Effortless Grandma's Fruit Cake (Printable Version)
Packed with juicy fruits, bits of ginger, and crunchy nuts. Everything soaks up rum syrup and turns into a super-moist, classic holiday favorite.
# What You'll Need:
→ For the Fruit Cake
01 -
1 tablespoon honey
02 -
3 big eggs
03 -
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped up
04 -
1 cup butter, make sure it's soft
05 -
1 cup candied ginger, chopped really fine
06 -
1/2 cup orange juice
07 -
1 teaspoon vanilla
08 -
1/2 teaspoon salt
09 -
Zest from one orange
10 -
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
11 -
1 teaspoon baking powder
12 -
2 cups flour (regular, all-purpose)
13 -
1/4 cup dark rum or brandy (and keep some extra if you want to soak)
14 -
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
15 -
1 1/2 cups dried fruit mix (like raisins, currants, diced apricots, and dates)
16 -
1/4 cup milk
17 -
1 teaspoon cinnamon
18 -
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed down
→ For the Soaking Syrup
19 -
1/4 cup dark rum or brandy
20 -
1 tablespoon sugar
21 -
1 tablespoon honey
# Steps to Follow:
01 -
After the cake's cool, poke holes everywhere and pour on that syrup. Wrap it with parchment, then plastic, and let it chill for at least a full day before you slice it up.
02 -
As the cake's baking, grab a small pan and stir together the rum, honey, and sugar. Simmer till it's a bit thicker and the sugar's all gone.
03 -
Drop the batter in the pan you've set up and bake for about 90 minutes to 2 hours. If the top's getting dark too fast, just put some foil over it. It's done when a toothpick poked in the center comes out mainly clean.
04 -
Now gently stir in those soaked fruits and nuts so you don't squish them. Don't overmix. Just make sure they're spread through.
05 -
Dump some of your dry mix into the butter bowl, then some milk, then more dry mix, and finish up with all the dry stuff. Don't try to do it all at once.
06 -
Whip the butter with brown sugar so it goes fluffy and pale. Crack in the eggs one by one. Stir in vanilla and orange zest at the end.
07 -
In a fresh bowl, blend together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves so everything's spread out nice and even.
08 -
Grab a big bowl, toss in the dried fruits and that ginger. Splash on the rum and orange juice. Let them hang out for at least half an hour.
09 -
Fire up your oven to 325 F (that's 165 C). Cover a 9-inch round pan with parchment and grease it up so nothing sticks.
# Additional Notes:
01 -
If you wait longer before eating, the taste just gets even better
02 -
You can totally make this way before a party or special event
03 -
Skip the booze and go all orange juice if you want