My mom always made the best fruitcake ever. No candied fruit and not overly sweet. She would make 6 at a time. We would eat the stuff for breakfast, it was so wonderful.
Mom is 87 now and not able to make the fruitcake anymore, but one of my sisters is carrying on the tradition. (Bless you!)
The fruitcake is made with lots of dried fruit and nuts, but the real secret to this best fruitcake ever is whiskey, guys.
The dried fruit is soaked in it for several days, and then after the cake is baked, it is soaked again for several weeks. All the alcohol evaporates and all that’s left is fantastic flavor and moisture. No dry cake here.
I wanted to try a real food fruitcake and used coconut sugar and sprouted flour. The results are great! Here’s the recipe my way – just keep in mind that it takes 3 – 4 weeks for the full flavor to develop.
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Real Food Fruitcake
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup softened butter
- 2/3 cups sucanat or coconut sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sprouted spelt flour or unbleached flour
- 1/3 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup pecans chopped*
- 1/3 cup walnuts chopped*
- 1/3 cup dried figs chopped
- 1/3 cup dried apricots chopped
- 1/3 cup dried papaya chopped
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup dates chopped
- 1/3 cup dried pineapple chopped
- Brandy or whiskey mixed equally with water
Instructions
- 2–3 days ahead of time soak the dried fruit in liquor and water, just covering the fruit.
- Cream butter and sucanat or coconut sugar, then add eggs and mix well.
- Add sprouted spelt flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Mix.
- Add water, nuts and fruit and mix together until all the bits of fruit are coated.
- Pour into a greased loaf pan. Cover with parchment paper so that the top of the cake does not burn.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 300°F for approximately an hour and a half or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool and remove from the pan.
- Wrap the cake in several layers of cheesecloth and soak the cloth with as much liquor and water mixture as it will absorb. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap to retain the moisture.
- To allow the fruitcake to develop full flavor, store in a cool place for 3–4 weeks, assuming you have the willpower to wait that long.
Notes
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Michelle McFarland says
Would love to make this, but I dont have spelt flour or sucanat, would it be the same measurements for AP flour and sugar? I realize would not be as healthy but I have those ingredients on hand. Thank you so much for the post!
susanv says
Yes, I didn’t have to change amounts of flour or sugar when I converted the recipe. The original recipe calls for brown sugar. (Oh, the power of suggestion is too much for me – I think I need to go eat a piece of that cake).
Kristel from Healthy Frugalista says
I don’t think we’d have all those jokes about fruitcake being passed around from year to year with this fruitcake. This is the real deal!
John @Menswelfare says
Wooww. I like Fruitcake. I eat Fruitcake every week. Thanks Susan Vinskofski
Yolanda says
Oh! Oh! Oh! THANK YOU for sharing this recipe! I LOVE fruitcake (go figure 😉 and was wishing I had a good and healthy recipe. Marvelous. This will be on our table in December for sure.
Robin @ Thank Your Body says
Okay, I admit… I don’t really like fruitcake. But this recipe looks tempting enough to give it a try. 😉
susanv says
You’ll be hooked!
Jade says
$63.00 for two pounds of sprouted flour? (according to Amazon) that is ridiculous. Can you use regular flour?
Susan Vinskofski says
Actually that’s for 12 pounds, but yes, the price really went up since I first added that link. You may use regular flour, or look for the sprouted at a local health food store.