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, I just baked this cake, and I must say, it’s beautiful! Very soft and moist. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I reduced the amount of sugar a tad, but it was sweet enough for us.
welcome anu. glad to know this.
Hello,
Any alternative for brown sugar? I have white sugar so can I caramelize n use it for brown color? If yes how to do it?
brown sugar gives a good dark color to the cake. you can caramelize too. but just make a light brown. you can skip also. just add powdered sugar. won’t give you a dark color though.
Hi,
Oh, yeah. Don’t mind trying but how to consume these high-calorie goodies all by ourselves!!
Puff pastry, tart, pie, quiche….. There’s so much to learn!
Merry Christmas
we don’t make them everyday. and also they keep well for some days too. of course there is always new stuff to learn. merry christmas to you too.
Hi ive come across this recipe yesterday and wanted to make it tomarrow, do you have to soak the fruits in orange juice?
davina, yes you have to soak the fruits. you can soak the fruits in orange juice or apple juice or rum or wine.
Dear Dassana, I just love your blog. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes. Today I tried this fruit cake recipe of yours. I am a beginner when it comes to baking and this is the second cake I am baking. It dint come out great. I followed the measurements correctly. But i think i did few mistakes. Can you please guide what went wrong. I melted the butter in microwave and while adding it was warm. My dry fruits were kept in fridge and I added directly to the cake mix. These could be the reasons?
Regards
Karthika
thanks karthika. no issues when baking goes wrong. even it happens with me at times. and you are a beginner. so always keep on trying and learning. now for the cake. all the ingredients except milk are at room temperature. the melted butter should have been at room temperature. in microwave cooking, even after you remove the butter from the microwave oven will still be cooking and will be very hot. this hot temperature will affect the cake mixture. the dry fruits mix also should have been at room temperature. but i think its due to the hot melted butter.
Thank you for the prompt reply 🙂 I will definitely keep trying. Wanted to ask you one more thing. I baked the cake in OTG. I feel the temperature adjustment had a role to play. Do you think so? Because the sides were burnt, though edible, even the bottom. It dint come out. It was stuck. And how should I melt the butter, if not in microwave? Thanks a lot for your patience 🙂
welcome karthika. the baking pan and size also makes a difference to the cakes. i suggest to buy good quality baking pans. i use aluminium baking pans as they conduct heat evenly and i never had any issues with the cake or bread getting burnt. secondly in an OTG, keep the cake pan in the center rack. just touching the bottom heating rod, the cake will get burnt from bottom as well as sides. if you keep too top, the cake get browned faster due to the heat from the top heating rods. you can melt butter in the microwave, but let it come to the room temperature or at least let it become warm.
Thank you so much for the guidance 🙂 I did keep it in the center rack. So i think the butter itself is the reason. Thanks again 🙂 Will try this once more and will let you know.
welcome karthika.
Dear Dassana,
I Simply love your recipe i am following it from past three years you have done a great job for vegetarian people and it is awsem may you get all the good luck,wishes and happiness in world Merry Christmas.
thanks sneha for this positive feedback on recipes. wishing you and your family merry christmas and happy new year.
Hi
Tried the recipe once more. Could get a better one this time. Though the browning happened, could save the sides and the bottom.Thanks for your guidance throughout.
Now I know how Gajini Mohd would have felt!
haha… i know. sharing with you. i had five times disasters making puff pastry. i just cannot get it perfect like the ones they serve in bakeries. but not given up. i am still trying. just cover the top with a foil and butter paper. in fact cover the pan when you start baking. then the browning will not happen. also if using an OTG, keep the cake in the center rack.
Hi Dassana
I tried this recipe for the first time on Sunday – didnt have a few of the ingredients on hand like citrus peels and tutti fruitty , and I used prunes instead of dates – it turned out perfect ! Took it to my zumba class for our xmas party and it was wiped out ! The vegetarians specially appreciated the eggless cake and without alcohol.
Thanks again for sharing this wonderful recipe !
Wishing you and your family a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year !
welcome rukhsana. thanks for sharing this awesome feedback on cake. wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Hi
Thanks for the quick responses. Yes, I have seen yr replies dt 16th,18th,21st and 22nd. I am amazed at your patience.
I will bake in a round cake pan this time. Only that I may not have one in the right size. And the full recipe maybe too much for my requirements and I have already baked it twice and not very confident too.
I will try soon and give you a positive response.
