Fruit And Nut Christmas Cake ( Best Holiday Fruit Cake)
A cake that is rich with alcohol soaked dry fruits absolutely tender and flavor packed. This fruit and nut christmas cake is light, perfectly balanced in flavor and embedded with dried fruits and nuts. This is the best holiday fruit cake, a flavorful fruit cake that is perfect for the holidays and is a welcome addition to the holiday table!
Christmas plum cakes are made with alcohol soaked dry fruits (some even add candied fruits), nuts and spices. The longer the soaking the tastier is the cake. What makes a well balanced Christmas cake is the sweetness and tartness of the dry fruits, sourness from the alcohol/liquid juice, crunchiness of the nuts and the flavors of the spices.
My kitchen was brimming with aroma of warm spices, alcohol soaked dry fruits and flavors. This is the best holiday fruit cake recipe you’ll ever love.
I baked this fruit and nut christmas cake for my family and friends with the dry fruits I soaked in rum. My family and friends absolutely love this fruit cake. I am so glad I could bake for them and indeed happy with their feedbacks of how much they loved this christmas cake of mine!
If you have not soak the fruits in advance no worries you can soak them 3-4 days either in rum or fruit juice. You can check my Non-Alcoholic Christmas Cake recipe, the dry fruits soaked in orange juice. You can use orange juice, grape juice or a mix of fruit juices. If you haven’t soaked the dry fruits, still you can make one, check out my last minute christmas cake recipe which is also a superhit – no soaking no alcohol.
The dried fruits hydrate and plump up in the process of soaking and soak up all of the dark rum or fruit juice during this time. Thus making fruit cake nice and flavorful.
ABOUT BEST HOLIDAY FRUIT CAKE
This best holiday fruit cake is made using eggs. This fruit cake is similar to a pound cake with dry fruits and nut. The texture is just like pound cake so soft and spongy loaded with dry fruits and nuts. The cake is soft, spongy and just melt in the mouth. It’s a light fruit cake until old fashioned plum cake which is dark in colour. The eggs, butter and sugar are creamed nicely first, followed by adding the other ingredients and flour. The Ossoro’s black currant flavor was just amazing and absolutely lifted the flavor of the cake. The cake is spiced with cinnamon and ginger extract. The resulting cake is tender, spongy and beautifully embedded with dry fruits and nuts; you can see when sliced and feel it in every bite.
You can bake the cake ahead of holiday season and feed the cake with liquor to make it more boozy and depth in flavor; and it will also help it last longer.
LET’S TALK INGREDIENTS
Before going deep into the process of making this best holiday fruit cake, let’s briefly know the ingredients that goes inside the cake.
Flour – The recipe uses all purpose flour.
Leavening agents – Baking powder is used here to give a perfect amount of lift to the cake.
Spice – Cinnamon powder and ginger extract is used to spice the cake and add lovely aroma and taste to the cake.
Orange zest – For the extra flavor and zing.
Sweetener – The recipe uses light brown sugar, for healthier version.
Fats – Used soft salted butter. You may use unsalted butter as well.
Milk – The recipe uses minimum amount of whole milk.
Eggs – 2 large eggs is used here. If your eggs are small you can use 3 eggs.
Essence/flavor .- The recipe uses Ossoro’s black currant flavor.
Rum Soaked Dry fruits – I have used a mixture of dates, yellow raisins, black raisins, cherries, cranberries, blue berries and tutti frutti (candied raw papaya).You are free to use any dry fruits whichever you can source, not necessarily confined to the one mentioned here.
Nuts – A mixture of almonds, cashews and walnuts is used.
INGREDIENTS SUBSTITUTION:
● You can use whole wheat flour or 50-50 ratio of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour.
● In addition to cinnamon you can use spice like nutmeg and clove powder. Recommend not to use whole spice. Use in powder form or ground finely. If you have all spice mix you can use 1 teaspoon of it.
● You can use ginger powder or finely grated fresh ginger instead of ginger extract.
● You can use white sugar or jaggery or cane sugar instead of brown sugar.
● You can use oil instead of butter or use 50-50 ratio of both.
● Milk can be substituted with buttermilk.
