This Old Fashioned Fruit Cake recipe is a moist, heavily spiced cake full of dried fruit, candied citrus, and nuts. Disregard all your pre-conceived notions about fruit cake because this one is flavorful and rich.
Spray and line a tube pan with parchment paper. Use the bottom of the pan to trace the concentric circles and then cut them out to fit.
In a large bowl combine all dried fruits and chopped nuts. Toss with ⅓ cup flour and set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together remaining flour, spices and baking soda. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in another bowl using a hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until lightened and fluffy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time and beat well. Add the molasses, fruit juice, and brandy. Beat well. Add the strawberry preserves and beat well. Reduce the mixer to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, being sure not to overmix. Fold in the fruit and nuts.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Fold egg whites into batter.
Pour into prepared pan. It should be about ¾ full. Cover with heavy waxed paper or parchment paper that extends about 1 inch over the edge. Tie tightly with kitchen twine, a large rubber band, or cinch it down with aluminum foil.
Place covered cake pan in the preheated oven and place a large roasting pan with about 1 inch of hot water under it. Do not place the pan in the water, this is not like a water bath.
Bake about 2 hours or until a cake tester comes out clean. After 1 ½ hours I removed the covering from the cake pan and allowed the cake to brown a bit.
Allow to cool 1 hour before turning out.
Soak a cloth in brandy and wrap the cake while still warm. Wrap in waxed paper or in plastic wrap. If desired, you can remoisten the cloth with brandy 1-2 times per month as the cake absorbs the moisture. I did this once a month for 3 months.
Notes
Let’s get into it like a PROFESSIONAL CHEF:
Presentation - I topped this fruit cake with acream cheese glaze and served it with a dollop oflightly sweetened whipped cream, but a crème fraiche whipped cream would also be a nice pairing. I would avoid any garnish adding additional sweetness like caramel, but a scoop ofvanilla bean ice cream orvanilla bean anglaise would be a welcome addition! The creaminess of the dairy highlights the spices and tames the richness of this fruit cake recipe!Flavor Tips - Soak a clean kitchen towel in about ½ cup brandy. Wrap the cake in the kitchen towel, place a few slices of apple in the center and wrap the whole cake in plastic wrap. Allow to sit 2 weeks before unwrapping and serving. My grandmother would soak her fruit cakes twice a month for 3-4 months. It just depends how boozy you want your cake! Technique - Homemade fruit cake is commonly dry from overbaking, baking in too hot an oven, or not adding moisture from soaking. Un-soaked fruit cake should be served within a week of baking for the best flavor and texture. This fruit cake recipe is delightful un-soaked when eaten fresh! The original instructions call to steam the cakes in a steamer for 3 ½ hours then bake, but I just placed a roasting pan full of hot water in the bottom of my oven for the full time. Who has 5 hours to bake a cake?Helpful Tools - A non-removable bottomed 10-inch tube pan lined with parchment paper will work best. Bonus points for nonstick.Variations - You can omit the raisins and pecans, or substitute for another dried fruit or nut of your choosing. You can soak fruit cake inapple cider instead of alcohol. You can also omit soaking the whole cake and simply soak the fruit in apple cider before making the cake. It will have similar results. The resulting cake will not be shelf-stable and should be refrigerated. You can substitute the brandy in this fruit cake recipe with apple cider or another fruit juice. You can also serve fruit cake within a few days of baking and forgo soaking completely. I baked the whole recipe in a tube pan but you could also divide it into 4 smaller cakes that will only steam/bake for about 2 hours.Storage - Store alcohol soaked fruit cake well-wrapped at room temperature for up to 6 months. After one month it will begin to dry out if not re-soaked. Once done soaking, store the fruitcake well-wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator or freezer. You can absolutely freeze fruitcake. Wrap well in plastic wrap and store for up to 6 additional months.Recipe from Woman’s Home Companion, 1946 Edition.I made a half recipe for the photos shown. The recipe above is the full recipe yielding 5 pounds of cake.