Old English Fruitcake
Old English Fruitcake. NEW VIDEO! Dark and moist with plenty of spices and packed with plenty of sweet glacé fruit. It's been a Christmas tradition in my family for decades.
Originally published on November 7, 2007. Updated to provide new featured photos and a new video!
It's still weeks away, I know, but I've got a head start on a dark old English fruitcake for Spouse. It's a real old English style, dense, dark fruitcake.
I think this one weighs in at between 7 and 8 pounds. It's her absolute favourite. Tomorrow she goes to the rum spa for a soak and a wrap. The cake, that is, not Spouse!
Inspired by my Newfoundland upbringing, this dark English fruitcake with roots in the UK is one of my favourite things to look forward to at Christmas. This is a large cake meant to be served in small pieces.
There are easily 40 portions or more which means there's plenty to share with friends and family whenever they pop by during the Holidays.
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Old English Dark Fruit Cake
Old English Fruitcake - A dark, rich, well spiced old fashioned English style fruitcake that can be made weeks in advance of Christmas.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups chopped dried prunes (6 oz), chopped
- 1 ¼ cups chopped dates (6 oz), chopped
- 1 ½ cups dark raisins (8 oz)
- 1 ¼ cups golden raisins (6 oz)
- 1 ¼ cups currants (6 oz)
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup molasses
- ½ cup coffee liqueur, or ½ cup strong black coffee
- Zest and juice of 2 oranges
- 1 cup chopped glace cherries
- 1 cup candied citrus peel
- 1 ½ cups toasted pecans (7 oz), roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 tablespoon cocoa
- 3 eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup ground hazelnuts or almonds
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and add the raisins, dates, prunes, currents, brown sugar, molasses, spices, coffee liqueur (or coffee) and the orange zest and juice.
- Bring to a gentle boil and very slowly simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30-45 minutes.
- When cool stir in the beaten eggs.
- Sift together, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda.
- Add the ground nuts and fold through the boiled mixture. Fold in cherries, citrus peel and pecans. Pour into prepared baking pan. You can decorate the top with additional pecan halves, cherries etc., if you like.
- Bake at 300 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 completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing.
- At this point you can poke small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a fork and pour on 4 ounces of dark rum or your favorite whiskey, half on the top, wait ten minutes, then flip it over and pour the remaining half on the bottom.
- Soak several layers of cheesecloth in additional rum if you like and wrap completely around the cake, then cover with several layers of plastic wrap and store in a COOL place.
- When serving, you can add a layer of marzipan or if you have decorated the top with fruit and nuts, brush with a simple glaze of equal parts water and sugar boiled together for about 10-15 minutes.
Notes
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Nutrition Information
Yield
40Serving Size
gAmount Per Serving Calories 231Saturated Fat 2gCholesterol 21mgSodium 62mgCarbohydrates 40gFiber 2gSugar 24gProtein 2g
I can't wait to make this, what method of pan preparation do you use. I've always wrapped in paper but now I see some just butter a cake pan or aluminum pan
In a spring form it doesn't really matter, but if making in a tube pan for example, I would at least line the bottom with parchment paper for easier release.
This is my Father's favorite at Christmas! My grandma used to make one just like this for him every year. I am planning to make this Fruitcake recipe this week so it can soak until Christmas.
One question- could this be made in 1 or 2 bread pans? If so, how much would the baking time change?
Thank you!
Totally depends on the size of the pans. They will take about 2/3 to 3/4 full of cake batter.
Can I omit eggs from this? If so, I need suggestions as to how. My husband loves fruitcake but can't eat eggs.
I've never done that I'm afraid, so I have no experience to relay. If omitting eggs I'd add the volume back in milk or another liquid to the cake will likely be dry.
Actually, it's the end of January and I am making both my white and dark fruitcakes now for next Christmas. I will wrap them in muslin soaked with rum for the dark and apricot brandy for the white cakes and set them in stone crocks in the basement cold room until I want to use them.
Wow. I have never heard of anyone making fruitcake that early!
My grandmother always made them at "haying time" which in Nova Scotia would be June. This is the time of year when I have time to devote to it and I am using my wood cook stove to bake them. It's far too hot come June to even have the gas stove going 4 or 5 hours. I'm still using their old fruitcake pans which make very large cakes and take a long time to bake at about 250 or 275 F. And in the fall I'm busy making mincemeat etc., and later on, plum puddings.
If you are allergic to eggs, google substitutes, there usually are lots of them.
I have just taken this cake out of the oven, and it looks gorgeous!!!! Now I need to be patient and wait until Christmas Day to cut into it! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I am overjoyed with how wonderful this cake is. The taste is fantastic, the moisture level is superb, and everyone who had a slice on Christmas Day was oohing and ahhing! This recipe is well and truly a keeper!!!!
