Festive and flavorful homemade Eggless Fruit Cake is bursting with cheerful holiday spices and delicious rum-soaked fruits and nuts. It’s a classic Christmas recipe that makes a light, crumbly, and perfectly moist Christmas Cake that you’ll love to enjoy and share all season. No eggs needed!
About Eggless Fruit Cake Recipe
Traditional Christmas fruit cake is a yummy treat made by soaking dried fruits and nuts in rum or wine, and mixing with fragrant spices in a simple from-scratch batter.
To make my eggless version I use a blend of whole wheat flour (atta) and all-purpose flour (maida). This helps to create a wonderfully tender and fluffy cake every time!
Although most of the alcohol will bake out of the cake, it’s easy to adapt this as an alcohol-free recipe if you choose. Substitute rum with Orange Juice or apple juice.
I soak the dry fruits and nuts in rum for 3 days at room temperature before using to bake. However, if you want you can soak in rum for as little as 12 hours or 24 hours, or for even as long as one full year in the fridge.
Table of Contents
Place the dried fruit and rum in an airtight container with a secure lid. If soaking in apple juice or orange juice, then soak in the fridge for 1 to 2 days.
Here are two other Christmas cakes you should try after you make this easy fruit cake recipe:
- Plum Cake (made with whole wheat flour, apple juice and caramel)
- Wine Cake (made with red wine and mix of dried fruits and nuts)
Fruit cakes take more time to bake. The exact time will vary from oven to oven, but it took my eggless fruit cake about 1 hour to bake at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit).
I use my favorite dried fruits and nuts in this recipe, but feel free to substitute or add whatever you like for your Christmas cake!
How to Make Eggless Fruit Cake
Soak Dry Fruits and Nuts
1: In a large bowl combine the following nuts and dried fruits:
- ¼ cup of golden raisins
- ¼ cup black raisins (seedless)
- ¼ cup cashews
- 2 tablespoons of dried cherries
- 8 apricots
- 8 to 9 dates, small to medium-sized
Rinse them well and drain thoroughly.
2: Finely chop everything with a knife, or use a food processor to roughly chop.
Keep in mind to finely chop the nuts and dried fruits as larger chunks will cause the cake to crumble while cutting it.
3: Transfer the chopped dried fruits and nuts to a bowl.
4. Now add ¼ cup of tutti frutti and ¼ cup chopped candied orange peel.
You can skip these ingredients if you don’t have them. But candied orange peels, gives a lovely citrusy, bitter-sweet notes in the cake.
5: Pour in one cup of rum, wine, or apple juice.
6. Mix very well and let the dried fruits and nuts soak in the rum for at least 12 hours, or for 2 to 3 days. You can keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Tip 1: If soaking in rum for more than 3 days then transfer to a sealed container and keep in the fridge for up to one year.
Tip 2: If soaking in apple or orange juice, then refrigerate for 1 to 2 days.
7. Here is what the mixture will look like after soaking for 3 days.
Prepare Spice Mix
8: The spice blend in this fruit cake smells and tastes just like the holidays.
For this recipe you need to gather 2 inches of cinnamon, 2 green cardamoms, 2 allspice, ⅛ teaspoon of grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg powder.
You can also add 2 cloves for an extra festive boost of flavor.
9: Add the spices in a spice grinder or a small grinder jar.
10: Grind the spices to a fine powder, and set aside.
11. At this point you want to go ahead and prepare your Christmas cake pan. To do so grease a 7 to 8.5 inches round pan very well with a neutral oil.
Since this is a moist cake, you can also line the cake pan with butter paper or parchment paper.
Also preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes to get perfectly hot.
Sift Dry Ingredients
12: To make the batter, combine 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour in a sieve over a large bowl.
13: Then add the ground spice powder and ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
14: Sift the ingredients together into the bowl.
Make Fruit Cake Batter
15: Next add the soaked dried fruits and nuts – including the leftover rum – to the sifted dry ingredients.
16: Add 1.5 cups of demerara sugar. You can also use powdered sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, palm or coconut sugar – whatever you prefer!
17: Then add 1 cup of oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
18: Gently mix together the ingredients until just combined, making sure to not over-mix.
19: Next, in the same bowl in which dried fruits and nuts were soaked, add 1 cup of soy milk.
Feel free to use dairy milk – or almond milk, cashew milk, lite coconut milk, to make an eggless fruitcake that’s also vegan-friendly.
20: Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar) to the milk.
21: Mix well. Do not worry if the milk curdles a bit.
22: Now sprinkle 1 teaspoon of baking soda all over the milk.
