A modern twist to the traditional Fruit Cake Loaf, our Brown Sugar and date Fruit Cake Loaf is a decadent treat perfect for intimate gatherings or other special occasions.
New year, new Fruit Cake Loaf! If you’re tired of biting into stiff Fruit Cake slices and looking for a moist loaf cake recipe that not only tastes good but has an amazing whip appeal, then you need to try our fig and brown sugar Fruit Cake Loaf.
From the first bite, you’ll feel like this is the best homemade Fruit Cake recipe you’ve ever tasted, and its heady aroma of ground cinnamon, pecans, walnuts, and cherries will take your nose for a spin.
Why You Will Love This Fruit Cake Loaf
- Holiday favorite
- Super moist
- Reheat friendly
- A sweet treat
Our inspiration for the Fruit Cake Loaf was our Fruit Cake Bites. We created these chocolatey bite-size morsels more for festive parties with a modern feel.
Then I figured, you can’t create an epic Fruit Cake Bite recipe without whipping up the real thing and thus I went back to the drawing board.
The difference between the two holiday Fruit Cake recipes is the loaf has a more nutty, sweet flavoring, and the Fruit Cake Bites have a zest, sweet flavoring.
The Fruit Cake Bites have an orange juice-to-sugar pairing, while our Fruit Cake Loaf incorporates the heavy undertones of figs, pecans, and chopped walnuts. This is perfect because if you set both out on a platter, you’ll receive a 2-for-1 deal where everyone is happy at the end!
How to Make Fruit Cake Loaf
Loaf Fruit Cake recipes are easy to pull together. Here’s what you will need:
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
- Loaf pan
- Baking spray
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Toothpick
- Cooling Rack
- Butterknife
- Large plate
INSTRUCTIONS
For full instructions, please view the recipe card below:
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Using a large bowl, whisk together all your ingredients until smooth.
- Next, fold in your orange zest and then pour batter into the loaf pan.
- Bake the loaf for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- Gently release your loaf from the loaf pan using a butter knife, while flipping the loaf onto a plate.
- Once removed, flip the loaf upright and slice.
If you love this fruit cake, be sure to try my fruit cake bites!
Fruit Cake Tips
Now, a couple of tips to keep in mind. Make sure to prep this loaf well ahead of serving time. Let all those fantastic flavors settle in and release their amazing fragrance. You know, fruit cake sometimes gets a bad rep for being too solid and dense, but we want those flavors to shine, right?
Oh, and here’s a secret for you – because this Fruit Cake Loaf is dense, it’s best to underbake it just a bit. During the cooling time, it’ll keep on baking, giving you a tender and chewy inside. Plus, trust me, Fruit Cakes taste even better after chilling. So with this slight underbaking, they’ll stay soft and delightful even after a few hours in the fridge, leaving your guests totally impressed with your top-notch Fruit Cake baking skills!
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Fruit Cake Loaf
Description
A modern twist to the traditional Fruit Cake Loaf, our brown sugar and date fruit cake loaf is a decadent treat perfect for intimate gatherings or other special occasions.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- zest from 1 orange
- ¾ cup green cherries
- ¾ cup red cherries
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup dates
- ⅓ cup dried figs
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Spray a loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, butter and sugar until smooth and creamy
- Add in the eggs and whisk to combine.
- Add the milk and vanilla and stir to incorporate.
- In a separate, large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, baking powder, cloves and baking soda.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture just until combined.
- Add the orange zest to the batter and mix. Fold in all of the remaining ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Place into the oven to bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs.
- Once baked, remove from the oven, place onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Run a butter knife around the inside edge of the pan to release the loaf from the pan.
- Turn the pan over onto a plate so that the loaf comes out.
- Flip the loaf over, slice and serve.
Notes
- Be sure to grease the loaf pan really well to ensure that the loaf will come out of the pan smoothly. For added security, you can either line the loaf pan with parchment paper or you can grease and flour the pan.
- This bread is so dense and filled with so many fruits. This bread is wonderful refrigerated and has more flavor on the second day.
