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.
Hi Dassana
Ironical question but how can this recipe be incorporated along with egg ?
Will appreciate ur quick response. ☺Thanks
with eggs, a few things will change in the recipe. so i suggest to add about 2 eggs and about 1/3 to 1/2 cup milk. reduce the oil also to 1/3 to 1/2. the batter consistency should be like shown in the pics. so add milk and oil accordingly. no need to use vinegar. then just whisk the eggs till light and frothy and add after step 15. first add eggs and then add milk as required.
Thanks for the recipe. I have bought a new LG MW & will try for this christmas.
welcome nirupama
Hi dassana,
Thank you so much for this lovely recipe. I followed it exactly ( only change was I used all self raising flour and no wholemeal flour ) and in my oven, it baked for 50 mins.
The cake was moist and spongier than a usual dense Christmas cake – i was also thrilled to discover that the cake tasted way better after a few days than on the day it was baked- the flavors seemed to have blended in a lot better and it tastes really authentic .
This was also my first time baking since I became vegan and I am so glad I found this recipe, which is very straightforward for a beginner like me. You have a great website going as well .
I am going to bake this cake again for our Christmas eve dinner with our vegan friends since everyone loves it and I hope it turns out the same – as good as the first time- wish me luck 🙂
Vidhya
great to know vidya. yes the flavors do taste better after a few days. yes the recipe is pretty easy. wish you happy christmas and bright new year in advance. and yes all the best for the second round of baking 🙂
Hi Dassana
A long time visitor to your site and have successfully tried quite a few of the dishes you post. This one is a gorgeous recipe and I intend to try this over the weekend. I am planning on making mini loaves to distribute among friends. Had a bunch of questions. Have my fruit mix soaking so I’d be grateful if you could answer these soon. Here they are-
1. I have a convection microwave oven and I am comfortable baking with it. Thing is it is small. The minis I make will have to be made in batches. So the question is if I can let the batter rest while one batch is baking or does it all have to be used up as soon as we pour the milk+vinegar+soda in?
2. Can this recipe be doubled or halved as is? If not what modifications do you think I will have to make?
3. Is this cake like your regular fruit cake i.e. it gets better with time and can be stored for long? If not how long can it be stored for and consumed before it goes bad?
Looking forward to your reply.
Thanks a ton. You make the culinary lives of so many of us beautiful and enjoyable. Wishing you, your family and this blog a merry Christmas and a lovely start to 2015.
Love,
Keyura
keyura, firstly wishing you too a happy christmas and a merry new year 2015. your queries answered below:
1. the batter cannot be allowed to rest. you have to use it up as soon as mix and pour the batter in the mini loaf pans. what i suggest is proceed till step 15. halve this flour+sugar+oil+dry fruits mixture and keep one half in the fridge. dissolve half of the milk, vinegar and soda. add this mixture to the remaining half of the flour+sugar+oil+dry fruits mixture. bake and then repeat with the half kept in fridge. let the fridge mixture come to a room temperature before you bake.
2. the recipe can be halved. but doubling can be problematic. i would suggest to double the recipe. i can’t even tell the modifications as one needs to try and test.
3. it does get better with time. but if you use dairy milk, then the cake has to be consumed in a few days, about 3 to 4 days. but with soy or almond milk, it can stay for a longer period of time, about 1 week to 10 days. in fact at home, the cake gets over quickly.
hope the answers have helped you. happy baking 🙂
Hi
I tried the recipe yesterday. Though it tasted good, the top and the sides were burnt badly. I did cover the top with butter paper when I found it was browning as the skewer did not come out clean. It took me 50-55 mts as I had added 3/4 th measure of the ingredients.
What do you think would have gone wrong? Can you help me? I want to try a small batch tomorrow.
I baked in an OTG at 180deg c throughout in the middle rack. Will lowering the temperature partially help or can I place a bowl of water to avoid burning?if so, where can I put it?
Can you suggest something?
I am sorry I am troubling you but I am not an experienced baker.
Thank you.
hi prema from what you mention, some proportions have gone topsy turvy. so difficult to tell what has gone wrong with what amount of ingredients. 180 degrees celsius is fine. middle rack is also fine. which pan you used for baking? what were the proportions? would not suggest keeping a bowl of water. but you can lower the temperature to 170 or 160 degrees celsius. baking powder and baking soda need to be used when in their shelf period. i don’t keep them in the fridge. i keep them outside.
just halve the ingredients this time. let me know how the result. you can keep the butter paper right from the beginning. the more you bake, the more you will become experienced in baking. disasters will happen initially, but then one learns from experience. i have had many cake and cookie disasters before but now i am getting things right. touch wood 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. I am trying this tomorrow. Can I bake this in a loaf pan and serve as slices. If yes, what should be the consistency of the dough? And any changes that I should make in the proportion of the ingredients?
A quick reply will be appreciated.
Thank you:)
welcome. no need to make any changes in the consistency or the recipe. you can easily bake in the loaf pan.
Hello, thank you for this amazing cake! I’m going to make it for Christmas, and since it’s vegan my brother can eat it. 🙂
I just have one question about soaking with orange juice. The orange juice I bought is the one that sits in the pantry until it’s opened, so it has more preservatives in it than one that needs to be in the fridge. Because of this, is it okay to soak the fruit for more than 1 day? Of course, I’ll have it in the fridge while it’s soaking… Thanks again!
welcome kris. i would suggest to use freshly made orange juice. i don’t know how the preservatives will react with the cake.
