Cakes and Frostings

Not Your Grandma’s Fruitcake

Fruitcake gets a bad rap for being dense and one-dimensional, but our recipe dispels all that. Its tender crumb is chock-full of beautiful dried fruit, rum and spices—and don’t forget the citrus rum glaze, which gives the whole dish a bright spike of flavor.

Prep

Cook

Servings

Level

Easy

Ingredients

Fruitcake

1 cup tart dried cherries
1 cup diced dried apricots
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup diced dried pineapple
¼ cup minced candied ginger
1 cup rum
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ sticks Challenge Unsalted Butter, plus more for pan
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Citrus Rum Glaze

4 Tablespoons Challenge Unsalted Butter
½ cup granulated sugar
zest of 1 orange, finely grated
¼ cup orange juice
1 Tablespoon dark rum

Directions

Fruitcake

1

Combine dried cherries, apricots, cranberries, raisins, pineapple, ginger and rum in a large glass bowl. Cover and soak overnight.
2

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper.
3

Transfer soaked fruit to a large pot with sugar, butter, orange zest, orange juice, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspices, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes until thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and let cool completely, about 1 hour.
4

Whisk eggs into cooled fruit mixture.
5

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder in a medium bowl, whisk to combine. Stir into fruit mixture and pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 65-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan, then carefully remove springform pan. Brush warm citrus glaze (recipe below) all over cake and cool completely.

Citrus Rum Glaze

6

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Simmer mixture for 5 minutes until thickened to a syrupy consistency. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Use warm.