This spiced holiday fruit cake is festive, flavorful, and incredibly delicious! It’s made with a brown sugar caramel sauce, and packed with rum-soaked dried fruit, citrus zest, nuts, and spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. This classic Christmas dessert will become a family favorite – a must-have for your holiday dessert table.
The Best Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe
I understand fruit cake has a bad reputation, so let’s call this a boozy Christmas cake instead. Ahhh, that already sounds so much better. Whatever preconceived notion you may have about fruit cake — throw it out the window. Because I’m telling you, THIS is not that. If you like rum and sugar, you will like this cake. With a crisp and sugary crust and perfectly moist and tender crumb – this cake defies its reputation. Packed with rum-soaked fruit, this spirited cake isn’t one to shy away from spices. One bite of this, and I promise you’ll think – “wow, I’ve never had a cake so flavorful.”
Fruit Cake Ingredients:
How to Make Fruit Cake:
This cake requires a bit of planning – you’ll want to soak dried fruit in rum for at least one night – up to a week if you have the time. Once your fruit is ready to go – you’ll make a caramel sauce on the stovetop. Heat up some brown sugar, apple juice, ghee, and spices in a saucepan and let it bubble up into a thick caramel-like sauce. Then, add the rum-soaked fruit and cook some more. When it’s done, let it cool on the stove – it’ll look something like this once cool: Add the flours, baking soda, and eggs to a bowl and mix well. Then add the rum caramel mixture to the bowl and mix well. Pour it all into a greased 7-inch Cheesecake Pan. I also suggest putting a circle of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan for easy removal. Now all that’s left is to bake and wait!
How to Serve Christmas Fruit Cake:
This fruit cake is rich, moist, and full of flavor – so there’s no need to serve anything with it. Though I’ll say, a latte or cup of Chai goes nicely. Some homemade whipped cream on the side would also be amazing. Before serving, top with powdered sugar! Look at this fruit cake, such a beauty – and it tastes so special – a worthy dessert for a festive occasion.
Looking for More Holiday Recipes? Try These:
For Those Who Want My Recipe from 2013:
I first published this recipe on December 16, 2013. I’m keeping the older version of my recipe here for those who’ve been making it for years. Please see above for the updated version – it tastes the same, but holds up much better. I’ve improved my baking skills since first sharing this recipe. Like this recipe? Pin it to your favorite Pinterest board now so you will remember to make it later!
Photos From 2013:
