This vegan fruit cake recipe is not your typical fruit cake! It’s moist, naturally sweet, and the perfect holiday cake!
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Fruit cake is one of those quintessential Christmas recipes. It’s known for being dense and filled with either dried or candied fruit, nuts, and warm spices. Sometimes it’s soaked in liqueurs.
Here in the United States, the Christmas fruit cake has become somewhat of a holiday joke due to its denseness and long shelf life.
Well, I’m here to tell you that it can be delicious and enjoyed by all at your holiday celebrations.
This vegan version is naturally sweetened with dried fruit, loaded with warm spices, and chopped walnuts. It’s light and moist, making it a fruit cake for people who think they don’t like fruit cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Vegan Fruit Cake
Simple Ingredients: This recipe only uses a handful of basic ingredients.
Better For You: This fruit cake uses plant-based ingredients and dried fruits, not candied fruit, so it’s lower in sugar.
Family-Friendly: This fruit cake has no alcohol so that everyone can enjoy it.
Diet-Friendly: This fruit cake is vegan and has no dairy or eggs. You can also make it gluten-free with one simple tweak.
Moist and Tender: This is not a brick wrapped in plastic wrap. This fruit cake is moist and tender.
Ingredients
Dried Fruit: I used a combination of raisins, cherries, and cranberries is used in this recipe.
Walnuts: It wouldn’t be a fruit cake without nuts. This recipe calls for chopped walnuts.
Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg are added to give this cake warm flavors.
Organic Brown Sugar: Organic brown sugar adds more sweetness to the fruit cake.
Vegan Buttermilk: Vegan buttermilk adds a subtle tang and makes the fruit cake even more tender. It’s easy to make. Just follow the instructions in the link!
Vegan Butter: My favorite vegan butter for baking is Earth Balance Vegan baking sticks.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
Substitutions and Variations
Change the Dried Fruit: Feel free to use pineapple, apricots, blueberries, prunes, or currants instead of added fruits.
Soak the Fruit in Brandy: If you’d like to make this an authentic fruit cake with alcohol, soak the dried fruit in brandy overnight before adding it to the cake. Then, brush the finished cake with brandy on all sides.
Soak in Fruit Juice: If you’d like to make it moister but don’t want to add alcohol, you can soak the fruit in orange juice or apple juice.
Nuts: Chopped pecans or almonds work well in place of walnuts.
Flour: Use whole wheat flour for a healthier version higher in fiber, or use 1:1 gluten-free baking flour for a gluten-free version.
Unrefined Sugar: Coconut sugar works well as an unrefined option.
Less Sugar: You can cut the sugar as much as you’d like to make a less sweet version. The dried fruits have a good amount of sugar in them already.
How to Make Vegan Fruit Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line the pan with parchment paper down the long side, leaving a few inches to hang over either side.
- Whisk the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Beat the vegan butter into the flour mixture until it resembles sand.
- Add the vegan buttermilk and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined.
- Fold the fruit and nuts into the batter with a rubber spatula.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared 9-inch pan. Smooth over the top.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the fruit cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, transfer it to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
FAQ
The simple answer to that is mass production. Almost any bad fruitcake was purchased at a store. These mass-produced fruit cakes are too dense, overly sweet, and have artificial-tasting flavors.
Homemade fruit cake is fantastic! Unlike the heavy, overly sweet bricks you buy at a store, homemade fruit cake has a dense, not heavy texture that’s moist but not soggy, and fresh fruits and nuts taste natural, not artificial.
Buttermilk is a fantastic ingredient for any baked good. Its acidity helps create super-tender baked goods. It also adds a subtle tang that works well in both sweet and savory dishes.
Expert Tips
- Fruit cake is dense by nature. This one is also dense with all of the added fruit. Since it is so dense, it does not spread much in the oven. Use a spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan for an even bake.
- It may take more time to bake your cake in the oven. This will depend on the size of your cake pan. I recommend using a deep 9-inch loaf pan. Using a glass pan rather than a metal non-stick pan, you’ll want to reduce your heat by 25 degrees so the bottom doesn’t burn.
