Bourbon Apple Fruitcake

Bourbon Apple Fruitcake. A real old fashioned recipe thats simply mixed together in one bowl and baked. The shredded apples in the batter keep it moist and delicious, while the bourbon enhances the flavour of the cake beautifully.

This bourbon apple fruitcake is one like your grandmother or great grandmother might have made. By that I mean long before the days of heavy duty stand mixers or even hand held electric mixers.

Many a Christmas fruitcake was made by hand in a large mixing bowl. They were made with only the aid of a sturdy wooden spoon and plenty of elbow grease.

And you know what? They were still incredibly delicious.

Bring on the British recipes

Regular readers know that I am a big fan of all the British cooking shows, particularly the baking shows like the Great British Bake Off.

Old fashioned baking is having a bit of a renaissance  in the UK and you will still see the traditional "all-in-one" method used for recipes such as a Victoria Sponge Cake.

That method is as simple as it gets. Just as the name suggests, all of the ingredients go in at once, are mixed together into a batter and baked.

This Bourbon Apple Fruitcake is pretty much exactly that. I've separated it out into three steps, really, to ensure a good even consistency to the batter. but it is essentially all just mixed together in this easy method. 

Essential to this method though, is having the butter very soft. I include my trick in the recipe for making butter soft and spreadable, even straight from the fridge.

Bourbon Apple Fruitcake to please all tastes.

I like this fruitcake in particular because it bridges two different tastes. In general, people prefer either light, unspiced fruitcake or dark, molasses flavoured, deeply spiced fruitcake.

This cake is somewhere in between and sure to make everyone happy.

No need for expensive bourbon in this recipe. Save that for drinking during the Holidays!

I'd use something like Gold old Jim Beam, the same one I use for other recipes like my Bourbon Peach Shortcake during the summer. The photo above shows how I marinate the peaches for that recipe.

The cake can be made now, several weeks before Christmas, if you are planning to soak it in bourbon or other spirits. If not, a week or so before Christmas is perfectly fine to make this delicious addition to your Holiday celebrations.

Need more Christmas Cake inspiration?

If you liked this recipe please check out all of our other Christmas Cake Recipes here.

Like this Bourbon Apple Fruitcake recipe?

We have many more great baking ideas for the Christmas season in our Christmas Recipes Category.
It's easy to keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes. Be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram. 
Plus you'll see daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals too. 

You can also sign up for our FREE newsletter to know immediately when we add new recipes. You'll also get weekly suggestions for great family friendly  meals and desserts too!

Buy my cookbooks.

Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.

Originally published October 2016. Updated December 2019 to add a new printable recipe card and add nutritional information.

Continue to Content

Bourbon Apple Fruitcake

Yield: 36 or more servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Bourbon Apple Fruitcake - a real old fashioned recipe thats simply mixed together in one bowl and baked. The shredded apples in the batter keep it moist and delicious, while the bourbon enhances the flavour of the cake beautifully.

4.7 Stars (6 Reviews)

Print

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups flour, reserve ½ cup to coat fruit
• 1 ½ cups lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• 1 ½ cups butter, very soft; see instructions
• 3 tablespoon molasses
• 5 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup mixed fruit
• 3 medium apples grated
• 1 cup glacé cherries, cut in half
• 1 cup toasted chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts...whatever you like.)
• 8 ounces bourbon, 1 cup, for soaking into the cake when cool, Optional

Instructions

1. This cake can be made the old fashioned way, simple by using a large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon. If you are using a stand mixer, choose the paddle attachment and keep it on low speed throughout.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 10 inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper for easy release if you prefer.
3. This cake can also be baked in a large tube pan (angel food cake pan). It will be too large for a bundt pan but you may get a bundt sized cake and a small loaf cake out of the recipe.
4. In a large bowl mix together 2 cups of the flour plus the brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon nutmeg and allspice. I use a whisk to mix it making sure that there are no lumps of brown sugar in the mix.
5. Before adding the butter make sure that it is very soft. You can soften butter in the microwave by putting it on defrost for a few seconds at a time, and then leaving it for a minute to rest. Repeat this process a few times until the butter is very soft; to the consistency that it would spread across a slice of fresh bread easily.
6. Add the butter, molasses eggs, vanilla & almond extracts and the grated apples.
7. Stir until the flour is almost incorporated. (A few streaks of flour remain in the batter)
8. Toss all of the fruit with the remaining ½ cup flour and add to the batter along with the nuts.
9. Fold the fruit & nuts into the batter and spread evenly into the prepared pan.
10. Bake for up to 2 hours or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
11. Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 ½ to 2 hours depending upon the size of your pan. Mine took the full two hours in a 10 inch spring form pan.The cake should feel firm to the touch at the center and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. The cake should be cooled almost completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing.
12. At this point you can poke small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a wooden skewer and very slowly spoon on on 4 ounces of bourbon, half on the top, wait ten minutes, then flip it over and pour the remaining half on the bottom.
13. (Note that you can add ½ the amount one week and half the next as some people prefer.)
14. Soak several layers of cheesecloth in additional bourbon if you like and wrap completely around the cake, then cover with several layers of plastic wrap and store in a COOL place.
15. If bourbon is not to your taste, you cause dark rum or brandy of you prefer.

Recommended Products

Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.

• 
   10 inch Wilton Springform Pan, 25.4cm
• 
  Silicone Spatula Set
• 
  Rock Recipes: The Best Food From My Newfoundland Kitchen

Nutrition Information

Yield

36

Serving Size

36 or more servings
Amount Per Serving Calories 233Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 51mgSodium 129mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 1gSugar 17gProtein 3g

Did you like this recipe?

Do you love our "Real food recipes for real people'? Share the recipe on Facebook to let your friends know about us. They'll thank you for it.