Dried Fruit and Nut Cake

31
| | 20published
posted by | photo by Leigh Beisch
Jump to recipe
Shares416PinYummlyShare on FlipboardHeart this post

This dried fruit and nut cake is chock-full of crunchy nuts and moist dried fruit. A holiday favorite.

Dried fruit and nut cake cut into three slices on a cutting board on marble

Adapted from Alice Medrich | Pure Dessert | Artisan, 2007

My friend Christine Blaine gave me this recipe many years ago when she was the retail director of my dessert company. Chock-full of crunchy nuts and moist dried fruit, it was especially appealing for having no artificially colored (and universally reviled) bits of candied fruit. This is an even more treasured recipe now that there are so many more dried fruits with which to create variations. (For the cake in the photograph, I used dates, dried Angelino plums, and dried pears.) And now, why not add some homemade (and really delicious) Candied Citrus Peel? Please be inventive with this fantastic recipe. Add slices to the cheese tray, or serve with after-dinner liqueurs. Or keep some in your desk for an emergency burst of energy.–Alice Medrich

Dried Fruit and Nut Cake

  • Quick Glance
  • (5)
  • 20 M
  • 1 H, 20 M
  • Makes 12 servings (1 large loaf)
5/5 - 5 reviews
Print RecipeBuy the Pure Dessert cookbook

Want it? Click it.

Ingredients


Directions

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Spray the loaf pans (either one 9-by-5-inch 8-cup loaf pan or two 8-by-4-inch 4-cup loaf pans) with vegetable oil spray or line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda, baking powder, and salt to combine. Add the brown sugar, all the dried fruit, and the nuts and mix thoroughly with your fingers. Set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the vanilla until light. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands until all the fruits and nuts are coated with batter. Scrape into the prepared pans.

Bake until the top is deep golden brown and the batter clinging to the fruit seems set, about 1 hour for smaller loaves, 10 to 15 minutes longer for a large loaf. Tent loosely with foil if the cake appears to be browning too much. Cool completely in the pans on a rack.

When completely cool, remove the cake from the pans. The cake keeps, wrapped airtight in foil or plastic wrap, for several weeks at room temperature or at least 3 months in the refrigerator. It. can also be frozen for at least 6 months.

To serve, cut into thin slices with a sharp heavy knife.

Print RecipeBuy the Pure Dessert cookbook

Want it? Click it.

Show Nutrition

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

Dried Fruit and Nut Cake Recipe © 2007 Alice Medrich. Photo © 2007 Leigh Beisch. All rights reserved. All materials used with permission.

#leitesculinaria on Instagram If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Comments

  1. I am a 96-year-old man in Cyprus, I love cooking and some baking. I was so excited about your recipe, but I have a major question and that is, I did not see any butter In your recipe. Is it correct or was it omitted by mistake. If it’s correct and it works I will be happier because I don’t want to put on weight at this age. Thank you so much and God bless you. Moses Elmadjian

    Reply
    0

  2. Delicious healthy cake. It’s very dense due to the dried fruits but not like traditional fruit cake. I cut the sugar to 1/3 cup and added homemade candied pomelo strips and candied ginger. Will make more!

    Reply
    0

    1. One more mention: I just used a prepackaged bag of dried fruit/nut mix (about 3 cups of unsweetened dried apples, figs, prunes, raisins, plums, blueberries and almonds) and added 2 cups of unsalted nut mix.

      Reply
      1

    2. Thanks, Shirley! It’s helpful to know that it still tastes great with less sugar and we’re so pleased that you’ve found a ‘keeper’! Appreciate you taking the time to let us know.

      Reply
      0

    1. Valeria, we haven’t tried it with whole wheat flour, so we can’t say how it would turn out. I’d recommend starting out by swapping in whole wheat flour for half of the all-purpose, and see how it turns out.

      Reply
      0

  4. Yummy! I can’t wait to make this! What a great recipe! I got a bag as a gift of fruit and nut mix, which was a pretty hefty bag and thought what can I do with all of this? You can only eat so much oatmeal you know! Lol thank you for sharing this recipe and thank you everyone for posting all your great comments! I’ll have to let you know how it goes! Thanks again!

    Reply
    0

      1. This was absolutely delicious…and so easy !!!
        I just made another two with leftover ingredients from the holiday season.

        Reply
        1

Have something to say?

Then tell us. Have a picture you'd like to add to your comment? Attach it below. And as always, please take a gander at our comment policy before posting.

Rate this recipe!

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know what you think.

Upload a picture of your dish