23: Stir gently. The mixture will rise a bit.
24: Pour this milk mixture into the fruit cake batter.
25: Working quickly, use a spatula to combine the mixtures together.
26: It should form a wet batter that is smooth except for the lumps of dried fruits and nuts.
27: Pour the eggless fruit cake batter into the greased pan.
28: Give the pan a gentle shake and tap to level out the batter, using a spatula if necessary to even the top of the cake.
29: As you do not want the batter to reach the very top of the pan, you might need a second pan, like I used here. This is like an extra mini cake for you to enjoy!
Bake Christmas Cake
30: Now bake the fruit cake in a preheated oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, depending on oven size.
31: The eggless fruit cake will have a beautiful golden brown color. Test the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center – it should come out clean.
Allow the cake pan to cool completely on a wired rack or stand before flipping the cake out onto a plate.
Storage
32: Wrap the fruit cake in a cling film or store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
The flavors mature over a period of time and this eggless fruit cake tastes very good after some days. If you stay in a warm climate then keep Christmas fruit cake in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
33: Once cool to the touch, slice and serve the eggless fruit cake with a glass of dairy or plant-based milk, or a cup of Hot Chocolate. You can also serve the fruit cake as a sweet snack.
Expert Tips
- Baking: Remember to preheat the oven for 20 minutes before you bake. The baking time will vary with the type of oven, size and pans you use. Open the oven door after ¾ of the cake is baked. Opening it many times may cause the cake to sunk. If the top of the cake browns quickly, then cover the top with a parchment paper or aluminium foil.
- Milk and fats: I have used soy milk in the recipe. But you can sub it with almond milk, cashew milk, lite coconut milk or dairy milk. Instead of oil you can use butter.
- Candied orange peels: Do add the candied peels (orange or lemon) as they really add some bitter notes to the cake which is otherwise sweet and this is what makes the Christmas fruit cake different from a regular fruit cake. Candied ginger peels also taste good.
- Nuts: Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans are some nuts you can include instead of cashews. You can also use a mix of these nuts.
- Alcohol: The nuts and dry fruits mixture can be soaked in apple juice, orange juice instead of rum. You can also use equal proportions of rum and wine if you want. For orange juice and apple juice keep the bowl in the fridge. If kept outside even for a few hours in a warm climate like that of India, the juices will get spoiled.
- Flour: You can make this eggless fruit cake entirely with whole wheat flour or with all-purpose flour or pastry flour. You can also use whole wheat pastry flour.
FAQs
Yes, you can do that. So, add 1 cup + 1 tablespoon of buttermilk along with 1 teaspoon vinegar and 1 teaspoon baking soda.
Vinegar is important as in combination with the baking soda, it helps in leavening the cake and makes it softer.
For a 1 kg pan, an 8.5 to 9 inches square or round pan should be good enough.
Yes, it is absolutely possible to make this Fruit Cake entirely with all-purpose flour (maida).
Usually, the baking soda is added to the dry mixture. However, in this recipe, I have added it in the milk mixture as vinegar is also added.
Vinegar reacts with baking soda and forms carbon dioxide which aerates the batter. The reaction is profound and effective this way, than the baking soda being added in the dry ingredients mixture.
You can use milk, if making a vegetarian cake. For more vegan options, you can use plant based ingredients like cashew milk, almond milk or even lite coconut milk. But remember, with each of these, there will be a change in the taste.
More Eggless Cake Recipes To Try!
Cake Recipes
Cake Recipes
Cake Recipes
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Eggless Fruit Cake | Christmas Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For soaking
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup black raisins (seedless)
- ¼ cup cashews
- ¼ cup chopped candied orange peels or candied citrus peels
- 8 dried apricots
- 8 to 9 dates – small to medium-sized
- ¼ cup tutti frutti – optional
- 2 tablespoons dried cherries or glazed cherries
- 1 cup rum or 1 cup fresh orange juice or apple juice
For cake batter
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour – 187 grams
- 1 cup whole wheat flour – 120 grams
- 1.5 cups demerara sugar – 250 grams – can also add instead 250 grams brown sugar or 250 grams white sugar or 250 grams powdered sugar/confectioner's sugar
- 1 cup oil or melted butter, use any neutral flavored oil
- 1 cup soy milk or any nut milk or dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or regular white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
For ground spice mix
- 2 inches cinnamon
- 2 green cardamoms
- 2 allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg or nutmeg powder, about 2 to 3 pinches of nutmeg powder
- 2 cloves – optional
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger (ginger powder) – optional
Instructions
Soaking nuts and dry fruits
- Firstly chop all the nuts and dry fruits and take them in a bowl or a jar. Pour rum in the bowl or jar.
