What do you do with leftover cranberry sauce after the turkey is gone? Cranberry sauce…
Raisin Cherry Fruitcake. Not a ‘Funny-Fruit’ Cake
Fruitcake. If you’re not a fan of the dark, moist, dense, boozy, colorful ‘funny fruit’ studded fruitcake, let this be your game-changer. Bright maraschino cherries (hey, a little holiday color!), add their distinctive cherry-almond flavor, balanced with lots of raisins and walnuts. It’s all wrapped in a buttery vanilla cake.
This is the fruitcake I grew up with and never understood the distasteful reputation of fruitcakes. The type made with unidentified glace fruits. I still have my mom’s yellowed recipe clipping, probably from an early 1960’s Good Housekeeping magazine. As a Jewish girl who adopted Christianity when she married Dad, Mom became renowned amongst family and friends for her Christmas baking. She revised this recipe to a loaf from the original Bundt cake to simplify gifting and swapped some of the dark raisins for goldens. Now it’s prettier than the original recipe and I think more flavorful. At family gift exchange parties there was always a raucous rally of bartering to keep the cake not to pass it off! Thanks Mom – we think of you with every fruitcake.
Serve the cake thinly sliced –those cherries will brighten your holiday tray. 🙂 Or enjoy with afternoon tea, or even a sweet breakfast treat. Wrapped and refrigerated, the cake keeps for several months. I bet you won’t have it that long!
Raisin Cherry Fruitcake
Raisin Cherry Fruitcake
Not a Funny-Fruit Cake! The sweetness in this cake is from natural and golden raisins, and maraschino cherries. Lots of walnuts round it off for a cake I think is irresistible even if you think you don't like fruitcake!
Servings: 24 thin slices
Ingredients
- 1 jar 16 ounces stemmed maraschino cherries, drained (generous 1 cup)
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) natural raisins appx 150g/cup
- 1 1/2 cups (225g) golden raisins appx 150g/cup
- 1 cup (100g) coarsely chopped walnuts
- 2 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour, divided use If cup measuring, fluff the flour then spoon into cup and level with a knife. I use 120g/cup
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) (113g) salted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300ºF. Coat two 9×5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.
- Cut each cherry in half. Pat cherries completely dry on paper towels. Place cherries, raisins and walnuts in a large bowl. Toss lightly with 1/4 cup of the flour. Set aside.
- Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy in another large bowl. Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Gradually beat in remaining flour, mixing until smooth. Gently combine batter with fruit and nuts. Mixture will be very stiff.
- Divide between prepared pans. Pans will be about 1/2 full.
- Bake about 1 hour 15 minutes or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Edges will be well browned with lighter color top. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
- Slice in 1/4-inch slices to serve. Cake slices easier when chilled.
- To store: Wrap un-sliced loaf tightly in foil and plastic wrap or bag and refrigerate. Best served within 3 months. Slice thin and serve cold or room temperature.
Notes
Food Trivia
What is a maraschino cherry? A maraschino cherry is a varietal that originated in Croatia. For centuries the fruit was brined then preserved in the maraschino liquor that was distilled from the cherries and pits. Today, Queen Anne or Ranier are used to make the bright red jarred cherries that are first brined in a salt solution to leach the color, then soaked in a colored sugar syrup – FDA approved red, green or other colors – and usually flavored with a little almond.
What is a maraschino cherry? A maraschino cherry is a varietal that originated in Croatia. For centuries the fruit was brined then preserved in the maraschino liquor that was distilled from the cherries and pits. Today, Queen Anne or Ranier are used to make the bright red jarred cherries that are first brined in a salt solution to leach the color, then soaked in a colored sugar syrup – FDA approved red, green or other colors – and usually flavored with a little almond.
Love it, reminds me of our ‘go to fruit cake known as ‘Oxford Lunch’ fruit cake. Lighter than our normal heavy fruit cake at Christmas. We use almonds instead of walnuts.
Trish – Oxford Lunch is an intriguing name for a cake, there must be a story! What type of fruit is in it?
Merry Christmas, Rosie. Just saw this post and had to laugh. I have gathered my ingredients and will be making this fruitcake this week, at least will make the first batch :-). Can you suggest cooking times for those I bake in either mini bundt pans or mini loaf pans? Don’t want to over bake them. I’ve got my own pink recipe clipping from Good Housekeeping.
Hi Judy! So great to hear from you. I wondered if you were baking this recipe again! I have not baked in mini Bundt or mini loaf. My suggestion is to check at 30-40 minutes. The pick, the color and the aroma can be your guide. Let me know if you what the times turns out to be. Thanks for your note, and happy holidays 🙂
I made this cake for Christmas using pecans as all I had. My son and I loved it. Used to make the old fashioned recipe my British grandmother gave me years ago, but misplaced it. This was easier and just as good.
Hi Joan – apologies for not seeing your comment sooner. I think pecans would be delicious. I must try it! Thank you so much for your note.
CAN I USE RUM EXTRACT INSTEAD OF THE VANILLA TO GIVE IT THAT OLD RUM TEASED? THIS IS THE FIRST TIME MAKING THIS I’M NOT A BAKER, LET SAY THIS IS MY FIRST HAND AT BAKING I ALWAYS HAD MY MOTHER DOING IT NOW THAT SHE IS GONE I’M HERE TO START NOW.
Absolutely try the rum extract and let me know how it is! Try half the amount of vanilla or use the same, I’m not sure how much it will need to give the flavor you are looking for. Thanks for trying this as a first time baker. I hope you love it!
I’m still in the Christmas mood and wanted to make something for a raining afternoon. What I wanted was akin to a See’s candy rum nougat candy!
Here are my additions:
Soak raisins in rum over night. drain and pat dry (reserve liquid)
I added vanilla extract and rum extract (1 teas each)
I added 1 teas of baking powder (I wanted it to be a little less dense)
I frosted the cake with a butter cream frosting and added some of the reserved rum raisin liquid and a little rum extract. I put a thin layer of the icing on top of the cake. I did this to enhance the rum flavor
Knocked it out of the park! It turned out as I wanted it to. Thanks for the base recipe! I am planning on making these into mini loaves to give away as gifts next Christmas!
Your rum variation sounds awesome! I want to jump right up and make it! I’m curious how you found my recipe? I’m delighted that you did, and thank you so much for sharing your knock-out recipe!