This Old Fashioned Fruitcake Recipe is an old family recipe and a holiday classic. Candied fruit and crunchy nuts fill this brandy infused cake that is sure to become a Christmas tradition at your house too!
When is the last time you got to pour booze on bread? Probably not since breakfast, at least. Well, dust off that bottle of brandy, because the holidays are coming! Whatever you don't swig down to tolerate the in-laws you will want to save to paint your freshly baked holiday fruitcake!
Grandma's Fruitcake Recipe
This Old Fashioned Fruitcake recipe has been in my family for years. My mother passed it on to me, and her mother to her. I'm pretty sure my grandma got it from baby Jesus.
Fruitcake with Brandy
Hailing from Wisconsin, my family's fruitcake recipe features brandy as the primary moisturizer. In my mind, brandy and fruitcake have always gone together like Santa and a bowl full of jelly... but who really eats jelly from a bowl? I've seen other fruitcake recipes with rum, or even no booze at all, but I'm fairly certain fruitcake without booze is sacrilegious.
How to Make Old Fashioned Fruitcake
My mother says you can use whatever candied fruit you prefer. Stores often sell bags of mixed candied fruit that is perfect for this recipe. She likes purchasing them on on clearance after the holidays to stock up for next year. You can even use sweetened dried fruit if needed, but candied is best.
My family always made these fruitcakes in bulk to give away as presents for the holidays, because who doesn't want to find baked goods in their stockings? Assuming your kids would rather have a PS4 than a booze-infused cake, I scaled the original recipe down for the average home cook. My recipe yields two 8" fruitcakes, rather than eight. Feel free to scale the recipe up as desired.
I used 8" aluminum foil loaf pans for this recipe. Their sizing is ideal, plus they allow you to easily give away extra fruitcakes to friends without worrying about losing a good bread pan.
How to Store Fruitcake
A true old fashioned fruitcake is marinated in brandy for about a month. My mother recommends storing the fruitcake in an airtight container and basting it in brandy weekly until Christmas. However, if you are short on time, you can enjoy your fruitcake whenever you are ready to consume it. Fruitcakes can also be frozen in double freezer bags, however, do not do so until after a month of basting since the frozen cake won't soak up any brandy.
Old Fashioned Fruitcake recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup flour (divided)
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup brandy (divided)
- 1 cup chopped nuts (I recommend pecans)
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup candied pineapple (cut in small pieces)
- 8 ounces dates (chopped small)
- ½ cup candied cherries
Instructions
- Cream butter. Add sugar gradually & cream until smooth. Add eggs, one at time, beating well after each.
- Sift ¾ C flour with spices. Add alternately with 2 tablespoon brandy to creamed mixture.
- Dredge fruit and nuts with remaining flour. Add floured fruit to batter, mix well.
- Pour into pan lined with waxed paper.
- Bake at 300⁰ for 90 minutes. The fruitcake is done when it is moist but no longer doughy.
- Remove from oven and baste with remaining 2 tablespoon brandy and let cool.
- Store in airtight container and baste weekly with brandy for a month.
Notes
Nutrition
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te we
what would be a substitute for brandy for kids to eat cake?
Fox Valley Foodie
You could use Brandy extract. You will likely have to dilute it with 4 parts water or it will be too concentrated.
Angelica
I will make this today. I have never liked any fruitcake except for my mom’s. She has passed but this sounds the closest to what she did. I remember she had cheesecloth or something similar wrapped around her loaves when she basted them with whiskey or something. I was little, and we lived in Kentucky. I don’t remember exactly what she used. Thank you for posting your recipe!
Trystan Greist
Very easy to put together! 🙂 Thank you for posting your family recipe. My first one is baking right now. I plan to make quite a few of these, this year.
Joyce Benton
Thanks I would like to try it if it’s alright with you. I’ve tried my luck before with not having any luck. I love fruitcake but I have been unable to find one that I liked. I will let you know how mine turns out!
Rllen
I love fruitcake. Have made them for years. My fruitcake recipe book is in storage, so am going to use yours. Thank you so much
Hazel
Do you know any one that'll ship me a old fashion fruitell cake?
Fox Valley Foodie
Yes, you can order them off Amazon.com. Just search for "fruitcake" on their website.
Francie Pearson
Very similar to my family fruit cake, also brandy soaked. My grand mother and mother soaked a piece of cheesecloth with brandy and wrapped it around the fruitcake, followed my wax paper, then alum foil and finally a Christmas towel! Ours also has dried figs, my most favorite of dried fruits!
Origin was my German ancestors.
Fox Valley Foodie
Figs would be a great addition. That is the great thing about fruitcakes, they are quite versatile for customization!