Christmas Fruit Cake

This Christmas season let’s bake, super moist and the fuss-free Christmas Fruit Cake. This Mangalorean style fruit cake recipe is alcohol-free and requires no overnight soaking of fruits. The best thing about this fruit cake is, it’s super moist, rich with candid fruit and extremely delicious.

Here are more Christmas Recipes which you may like Christmas Fruit Cookies, Dark Chocolate Christmas Truffles, Gingerbread Loaf Cake, Dundee Cake and Christmas Tree Ginger Bread Brownies.

About This Recipe

This recipe is guest post by Mallika of Veg Bowl for my event ‘Christmas and New year Bakes‘. What can be a better recipe than a Christmas Fruit Cake to celebrate the warmth and cheer of the festival season.

Mallika is sharing with us an easy fruit cake recipe that turns out perfect every time. No creaming, beating or soaking of fruit is required in making this recipe.

The texture of this fruit cake is super moist. Richly loaded with candid fruit and flavoured with homemade all spice powder making this cake “the best fruit cake ever“. The flavour of the recipe is so good, that you can eat it plain!

Remembering Christmas

In Mallika’s words,

Christmas holds a special place in my heart., having spent most of my growing up years in Mangalore and studying in a traditional Roman Catholic school. In a city fairly populous with Christian community, its influences are resiliently seen during the Christmas season.

Churches heavily decked in illuminations, streets lit in a canopy of serial lights and bakeries in every nook and corner smelling fragrant of Kuswar, Rose cookies and Plum cakes.

If you had neighbors like we did, then you are lucky to get glimpse of young girls trot by carol singing along with Mr. Santa, lading bag full of goodies. Not to forget the tray full of Christmas food fare we received from them on the eve of Christmas.

Christmas in Mangalore

Since over a decade, I’ve spent every Christmas in Mangalore. It wasn’t deliberate, but you can imagine how beautiful my memories of Christmastime in Mangalore must have been, that regardless of how far away I was from home, I came back to Mangalore to soak into its spirit and the year-end celebrations.

It was with this reverence that I began putting up a Christmas tree in my own home every season since I got married. So, it brings that cheerfulness and positivity of the festival into our lives and home. And, of course, there was yet another tradition I began – a tradition of baking Christmas Cakes at home.

Christmas Fruit Cake

Fruit cake recipe which I am going to share with you today is my family favorite version. In this recipe, the fruit cake is instant, can be made on a whim (subject to stocking good amount of dry fruit and nuts at hand).

And also needs no pre-soaking, and comes to a close second to the fruits cakes we get in Mangalore. December is a time for reflection and celebration, followed by revived pursuit as we step into the new year. Come let’s bake this cake to celebrate Christmas and the coming New year…

Step-by-Step Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe

Take a 9” baking pan. Lightly grease it and line the bottom and sides with a greased baking parchment.

In a bowl, add pineapples, cherries, lemon and orange peels. To this add light and dark raisins, cranberries, almonds and walnuts along with half a cup flour. Toss to mix and set aside.

In another bowl, sift the rest of flour with all spices powder, cinnamon and baking soda. Set aside.

Take another bowl and whisk eggs till light. Beat in the vanilla extract and mulled fruit drink or orange juice.

Cream butter and sugars at medium using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Introduce the egg mixture gradually.

Now, pre-heat the oven at 360° F | 180° C.

At a lower speed, gradually beat in the flour-spices mixture beating only until just combined.

Now add the fruit-nut mixture into the batter, mix with a wooden spatula to combine them well.

Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and smoothen the surface to even out.

Arrange walnut halves on the batter in a pattern, if desired.

Bake for about 60 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Carefully remove the cake from the oven and transfer on to a baking rack to cool completely.

Glaze, if preferred. Slice and serve.