● To make a Non-Alcoholic version you can check this two Christmas fruit cake – last minute christmas cake and non-alcoholic fruit cake.
● Use any dry fruits and nuts available to you.
● To make eggless version you can use ½ cup curd/yogurt instead of eggs and add 1 teaspoon baking soda.
● Ossoro’s black currant flavor can be substituted with 1 teaspoon vanilla essence.
PREPARATION OF DRY FRUITS FOR BEST HOLIDAY FRUIT CAKE
To make traditional and authentic christmas fruit cake, the dry fruits are soaked in rum or brandy or wine for months to even years before using them for baking a christmas fruit cake. Some even use a mixture of rum and brandy. You can check out my detailed blog post of how to soak dry fruits for christmas cake. To bake this best holiday fruit cake I have used those dry fruits soaked in rum.
PRO TIPS TO MAKE A PERFECT FRUIT AND NUT CHRISTMAS CAKE
● Fruit cakes are usually bake slowly at a lower temperature like 160° C to 170° C so that the cake is really flavorful with perfect texture. The baking time is longer as compared to baking a normal cake. It takes atleast 40-45 minutes depending upon the size of the cake.
● This best holiday fruit cake is a light fruit cake and not that dark Christmas fruit cake. To make an old fashioned dark fruit cake you can use molasses/treacle. If these are not available you can caramelized the sugar and add to the recipe. In a sauce pan add the sugar and heat till it starts to melt and get a nice brown colour but do not over caramalised the sugar. Turn off and add 1-2 tbsps water and stir well and let it cool down completely before using in the recipe.
● You can also make this best holiday fruit cake by soaking the dry fruits for a minimum time. For a non-alcoholic christmas cake, soak the dried fruits in orange juice, grape juice or can use even mixed fruit juice. You can soak the dried fruits in juice starting from minimum 1 hour to maximum for a week.
● If you’re are soaking the dry fruits in juice, keep the soaked dry fruits in room temperature if you’re soaking for couple of hours. But store it in the refrigerator if you’re soaking for longer days.
● Possibly chop the dry fruits and nuts into equal-sized pieces.
● If using unsalted butter add a pinch of salt to the batter to balance out the sweetness and enhance the taste.
Hope this holiday fruit cake recipe becomes a family staple! I’d love you to share your thoughts about the recipe in the comment section below.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HOLIDAY FRUIT CAKE AKA FRUIT AND NUT CHRISTMAS CAKE
Fruit and nut christmas cake recipe is so much easier to make. All it takes is to soaked the dry fruits in rum or alcohol of your choice ahead. When the baking day comes you just need to mix the ingredients, pour them into the baking dish and bake to perfection.
I made a simple video of best holiday fruit cake for my readers which I have shared below. Please do watch and SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t yet. It will mean a lot to me and motivate me to come up with more videos for my readers. As always looking forward to your feedbacks!
Holiday Fruit Cake Video Tutorial
Here’s a step by step pictorial instructions to make fruit and nut christmas cake, the best holiday fruit cake.
Preheat the oven @170° C for 10 minutes with both filaments (rods) on.
Grease a 7 inches loaf tin or any shape pan with oil or butter. Line with parchment paper.
Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon powder. Mix well and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add in the butter and sugar. Using an electric hand beater, beat them until it turns pale, creamy and fluffy.
Add in the eggs and beat until the mixture turns smooth and well combined.
Add in the essence, ginger extract and milk. Beat to combine.
Add in the orange zest. Add in the flour in two batch. Beat the mixture to form a lumps free fluffy batter. Do not over beat them. Scrap the sides of the bowl with a spatula and give a quick gentle mix.
Add in the drained soaked dry fruits. Add in the nuts – almonds, cashews and walnuts. Now with a spatula fold them together.
Transfer the batter onto the prepared pan. Level it with the spatula. Tap the pan couple of times to release any air bubbles inside.
Garnish with soaked dry fruits and nuts.
Place the pan on the center rack. Bake at preheated oven @170° C for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven. Brush the cake with the alcohol remains from the soaked dry fruits. Let the cake stand for about 10 minutes.
Demould and allow to cool down completely.