Hi,
Thanks for such a great recipe. The cake looks scrumptious. One question though, are the number of eggs correct? All other fruit cake recipes with the same amount of other ingredients ask for 5 eggs atleast.
Baking a fruit cake for the first time so have no idea.
Another question, in India we have a different version of the fruit cake which doesnt use molasses so wanted to understand how does molasses alter its taste and texture.
Thanks once again,
Ritu
The eggs number is correct. The molasses is what gives dark fruitcake its characteristic flavour. It also add to the moistness of the cake.
Hello M. Parsons, I wanted to know if I can make this cake nut free, and add more candied fruits instead. Thank you in advance for your response.
Yes but I might add a few tbsp more flour to replace the ground nuts.
I'm going to try making this for my father-in-law. He's from England and LOVES fruitcake. I personally don't really enjoy it, but maybe this will be the one that changes that! I've never attempted fruitcake before, but the recipe seems easy enough to follow; wish me luck!
I want to do this cake, but can we omit the toasted pecans and ground hazelnuts , for allergy reasons. Can I just add more dried fruits instead. Thank you in advance. Can't wait to taste it. Looks delicious.
Yes but I might add a few tbsp more flour to replace the ground nuts.
I want to make small cakes in tiny loaf pans. How long should they be cooked?
Can I substitute different fruits as long as amounts match?
That totally depends on the pan size. Rely on the toothpick test to be sure they are fully baked.
Can I leave out the cocoa and the prunes?
The prunes can be replaced by additional dates but why omit the cocoa?
This is the first time I've ever heard of anyone putting cocoa in a fruitcake. Mine is an old receipe (200-ish years anyway) so maybe they didn't have access to chocolate at the time. In any event that is a non-starter for me as I dislike anything chocolate. Never put prunes in either. Just dates, seeded raisins and figs plus all the fruits. I omit any nuts too as I find them "flabby" in baked goods and they make cakes dryer. This is the first time I ever added molasses. Let's see what it's like next Christmas. I do like molasses. I bet prunes add a lot to the moisture of the cake but the dark cakes turn out very moist anyway.
Will be adding ground almonds to my white fruitcakes. Think it will be good.
Cocoa was made more available to the less affluent thanks to new Dutch processing started in 1822. Before this time only the more wealthy could afford it. So, this recipe could have been made by the rich. This recipe could possibly even predate 1822. Cocoa has been around a long time.
Hi Faye, Could I please have your 200 year old recipe? 🙂
I would certainly not leave out the cocoa or coffee. Both can add a nice bottom note or contrast to the sweetness of the cake thereby enhancing the flavor immensely. I have used one or both in a couple of other recipes, some savory. You probably will not taste it all in the forefront of the flavors but they do make a difference overall.
Help - I am deeply fascinated by the looks of this cake, and I plan on making it as soon as possible (since Xmas is about 4 weeks away). One question though: Are the ounce measurements by volume or by weight? Huge difference. Thank you for clarifying.
All of the fruits and nuts are weighed. The ingredients for the cake batter are in cups.
I made this and it's very good and moist. The coffee, cocoa, and molasses is such a nice combination. If I changed anything about the flavor, I would just like it a little sweeter. I did have one problem though. I'm sure I measured right, but this was such a thin batter, very liquid. Is this how it should be? I panicked and added another cup of flour. It was still thinner than any fruitcake batter I have ever seen. No harm seems done except the fruit mostly settled the bottom 2/3 of the cake. Most fruitcake recipes have so little thick batter, the fruit cannot settle. Did I do something wrong?
You definitely went wrong somewhere. There is no way this batter should be thin. That's never happened to me and I've made it for years. I've also never heard anyone say a fruitcake should be sweeter!! That is a new one! Hope you figure out the error. I'd be curious to know if you discover where you went wrong.
Thanks. I will try it again for sure nextra year. What I ended up with is a very dense moist cake with wonderful flavor, and about the consistency of a dense cake brownie I guess. So no loss here 🙂
Made this cake last christmas. Hadnt baked for many years. I added citrus peel and used a tube pan.It turned out great. Tasty, full of fruits and enjoyed over the holidays. Will be baking another this year
I'm making fruit cakes for the first time this year, and have a question. Do I put the cherries and pecan halves to decorate the top before or after baking?
Yes, before baking.
ThanksI made this delicious fruit cake last year for my siblings and uncle. Everyone loved it and I’m looking forward to making it again this year. I made a double batch and got six loaf pan cakes out of bed. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe.
I hope order doesn't matter too much. The cocoa and mixed peel went in the pot! Here's hoping it works out anyway!!
How glad I am to find this recipe. Since I cannot find Mom's recipe, this will be perfect. One question...how will it turn out with some brandy or rum? Can I soak the fruit in the liquer before baking and add some to soak in afterwards or will the cake become soggy? Thanks for the recipe.
This is quite a dense moist cake so you don't want to overdo it. A rum or brandy soak when it's baked should be fine.