Bye and have a nice day!
welcome prema. the full quantity might not come in the cake pan. if you have muffin pans/liners then you can add some batter in muffin pans. i hope this time you managed to bake a good cake.
Hi
I tried this one today, but the end product was too sweet and gooey. I just halved all the ingredients u have mentioned. I dont where I went wrong 🙁
hi shweta, one more reader has halved the recipe and the cake did not come out well. so i think the recipe cannot be halved. possibly this could be the reason.
Hi,
I had explained the problem but I am afraid it got edited!
I tried the recipe again with the same problem -early hardening and browning of the top and bottom too.I kept it covered throughout. I halved the recipe andbaked in a loaf tin.
But when I tested my soda, it frothed up nicely in vinegar but when I mixed the milk and vinegar and added the soda, it didn’t froth enough. Strange but why? Could that have been the reason for the uncooked inside-so much so that I had to scoop it out and bake it to make it edible.
Can I add the soda directly to vinegar and add it to the cake and then add the milk?Please suggest.
I cooked at 170 deg and towards the end at 180 deg.
I want to try it once more! Hope I get it right this time.
You have been very patient, thank you.
hi prema. we got only one comment from you with this email id. there have been one more comment from “prema” but with a different email id. first i thought two different people with same name. but now i think its you as the issue is same. i have already replied to you on dec 18th. just scroll below and you will see my response. as i mentioned more, the halved proportions are not working well. don’t bake in a loaf tin. recently just a few days back, for the first time, i baked cake in a loaf tin (meaning pan which is used for baking breads) for the first time and the center was uncooked. even after baking for a good amount of time, the center was moist. so i think its the loaf pan giving this problem or the proportions. actually the soda should froth in the vinegar and milk mixture. first add the milk to the cake and lightly mix. then dissolve soda in vinegar and stir. then add to the cake mixture. you can keep one temperature, either 170 degrees celsius and 180 degrees celsius through out also. milk can be cold. the other ingredients are at room temperature.
Hiee…your recipe looks lovely…i am going to try it tomorrow…i wanted to ask that can i use fresh grape juice instead of orange juice?
yes. you can use fresh grape juice.
Can I use cherries in syrup in this cake? And what is “all spice” (I’m Brazilian)? Can I use balsamic vinegar or alcohol instead of apple? And what’s Maida and Atta flour?
if the syrup is added, the liquid proportion will increase in the cake. all spice is a spice which is commonly used in cakes, cookies and even in some meat dishes. don’t use balsamic vinegar. which alcohol you plan to use. rum and wine work well. maida is the hindi word for all purpose flour or plain flour. atta is the hindi word for whole wheat flour.
Thank you for the tips dassana. I did not put the cherries along with other fruits and nor will I use the syrup. All spice in Brazil is allspice, it was easy to find. I will use apple cider vinegar it. In the fruit I used orange juice in place of rum. I’ll make the recipe today and tomorrow speak to you as it was.
welcome silvia. yes, all spice should be easy to find. happy baking and do give the feedback.
Hi
Hey, everyone seems to be getting it right but me!
you have not mentioned whats going wrong. if you elaborate it would be helpful.
Hey! Hi Dassana and Amit,
Firstly, I want to tell you guys, You are doing a FANTASTIC job with this web-site especially with the vegan substitutes. I Love You people! I always get just what I want here. I really ask myself each and every time, How does it get any better than this? 🙂
Well, tomorrow is my birthday. And I am planning to make this cake. A few queries:
1. In addition to the dry fruits what you have mentioned, I have added 50 gms of walnuts and 50 gms of almonds? so the soaked material is 100 gms more than the recipe mentioned above. Are there any changes that I need to make in terms of sugar/flour/baking soda, etc?
2. I wish to use Old Monk as my rum to soak. Is that ok? Or is there a different rum?
thanks aruna for the motivating comment.
1. no need to add anything extra. i think the amount of flour will be able to take in the extra almonds and walnuts.
2. you can use old monk. even i have used the same one.
Hi.. I have tried ur recipe. But the cake has cracked in many places. Dono why this has happened, though I followed all the instructions
When a cake cracks it is usually because of temperature changes in the oven caused due to opening the oven door many times during the early stages of baking or due to a high temperature in the oven or using a smaller pan or placing the top close to the top heating element. Not all ovens are the same and the temperature differs as well, so it is better to check or calibrate the temperature with an oven thermometer. I hope this helps.