RECIPE CARD
Fruit And Nut Christmas Cake ( Best Holiday Fruit Cake)
Ingredients
- 1½ cup all purpose flour (192 grams)
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 100 grams butter room temperature (½ cup)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ cup milk (60 ml)
- ½ teaspoon Ossoro's black currant flavor or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 5-6 drops ginger extract
- 1½ cup rum soaked dry fruits (dates, yellow raisins, black raisins, cranberries, cherries, blue berries and tuttifrutti)
- ¼ cup almonds (35 grams)
- ¼ cup cashews (35 grams)
- ¼ cup walnuts (35 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven @170° C for 10 minutes with both filaments (rods) on.
- Grease a 7 inches loaf tin or any shape pan with oil or butter. Line with parchment paper.
- Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon powder. Mix well and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add in the butter and sugar. Using an electric hand beater, beat them until it turns pale, creamy and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs and beat until the mixture turns smooth and well combined.
- Add in the essence, ginger extract and milk. Beat to combine.
- Add in the orange zest. Add in the flour in two batch. Beat the mixture to form a lumps free fluffy batter. Do not over beat them. Scrap the sides of the bowl with a spatula and give a quick gentle mix.
- Add in the drained soaked dry fruits. Add in the nuts - almonds, cashews and walnuts. Now with a spatula fold them together.
- Transfer the batter onto the prepared pan. Level it with the spatula. Tap the pan couple of times to release any air bubbles inside.
- Garnish with soaked dry fruits and nuts.
- Place the pan on the center rack. Bake at preheated oven @170° C for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven. Brush the cake with the alcohol remains from the soaked dry fruits. Let the cake stand for about 10 minutes.
- Demould and allow to cool down completely.
Video
Notes
- You can use whole wheat flour or 50-50 ratio of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour.
- In addition to cinnamon you can use spice like nutmeg and clove powder. Recommend not to use whole spice. Use in powder form or ground finely. If you have all spice mix you can use 1 teaspoon of it.
- You can use ginger powder or finely grated fresh ginger instead of ginger extract.
- You can use white sugar or jaggery or cane sugar instead of brown sugar.
- You can use oil instead of butter or use 50-50 ratio of both.
- Milk can be substituted with buttermilk.
- To make a Non-Alcoholic version you can check this two Christmas fruit cake - last minute christmas cake and non-alcoholic fruit cake.
- Use any dry fruits and nuts available to you.
- To make eggless version you can use ½ cup curd/yogurt instead of eggs and add 1 teaspoon baking soda.
- Ossoro's black currant flavor can be substituted with 1 teaspoon vanilla essence.
CAN I MAKE THIS BEST HOLIDAY FRUIT CAKE WITHOUT ALCOHOL?
Yes, you can make this cake a non-alcoholic version, though the flavor will not be the same as the alcohol zing will be missing. But for a non-alcoholic the orange juice or other fruit juice soaked dry fruits is as good as this one. I have personally tested this variation and the dry fruits plump up in the same way.
HOW TO FEED THE FRUIT AND NUT CHRISTMAS CAKE?
Once the cake is out of oven, let the cake cool down completely. Transfer the cake to an aluminum foil or parchment paper. Poke the surface of the cake with a help of a skewer. Brush the cake with fresh alcohol or use the remains of the soaked fruits rum if any daily or alternate days or atleast twice a weekk. Brushing depends totally on how boozy you want your cake to be. Brushing also increases the shelf life of the christmas cake.
HOW TO STORE AND FREEZE THE FRUIT AND NUT CHRISTMAS CAKE?
Allow the cake to cool down completely. Poke a few holes on top of the cake and brush it with alcohol. Wrap the fruit and nut christmas cake in an aluminum foil or cling wrap and store it in an airtight container in a cool place. To freeze, wrap the cake first with cling film and then wrap it in aluminum foil. Place it in freezer for up to 3 months.
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Well, if you make this holiday fruit cake, please do leave a feedback in the comments box below or snap a photo and tag Akum Raj Jamir on Facebook and akumrajjamir on Instagram with hashtag #atmykitchen. I would love to see your creations.
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I hope you liked the recipe. Your valuable feedbacks are always welcome, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you.
Happy Cooking!
Love Akum
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