Fruitcake Recipe Alcohol-Free
This fruitcake recipe is alcohol-free, making it a kid-friendly cake you can have the same day you bake it. What’s best is that it tastes just like authentic fruitcake (maybe even better!). It’s perfectly moist and stays moist for days! The flavor keeps improving with time.
Nothing beats a homemade fruit cake’s rich, sweet, and spicy taste. And what’s best is that even kids can enjoy the delicious flavor of this fruitcake since it doesn’t contain any alcohol.
I have a secret technique that will give you a deliciously moist fruit cake without alcohol! And the trick is to whisk the eggs with warm liquids, which turns it texture into a custard-like consistency, giving you a super moist cake!
If you love fruitcakes, you’ll love all my other holiday and festive recipes! I also have a lighter version of fruitcake, which is almost like a pound cake or a butter cake filled with dried fruit or candied peel. I’m sure you’re going to enjoy them!
❤️ WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Super Moist: For the most deliciously moist method, I use a technique that will give you that result even without alcohol. The secret? Whisking eggs with warm-boiled ingredients to create a custard-like texture that keeps the cake moist.
- Family Friendly: This alcohol-free fruit cake is a hit with both adults and kids. Its rich, moist texture and the balance of sweet and spicy flavors from the candied peel and spices make it a family favorite.
- Versatile: This recipe is highly versatile. You can add more nuts if you wish or even substitute some of the candied fruits with your family’s favorites. It is a recipe you can truly make your own!
- Crowd pleaser: Whether it is for a holiday gathering, a birthday party, or just a casual get-together, this non-alcoholic fruit cake is a surefire crowd-pleaser. It is moist, flavorful, and simply irresistible! The fact that it keeps improving with time makes it perfect for make-ahead preparations.
🍊 INGREDIENTS
More details about the ingredients and measurements are in the recipe card below!
All-purpose flour: Do not go for cake flour, I feel that all-purpose flour is the best for this recipe.
Baking Powder: This is a crucial ingredient to ensure your cake rises and becomes fluffy. Without it, your cake would be flat and dense.
Brown Sugar: Packed brown sugar adds a rich, molasses flavor to this non alcoholic fruit cake. It also helps to keep the cake moist.
Water: Water is used to moisten the dry ingredients and helps in creating a smooth batter.
Butter: Butter adds rich flavor and moisture to the cake. It also helps in leavening the cake during baking.
Milk: Milk adds moisture and helps to create a tender texture in the cake. The fat in the milk also contributes to the flavor of the cake.
Vanilla: Vanilla adds a sweet, creamy flavor that enhances the other flavors in the cake.
Eggs: Besides using baking powder, we need them to help the cake rise.
Candid mixed peel: It’s not a fruitcake without candid mixed peel, try to get a good quality mixed peel for the best result.
Spices: A blend of warm earthy spices will add amazing flavor to this cake.
Mixed nuts: It is best to use toasted nuts, and you can get creative and use the nuts you prefer.
🔪 HOW TO MAKE FRUIT CAKE
Making alcohol free fruit cake at home is incredibly easy. Let’s look at home to make it step by step:
Step 1
In a saucepan. Add butter, water, sugar, spices, and raisins, and let it boil for one minute. Turn off the heat, add the milk and mix well.
Step 2
Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Add the candied mixed peel, cherries, and nuts.
Step 3
Add the vanilla to the butter and milk mixture, beat the eggs, and add to the same mixture. Stir until combined, then pour over the flour and fold gently.
Step 4
Pour the batter into the baking pan. Using a spatula, try to even the surface of the cake batter.
Step 5
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Place the cake on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely.
👩🏽🍳 PRO TIPS
- Boil some ingredients first: To enhance the flavors and texture of this non alcoholic fruit cake, boil the butter, water, sugar, spices, and raisins for about a minute before mixing them with other ingredients. This will guarantee a well-blended and moist cake.
- Whisk the eggs with warm mixture: The secret to a moist fruit cake lies in the way you handle the eggs. Whisk them with the warm-boiled ingredients to achieve a custard-like texture, resulting in a moist cake.
- Preheat your oven: Make sure your oven is preheated to the right temperature before you start baking. This will guarantee that your cake bakes evenly and rises properly.
- Give it time: Although this cake can be eaten the same day it is baked, waiting until the next day allows the flavors to meld together, resulting in a tastier, more moist cake.
- Use quality butter and candied mixed peel: Don’t compromise on the quality of your butter and candied mixed peel. High-quality ingredients will significantly improve the taste and texture of your fruit cake.
📋 VARIATIONS
This alcohol-free fruitcake recipe tastes great, but you can still make a few changes if you wish.
Add cardamom powder: This cake has a great blend of spices, but you can make it more exotic by adding some cardamom powder.
Use chopped hazelnuts: I know this nut is expensive, but this cake is made for special occasions, so why not add more flavor by adding hazelnuts?
Shredded carrot: Try adding a quarter cup of shredded carrot to the batter, this will keep the cake moist longer.
🍽️ HOW TO SERVE
- For a delicious start to your day, pair a slice of this fruit cake with a hot cup of coffee. The rich flavors of the cake complement the bitterness of the coffee beautifully.
- If you’re hosting an afternoon tea, this fruit cake would be a perfect accompaniment. The mixed spices in the cake pair wonderfully with a robust Darjeeling or a delicate chamomile tea.