Hi Dassana,
I want to try this receipe.Had a few questions before I try.
1.I live in India,Could you tell me where can I get the candied peels or is there a way I can make it at home.
2.Can I soak the dry fruits in Grape juice instead of Orange juice.
3.My cakes normally bake in 30 mins in the oven keeping it on the centre rack.I normally turn on the heat on the top and bottom and turn off the top heat in 10-15 mins once the top of the cake is cooked and the remaining is cooked only on the bottom heat.Is it necessary to keep the top heat turned on and cover the top with foil.
Please reply.
jivika,
1. i got the candied peels from a super store. you can make at home but i have not tried. you can get the method on google.
2. i have never tried with grape juice. you can use apple juice instead.
3. no need to cover with foil. the foil is only used if the top crust starts browning too much. i keep both the top and bottom heating elements on through out the whole process of baking.
P.S. for best results, follow the recipe exactly without varying it much.
happy baking
I love ur recipes but please may u put up metric measurements to avoid ambiguity. It gets very confusing and even when I have tried cross referencing measurements the result isn’t good. I bake very often and with metrics I get wonderful professional like products which some people have bought! So it would be a great help. I need to make an eggless version of this one for my mil so please please please may u help.
thanks for the suggestion vera. i have started adding metric measurements for the recipes i add now. most of the times, when i bake cakes, i forget to measure the ingredients. so it is with this recipe. i shall be making this recipe soon. so will add the metric measurements. will take some days.
Thanks a ton. Will wait for it then. I’m a huge fan of ur blog and specifically come only to ur site since I have a very good hit rate with ur directions! I just hope u post it before Xmas though! 😉
welcome vera. i will make some days before xmas. i always make a fruit cake for christmas as well as new year. will add before christmas.
Hi dassana,
i live in uk….i just want clear my doubts before baking… if i want to use eggs,so can u suggest me how to use n how many eggs. Plain rum or spiced rum…i want to know after soaking dry fruits can i leave bottle in my pantry or in fridge.., i just want to bake for my friends n gift them.. i try ur eggless apple cake came out really well… i baked at fan mode for 180c it took 50mins to bake… so can bake this cake at same temp n before baking i should cover with foil coz my apple cake little heard on top..am very new to baked.. try before other website got flop… but after baking eggless apple cake got confidence tat i can bake
with eggs, some things will change in the recipe. so i suggest to add about 2 eggs and about 1/3 to 1/2 cup milk. reduce the oil also to 1/3 to 1/2. the batter consistency should be like shown in the pics. so add milk and oil accordingly. no need to use vinegar. then just whisk the eggs till light and frothy and add after step 15. first add eggs and then add milk as required. yes you can keep the bottle in the fridge. plain rum is better. yes in the fan mode, bake at 180 degrees celsius. in fan oven, the top crust gets cooked and browned quickly. so what i suggest is after 15 to 20 mins of baking, place the foil on top. later if you want more browning on top, then remove the foil and bake for 5 to 8 mins just to get a brown top. also in the fan mode, the baking will take less time. so please do keep a check.
Hi amit, thank u so much for ur reply very helpful.. just soaked dry fuits.. need one more help,i got all spice mix powder, how much should i add ? coz u mentioned 2 spice mix..
so i am going to try this recipe before christmas i ll let u know … 🙂
welcome swapna. you can add about 1/8th tsp of all spice powder. i think can even go to 1/4th tsp.
Hi Dassana Amit,
I am the regular follower of your blog. u have magic in your hand your all recipes are just awesome there is no chance of failure once someone follow your yummy and simple recipes blog thanks for your superb recipes…
i am too going to prepare Christmas cake for the first time i have some query about cake 1) how long we can store this Christmas cake? or can we feed some Rum over cake once it done?
thanks shweta for your sweet comment. since it has milk, the cake will stay for about a week in the fridge. yes you can add some rum over the cake.
Hello dassana amit
I like your recipes very much. I want to clear my doubts. Pls help me.What is the difference between maida and self raising flour? what are all ingredients in self raising flour?What is the uses?
maida is just plain flour. self raising flour is flour in which a leavening agent like baking powder is added. salt is also added. so if you use self raising flour then you will have to cut down the baking powder & salt in the recipe which calls for maida only.
Hi, I have dry fruits soaked in rum since last 20 days and have made candid orange peel. Going to use both of them. It should be fine right?
Also can i use Caramel Sugar Syrup in this cake ? Planning to bake in couple of days. Please advise.
yes, both the dry fruits and candied orange peel should be fine. you can use caramel sugar syrup. in that case you don’t add sugar or add some sugar and some caramel syrup.
i will definitely try this recipe, kindly tell more eggless recipes but without milkmaid thanku
thanks renu. you can check eggless cakes recipes below
https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/eggless-cakes-recipes/
I baked the cake today and followed the recipe to th ‘T’. It turned out fantastic.
The top was a bit crusty, is that the way it’s supposed to be?
thanks minakshi. no the top is not crusty.