struggling to find a good way to store them in my pantry! I LOVE this recipe, by the way. Thank you!
I’m so happy you like them! He stores them in plastic shoebox-sized boxes wrapped in plastic, although I’m sure cheesecloth would work just fine too. When he makes full loaves, it’s 1 per box, but when he makes 4 small loaves from 1 batch, he can fit all 4 in. Then he just takes them out once a week and sprays them all. They live in our closet while they age!
I plan on baking them in individual pans to use as gifts. The recipe says to let the bakes cake cool and remove from pan for spraying. Is that required, or can I leave them in the pans and baste with liquor that way? Tia!
Yes, you can absolutely leave them in the pans and spray them that way. My husband does this all the time for gift giving. Enjoy!
I would love to make this gluten free for my husband. Do you think it would work with a cup for cup gf flour blend? Thank you!
Hi, Ann! Yes, I think that is your best bet and the easiest swap. I hope he enjoys it–let me know! 🙂
Love Alton Brown. Love fruitcake. But ARG – more than 20 ingredients?
It is what it is, and it’s a lot. But it’s great! Most fruitcakes seem to have a pretty long ingredient list. If it helps, just call the raisins, currants, blueberries, etc “mixed fruit” and make sure whatever you use adds up the the same amount. Enjoy!
Well that is one organized and talented hubby you have Jenni! I would actually make this fruitcake and that is a high compliment indeed!!
It seriously is so good, Beth! I love the addition of black pepper for just a bit of bite. Plus, it is ridiculously good toasted with cream cheese on it. I could eat it every day!
Can I just say Wow??? This fruit cake looks amazing!
It is so good! He starts his baking usually around the middle of September so they have plenty of time to soak up all the brandy!
A friend of mine does NOT like “traditional” fruit cake…..CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!! I researched and researched and found YOU!!!! I didn’t start as early as I should have so these had time to “soak” but he LOVED the week and a half version and then he got the 4 week one’s and loved them even more!!! He said “keep doing what you are doing because I have NEVER liked fruit cake before”!!!! Oh and he kept commenting on the orange flavor so this was and is a big hit!!!! I told him I’ll start in June this next time
I’m so happy you found this recipe! We love it so much, and I appreciate that my husband makes it so I don’t have to!