- This fruit cake can also be an excellent dessert option. Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you have a crowd-pleaser!
- For a quick snack, just wrap a slice of this fruit cake in foil and take it with you. The moistness of the cake guarantees that it stays fresh and delicious even on the go.
💬 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Yes, you can, you can even make cupcakes using this recipe. All you have to remember is that the baking time will be different.
I never use alcohol in my cooking or baking. Hence I’m not sure how it will affect the texture. But this cake is delicious as is.
Definitely! You can make this cake more exotic by adding some cardamom powder or chopped hazelnuts. You could even try adding a quarter cup of shredded carrot to the batter to keep the cake moist longer.
🌡️ STORING
You don’t have to soak this cake in juices or tea; you don’t have to wait until it matures, this cake can be baked and served the same day, unlike your traditional fruit cake, and still carry amazing flavor.
On the kitchen counter: Place the cake in an airtight container and place it on your counter for two days.
In the fridge: Wrap the cake with parchment paper, wrap it with plastic or foil, place it in an airtight container, and then refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Freeze it: Follow the same method as refrigerating but place the fruitcake in the freezer for up to 3 months. It is best to freeze slices of the cake to make it easier to thaw it later.
Thaw it: To thaw the frozen fruitcake slice, place the wrapped fruitcake slice in the fridge overnight if it is still frozen, then pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.
📣 MORE CAKE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
⭐PLEASE RATE AND REVIEW
If you have tried this recipe and liked it, please give it a 5-star rating and leave a comment below with your experience!
Fruitcake Recipe Alcohol Free
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ teaspoon cloves powder
- 1 cup raisins
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup candied and chopped mixed peel
- ⅓ cup chopped candied cherries
- ⅓ cup mixed nuts you can add more if you wish
Instructions
- In a saucepan. Add butter, water, sugar, spices, raisins, and let it come to a boil for one minute. Turn off the heat, add the milk to the mixture and mix well. Keep it aside until warm to the touch.
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C. line a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and keep aside.
- Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Add the candied mixed peel, cherries, nuts, and mix well.
- Add the vanilla to the butter and milk mixture, beat the eggs and add to the same mixture. Stir until combined then pour over the flour and fold gently.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan. Using a spatula try to even the surface of the cake batter. You can decorate the surface with nuts.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Place the cake on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely. Although you can enjoy this cake the same day, it tastes better and becomes more tender and moist the second day.
Notes
- The secret to this moist cake is whisking the eggs with warm-boiled ingredients. When you whisk the egg with warm liquid, the texture of the egg turns custard-like, making the cake moist.
- You can consume this cake the same day you bake it, but it tastes better the next day.
- Use quality butter and candid mixed peel.
been searching for an alcohol free fruit cake recipe! glad to see this.will try it out by weekend!
Hope that you enjoy it!
Everybody loves it. Can you pls load a recipe if i where to put alcohol into the cake. Some wants it the same and some wants it with rum. I want to have the same recipe i just want to know the ratio of the rum. Hope you will reply
Hi, Thanks for trying my recipe, I’m glad that you and yours enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I do not consume alcohol and won’t be able to advise you in that.
Can I omit the spices ?🙏
Hi Emlle, you can omit the spices of course 🙂
My mom is from Pune. Every Christmas she talks about the lovely fruit cake she used to have back home. This year, I decided to bake her one, but as we don’t consume alcohol, this was the perfect recipe. She was delighted. Thanks.
Hi Sonia, I’m happy that your mom enjoyed this cake and thanks for your feedback 🙂
Assalamualaykum
Thank you for this recipe. I modified it by using 3\4 cup light brown sugar, for less sweetness and it was still quite sweet, my wife and I are both diabetics.
I added a teaspoon of black treacle, I also used self raising flour, chopped dates and almonds.
Alhamdulillah the cake came out great.
Your website is beautifully setup.
I share the cooking and baking with my wife and she likes my cooking, not so much my experiments, yet they taste great. She is conservative and rarely tries new things. She is 60 now so I don’t mind.
Wassalam.
Wa alaikum assalam! I’m glad that you liked my recipe 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing this with me.
If I were to make this recipe ahead of time for Christmas (i.e. now) would I be able to freeze it after a few days of letting it sit at room temperature to develop the flavour? I want to make it ahead of time and I as well don’t consume alcohol.
Hi Cora, this cake is full of flavor and you don’t have to leave it out for days to develop the flavor. After baking the cake, let it cool to room temperature and then wrap it with a plastic wrap and then with an aluminum foil. Place the cake in an airtight container or a big Ziplock bag and place it in the freezer. To thaw the cake, remove the aluminum foil, and let it thaw overnight in the fridge or place it over the kitchen counter.
What can I substitute candied mixed peel with or can I just leave it out completely ?
You can use dried fruits instead or sliced canned cherries.
Hi, I just tried this and it came out great! I was wondering if it was possible to do this without eggs? What can I use as a substitute?
Hi Stephen, I never made this cake without eggs, I’m sorry but don’t know what will work here instead of eggs.
I especially appreciate the non-alcoholic version alongside Muna’s explanation of why alcohol is used in the first place, and how to retain the quality of a traditional cake without the alcohol.
Thank you so much for your kind words ☺