I must say that I’ve tried many fruitcake recipes over the years. Some I developed myself, while others are from various food blogs. However, this Rich Fruit Cake truly holds a special place in my heart. It is tied to many childhood memories. Our family Christmas party used to be held at my maternal uncle’s house, and my aunt (his wife) would bake this cake in large batches, ensuring that everyone in the family could enjoy plenty of pieces.
This cake is a classic, filled with the delightful flavours of rum-soaked fruits and scented with warm spices in every bite and crumb. Whenever I asked my aunt for the recipe, she would tell me to use equal amounts of flour, sugar, butter, and dried fruits. Soaking the dried fruits was optional for her; she often baked this cake without soaking them in alcohol, and that didn’t matter to us. We loved the cake just the way it was. To us, it was more than just a cake—it represented Christmas.
I like the flavour of alcohol in fruit cakes a lot. So, whenever I make fruit cakes, I soak the dry fruits at least a month before Christmas. Soaked fruits add robust flavour and taste to any cake or other bake, which is unmatchable.I hope you’ll enjoy baking this cake, don’t forget to share your experience with me. 🙂
Rich Fruit Cake
A traditional Rich Fruit Cake, made with rum soaked dry fruits and homemade spice powder. Without this Christmas is incomplete.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups- All-purpose flour/Maida
- 1½ cups- Brown sugar (powdered)
- 1½ cups- Unsalted butter
- 3- Eggs
- 1½ cups- Rum-soaked dry fruits
- 1 tsp- Fruit cake spice mix
- ¼ tsp- Dry ginger powder/sonth
- ¾ tsp- Baking powder
- 1 tsp- Vanilla extract
- Skinless almonds and halved glazed cherries for decorating on top (optional)
Instructions
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Before I started, all the ingredients were at room temperature.
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Prepare an 8” round cake pan by greasing with oil and place a piece of baking paper/butter paper at the bottom of the pan. Cover the sides of the pan with two sheets of baking paper from inside.
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If you’re following my previous posts then you have the rum soaked fruits ready by this time. Measure 1½ cups rum-soaked fruits and keep them on a strainer to drain out the excess liquid.
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In a bowl shift all-purpose flour and baking powder. Add the spice mix and dry ginger powder. Mix well, keep aside.
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In another bowl cream the butter and sugar on medium speed with your electronic hand mixer. In this add the eggs one by one. Add one at a time and keep whisking.
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Add vanilla extract, whisk well. In this add flour mixture into 3 batches, keep whisking until a lump-free batter forms.
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Now add the dry fruits into the batter. Gently mix in with a spatula. The batter would be very thick, which is absolutely fine.
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
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Pour the cake batter into the cake pan. Smooth the top with the help of a spatula. Tap cake pan gently on the kitchen counter a couple of times to release the air bubbles.
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Decorate or sprinkle some almonds and glazed cherries on top. Bake for 65 minutes. Insert a sharp knife in the middle of the cake. The cake is ready if the knife comes out clean. If not, bake for some more time, and then check again.
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Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes and then run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and carefully remove the cake. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave there until cool completely.
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When cooled slice, serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- This recipe can be halved according to your preference if you want to bake a smaller cake.
- It will take lesser time if you’re baking a smaller cake.
- During baking time cover the top of the cake pan loosely with a piece of aluminium foil to avoid over-browning on top. Do this after the first 20 minutes or until the top baked to perfect brown colour.
- Baking time may vary a little bit for different ovens and different-sized pans.
- This cake can be made without soaking the dry fruits too. Just add your choice of dry fruits into the batter and proceed further.
- This cake tastes best the next day, and the taste matures further within the next 2-3 days. You can wrap the cake with aluminium foil and store in an airtight container until you’re going to serve it.
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