Best Fruitcake Recipe

The longer you soak the fruit and nuts in brandy, the tastier your cake will be!

What You Will Need:
Fruits and Nuts:
1 cup golden raisins
1 small jar of maraschino cherries (drained)
1 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple (drained)
1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins recommended - orange, cherry or original flavor)
1/2 cup dried apricots
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (or pecans if you like)
3/4 cup brandy *

*Note on brandy: Make sure you choose a brandy that is good enough to drink! You'll probably need it after you're done baking:)

For the batter:
2 sticks of margarine or butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup brandy






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What To Do Next

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the fruit, nuts, lemon zest and brandy. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to soak in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours, and up to 7 days, stirring occasionally. If you want a stronger brandy flavor in your fruitcake, soak for the longest possible time.

Drain off any excess liquid before preparing the batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two 9 inch loaf pans.

In an electric mixer, cream the butter or margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients thoroughly and toss 1/2 cup of this mixture with the fruit and nuts.

Add the remainder of the dry ingredients to the butter sugar mixture, alternating with the orange juice and brandy. Mix together until completely incorporated.

Fold in the floured fruit and nuts into the batter and pour into prepared pans.

Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes (could be longer, depending on your oven so keep checking!) or until toothpick comes out clean.

You can serve warm if you like, and refrigerate any leftovers. It will keep in the fridge for several weeks but after you taste this, it may not last very long.

After so many failed attempts at making the "perfect" fruitcake, I finally found the secret ingredient - crushed pineapple. Yes, in a can. I've used applesauce but it didn't quite cut it. I also tried to add more brandy but unfortunately too much booze (therefore, too much liquid) made the batter runny so the fruitcake did not bake properly. So I desperately scanned my sparse pantry to see what I could use....and then I found it. A small can of Dole crushed pineapple. It was originally going into a tropical fruit salad but it never made it. I guess you can say, the rest is history. There are several other pineapple fruitcake recipes (yes, I googled!), but this one has brandy and booze just makes the cake:)

Most fruitcake recipes call for candied cherries, candied pineapples, candied this and candied that. You won't see any of that in this recipe. I use a small jar of maraschino cherries instead. Just drain the juice and add to the batter. It moistens the cake and it tastes so much better. Sometimes the cherries come in green, but I don't like green stuff in my fruitcake!






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Dried apricots are high in fiber and also serve as a great addition to the variety of fruits in this cake. One of my personal favorite dried fruit, I try to snack on these instead of M&M's or other "bad" sweets with empty calories and too much sugar. If you want to make a homemade trail mix, chop up some dried apricots and mix in some almonds, walnuts, dried cranberries (like Craisins) and you have a wholesome and filling snack.

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There's nothing better than the wonderful aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. It defintely enhances the flavor of the fruitcake and what a great combination with the brandy! If you are partial to cinnamon, you can always add a bit more - same goes with nutmeg or allspice. You can throw in a pinch of ginger if you like.

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What is a fruitcake without the booze? This is a must-have for any fruitcake recipe. The more the better! This is why I soak my dried fruit for at least 24 hours before baking the cake. If you have the time, soaking the fruit and nut mixture for several days is best to maximize the brandy flavor in the fruit. Isn't alcohol wonderful? This is one of the reasons why fruitcake has an incredible shelf life and you can enjoy it for a very long time.