- Cover and let the dry fruits soak for 12 or 24 hours or for 3 days. If you have used apple juice or orange juice to soak the dry fruits, then cover the bowl with an air-tight lid or a tightly with a clingfilm wrap and keep in the refrigerator.
- After some hours or every day stir or shake the bowl or jar, so that all the nuts and dry fruits get soaked properly.
Other preparations
- In a spice-grinder or dry grinder, grind the spices listed above, under the heading "for ground spice mix" except for ginger powder. Set aside.
- Prepare a loaf pan or a round cake pan by greasing it very well with oil. You can also line the cake pan with butter paper.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit)for 20 minutes.
Making cake batter
- Sieve the flours, baking powder and the the ground powdered spice mix. You can also add ginger powder at this step. Note that ginger powder is optional.
- Add the soaked dry fruits together with the leftover rum or apple juice/orange juice.
- Add the oil and demerara sugar or your choice of brown sugar or regular white sugar. Also add vanilla extract. Gently mix together the ingredients until just combined, making sure to not over-mix.
- In a bowl or mug add soy milk. Now add apple cider vinegar and stir gently.
- Add baking soda and stir thoroughly. Add this frothing mixture to the cake batter.
- Stir and mix quickly but evenly.
Baking
- Pour in the cake pan.
- Shake the pan lightly so that the cake batter is spread evenly throughout the whole pan.
- Use a spatula to even the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 180 degrees celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) for 50 minutes to 60 minutes or more or less depending on your type of oven.
- The eggless fruit cake will have a lovely golden brown color. Test the doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center and it should come out clean.
- Let the cake pan cool completely on a wired rack or stand before flipping the cake out onto a plate.
Storage
- Wrap the Christmas fruit cake in a cling film or store in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
- The flavors mature over a period of time and thus the eggless fruit cake tastes very good after some days. If you stay in a warm climate then keep Christmas fruit cake in the fridge.
Serving suggestions
- Later, slice and serve the eggless fruit cake with a glass of dairy or plant-based milk, or a hot cup of cocoa. You can also serve it as a sweet snack.
Notes
- Baking: If the top of the cake browns quickly, then cover the top with parchment paper or aluminium foil.
- Milk and fats: Instead of soy milk you can use dairy milk or almond milk, cashew milk or lite coconut milk. Instead of oil you can use butter.
- Nuts: Feel free to add nuts like almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios instead of cashews. You can also opt to add a mix of these nuts. Also, make sure that these nuts are not salted.
- Candied peels: Do add the candied peels as they really add some bitter notes to the cake which is otherwise sweet and this is what makes the Christmas fruit cake different from a regular fruit cake.
- Soaking: The nuts and dry fruits can be soaked in orange juice or apple juice instead of rum. You can also use equal proportions of rum and wine if you want. If soaking in apple or orange juice then keep the bowl in the fridge. If kept outside even for a few hours in a warm climate like that of India, the juices will get spoiled.
- Flours: This christmas cake can also be entirely made with whole wheat flour (atta) or all purpose flour (maida). You can also use pastry flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
- The approximate nutrition info is per slice of eggless fruit cake.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Eggless Fruit Cake recipe from the archives first published in December 2012 has been updated and republished on December 2023.
I baked the cake today and followed the recipe to th ‘T’. It turned out fantastic.
thanks minakshi for sharing your positive feedback on cake.
what are the measurements of the spices 1 inch of cinnamon etc
the recipe measurements are mentioned right after the step by step pics get over.
I’m in Australia and don’t know what maida flour or all purpose flour is if you could please elaborate for me,
thankyou in anticipation
Maryanne
all purpose flour is plain flour. the flour that we use for making pizza bases or breads and cakes, cookies too. we also call it as refined flour.
Hi
Can I substitute lemon/lime juice for vinegar? Will the quantity be the same?
Thanks!
lemon or lime juice might change the taste overall. you will get hints of lemony flavor. you can add the same amount – 2 tbsp.
This is the best recipe with precise pictures of the entire process . With this type of information how can one make a mistake.
Thanks for being so precise.
Wonderful to have been on this page.
Philip
welcome philip. thanks for your kind words.
Hi Dassana. Thanks for this recipe. I tried and it came out well 🙂 Everyone loved it.
I’ve few questions, so that it can be even better the next time I bake.
1. The rum could be tasted very strongly raw as though it was not baked. Is it anything to do with soaking duration, as I soaked it for 2 full days?