- Be sure to line the pan with parchment paper to allow the cake to release easily. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack before adding icing or toppings.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy for breakfast, a snack, or a dessert topped with vegan vanilla ice cream. Serve with a cup of warm coffee or tea—dust with organic powdered sugar for decoration or a simple drizzle of icing sugar.
Pair this as a dessert with vegan Christmas cake, and vegan gingerbread loaf.
Storage
Room Temperature: Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and then foil to lock in its moisture and store for up to 5 days. You can also store slices in an air-tight container.
Refrigerator: After five days, transfer the cake to the fridge for another 2-3 days.
Freeze: Wrap the fruit cake in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place in a freezer-safe bag with all air pushed out. Write the date. It will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Defrost: When ready to enjoy the frozen fruit cake, let it defrost overnight at room temperature.
😋 More Vegan Holiday Recipes!
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Recipe
Vegan Fruit Cake
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Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan buttermilk 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk plus 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 cup organic brown sugar
- 1 cup vegan butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare baking pan. Spray a 9 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper down the long side of the pan leaving a few inches to hang over either side.
- In a large electric/stand mixer combine the dry ingredients on low speed: flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Add the room temperature vegan butter to the bowl. Mix on medium-low speed for about a minute, until the mixture resembles sand.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium-high speed until combined.
- Fold in the raisins, cranberries, cherries, and chopped walnuts by turning to low speed, and incorporating throughout the batter.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Smooth over the top.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
Video
Notes
- Fruit cake is dense by nature. This one is also dense with all of the added fruit. Since it is so dense it does not spread very much in the oven. Use a spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan for an even bake.
- It may take more time to bake your cake in the oven. This will depend on the size of your cake pan. I recommend using a deep 9-inch loaf pan. If you use a glass pan rather than a metal non-stick pan, you’ll want to reduce your heat by 25 degrees so that the bottom doesn’t burn.
- Be sure to line the pan with parchment paper to allow the cake to release easily. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack before adding any additional icing or toppings.
- Store the cake at room temperature, wrapped in saran wrap, and then wrapped in aluminum foil to retain moisture and keep it from drying out. Or place slices in an airtight container. It will keep for 3-5 days at room temperature, 7 days in the fridge, or 2-3 months in the freezer.
Nathan Williams
I went to go slice it after it cooled and it just turned into a crumbly mess. 🙁 The fruit cake crumbles were enjoyable but I was hoping to have bread, not crumbles. I gave 3 stars because at least they tasted good!
Alison Corey
Sorry to hear it was crumbly. It’s possible to use too much flour if the flour is packed. That may have been the cause for the crumbly texture.
Yvonne
Can I use Bob’s Mill Gluten free flour as a replacement to all purpose?
Alison Corey
Yes, you could use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free flour as a replacement.
danleep11
Hi, Alison…What a story, ie, being vegan yet living with a meat eating family! You have my sympathy but hopefully, they love you enough to fully support you on your dietary endeavor. I have done this once before with no good results. It was like being with a non-smoker and snuff user and then kissing him/her on the lips… Anyway, this recipe sound good and I will be trying it very soon. Wishing you well in all your endeavors. I am now 78 years old and being basically fruit vegan has been one of my greatest life decisions, back when I was 19.
Alison Corey
I have a very loving and accepting family. They are always willing to give my recipes a try. They’re my taste testers, so I know if they like it, others will likely enjoy it too! I hope you enjoy this vegan fruit cake recipe! It’s simple and quite moist and delicious!
Sara Welch
Decided to give this a try for an afternoon treat, and it does not disappoint! Exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth; it was delicious!
Sandhya
LOving this Vegan Fruit cake! Its been years I had some. Can’t wait to get baking!
Gina
Really love how jam packed this cake is with all those add-ins! Love how adaptable it is too based on what you have on hand. Great recipe to make over and over!
Heather Johnson
i’ve never actually had fruitcake until this – i made it for a friend and couldn’t help but try it myself too – and really liked it!