2. At 180 degrees Celsius, the cake got baked within 45 minutes. Since the top layer started becoming too dark and crisp, i feared it would burn and checked with tooth pick and it came out clean. So I stopped baking. And while cutting the cake, the slices didn’t turn up neatly and became powdered at few regions. What could be the reason? I had used butter paper to cover the cake on top and used lower shelf in oven.
3. Demerara sugar could be found as still granules in very few parts of the cake while eating. So if it’s powdered, would the measure of 1.5 cups still hold good?
Thanks,
Anu
thanks anu.
1: soaking duration does make a difference. also if the cake is allowed to mature for 2-3 days, the rum flavor mellows and is not strong as when freshly baked.
2: actually when baking any cake, always use both the top and bottom heating elements and keep the cake pan in the center rack. done this way, it allows for uniform baking and heat distribution. i guess the powdered texture could be due to uneven mixing.
3: actually i have read about this issues with demerara sugar. but i have never had any problem. you can use brown sugar as an alternative. you can use the same amount of 1.5 cups for powdered demerara sugar.
hi Dassana. thanks for sharing this recipe. i am trying it out for this christmas. i have two Qs … 1) the temp you’ve suggested is 180 degree C, right? normally at that temp my cakes bake within 45 minutes. does this recipe really take 1 hr 45 mins to bake?
2) i’ve soaked the dry fruits in apple juice. should i refrigerate the soaked dry fruits. it’s winter here and the temperature is about 12 degrees . the mixture has been out for over 12 hours and i plan to leave it soaked for about 10 hours longer.
thanks!
i have mailed you yesterday night from my tab as not logged on computer. please check your email.
As a vegan I wanted to try this fruit cake without dairy products. It came out really well.thank u so much for the recipe. I powdered the demerera sugar and it was easier. Just wanted to share.
thanks vidhya.
What if I use orange peel? And rose water for soaking dry fruits? Please let me know if I use 2 cups maida – will 50gms each type of dry fruits be right? What will the time for the whole baking process? Lots of questions but please help me out.
you mean fresh orange peel? i suggest to use orange zest. meaning grate the peel and collect the fine orange gratings which is known as zest. you can use zest of 1 orange. will give a mild orangish flavor and taste in the cake. if you add the peels directly then they are bitter. i am not sure of rose water. the whole cake will smell of rose. you can use ready apple or orange juice available in tetra packs. 50 gms will be alright of each dry fruit. the baking time depends on your oven. it can take between 1:20 mins to 1:45 mins. but just check after an hour and keep an eye when the cake is getting baked.
Hey, I have dry fruits soaked in rum previously, it is now in a bottle with rum, can you please tell me how much of this I should use. And can i use self- raising flour, if so how much? and what about the frothy milk mixture? Please reply asap Thank you
2 to 2.5 cups of dry fruits would be fine. you can add about 2 to 21/4 cup of self raising flour. no need to add the baking powder. for the frothy milk mixture you will have to add baking soda. you can reduce it to 2/3 or 3/4 tsp of baking soda.
All spice I dont have..wht to do? I hv powdre form of all d spices..can u tel me d measuremnt?
thats alright if you don’t have all spice. you can add 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, cardamom powder and clove powder.
Hi dassana, tried two batches of this recipe, one with orange juice and one with rum… both turned out really good…thanks so muxh for sharing this recipe… Merry Christmas to you and your family..
thanks archana for trying as well as the feedback. merry christmas to you and your family too.
hey i couldnt find candied peel anywhere but instead i got mango candied fruit..can i use them??
hi akarshi. the taste with mango will be different. but you can add it.
Hi nice recipe, two questions can I substitute apple cider vinegar with something? Can I use any dry fruit of my choice or it has to be religiously the one in your list?
you can use regular white vinegar instead of apple cider. you can use dry fruits of your choice. you don’t have to follow this list religiously 🙂
Thank you sooooooo,……… much Dassana. It’s so kind of u that u helped me in the entire process of baking this cake. I wish I cud post the pic of my cake. It’s little crunchier from the sides but super moist. Yummy…. Wil definitely see ur other recipes also. Again thanks a lot Dassana. Merry Christmas dear!
welcome shally and thanks for sharing positive feedback on fruit cake recipe. merry christmas to you and your family. if you wish then you can send the photo of any recipe tried from the blog to my email or facebook page and i wills share it in facebook page with other readers.
welcome shally. you can send me the pic on my fb page or email me at vegrecipesofindia(AT)gmail(DOT).com i will update it in my fb page. i am glad that the cake turned out good. merry christmas to you too shally.