Light Fruit Cake

Light Fruit Cake Recipe without eggs, and alcohol and molasses. A light and fruity cake that you can make and eat at the same day. It is a perfect bake not only for Christmas, but also for any occasion.

This cake doesn't need any forward planning, no presoaking of fruits is needed. So, it is a quick option as compared to the Traditonal Christmas Cake.

Soft and moist cake with dried fruits and nuts and fruity flavours.

About the Recipe

Buttery, moist, fruity, eggless and alcohol-free!! Light Fruit Cake, this cake is a lighter version for the traditional Fruit Cake without any alcohol or molasses, perfect for kids and perfect for those who are not a fan of traditional fruitcake.

You can bake this cake for any occasion or for kids snack time/lunch box. It is perfect for your tea parties or gifting to your friends.

Why a fruit cake without eggs and alcohol

In India, many people avoid eggs and alcohol due to their religious sentiments but everyone wants to eat a cake and especially when it's Christmas time or on birthdays. Also, people avoid alcohol-based food items for kids and want a lighter version as many kids don't want too much of dried fruits/nuts in what they eat. They just want to enjoy just a cake.

It is perfect for the kids' party, to pack for lunch or snack time. It's a favorite among the adults too who love fruity cakes like my hubby and my dad who relish this with their chai(tea) !!

It's Christmas time, holidays are going to start within next few days, with kids around in the house and festivities, parties and guests, this cake is perfect for the Christmas time fun!!

The best part about this cake that you don't have to soak the dried fruits and nuts for days not even an hour.

Please note: The post is updated improvised with better method pics. The final pic in the video and post may differ.

Ingredients to make Eggless Fruit Cake

Flour- I used a mix of Whole Wheat flour, Semolina and All-Purpose Flour. You can use any flour combination of your choice, only the amount of liquid has to be adjusted as whole wheat and semolina absorb more moisture. You can use only Maida/All Purpose Flour. Also, use very fine semolina. If it a bit gritty then grind semolina to fine powder before using in the recipe.

Candied or Dried Fruits and Nuts- Raisins, Dried Cranberries, Dried Apricots, Dried Tutti-frutti, finely chopped almonds and cashew nuts. Dried Blueberries are my another favourite to add in this cake but this time I skipped as I ran out of it. You can add dried cherries, mango and candied orange peel.

Essence and Fruit juice- Use any fruit essence. Mixed Fruit, Pineapple/Strawberry/Orange or Raspberry essence. Orange juice to soak the dried fruits and nuts In place of orange juice, you can soak fruits in fresh pineapple juice, apple juice/pomegranate/ cranberry juice or even rum and vodka if it is fine with you.

Egg Replacer- I used Chia seeds and yogurt as egg replacer. Yogurt also adds softness to cake. Chia Chia seeds are a popular super food these days and used as egg-replacers.

Check my Chai Spiced Whole Wheat Apple Cake recipe, Eggless Biscoff Blondies

Sugar- Sugar (Raw Cane sugar or Castor Sugar). You can use brown sugar/jaggery, it will give dark color to cake.

Milk Powder- Since we are soaking dried fruits in orange juice, so will add milk powder instead of milk to add richness to the cake. It also adds flavour.

The cake always comes out well-baked with a nice crumb and is full of flavors!!

Follow the recipe and trust me you will get a super yummy well-baked treat!!

How to make Light Fruit Cake

Checkout the video in Recipe card for stepwise method.

• Sift together whole wheat flour, milk powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Zest orange and rub it in sugar.
• Take out orange juice. It should be 1 cup. You can use more than 1 oranges.
• Soak chia seeds along with dried fruits in orange juice. You can heat the juice to lukewarm and add fruits then. Do it 30 mins-1hr before preparing batter and baking cake.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven at 350F/180C.
• Soak semolina in milk.

• Beat together butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
• Then add yogurt and vanilla essence.
• Add flour, soaked semolina and then the soaked fruits and nuts.
• Light fold the batter. Do not overbeat.
• Transfer batter to a pan (lined with parchment paper and lightly oiled and dusted).
• The batter fits in to a 9" by 5" loaf pan or 9" round cake pan. I have 8"by 4" loaf pan so used that and baked rest of the batter in 2 muffin cups.
• Bake for about 40-50 mins. Check for cake is baked from center, a tooth pick should come out clean or with little crumbs.

Pointers to make perfect Light Fruit Cake

• Soak whatever dried fruits are available at home for at least 1 hr. You can soak for even more time, for a more rich flavor.
• To add more flavor in cake I used fresh orange zest, rubbed it well in sugar and then added that sugar to cake. This way the cake gets more flavor. I always use this method whenever I flavor my cakes or muffins with any citrus fruits.
• Soaking fruits at least for 1 hr, helps the nuts and fruit absorb moisture hence these become heavy and don't sink to the bottom while the cake bakes.
• Soaking chia seeds in juice gave it a gel-like effect that worked quite well for my eggless cake.
• Since I added orange juice to it along with soaked fruits, I replaced milk with milk powder to balance the liquid content of the cake.
• Yogurt is used as egg-replacer and gives a soft texture to the cake. The final cake batter was so light and fluffy that I looked like the one with eggs.
• The batter fits in to a 9" by 5" loaf pan or 9" round cake pan. I have 8"by 4" loaf pan so used that and baked rest of the batter in 2 muffin cups.

Shelf Life and Storage

Cool the cake completely and then refrigerate in an air tight container wrapped in a parchment paper or cling film. Do this if you are going to have it after 2-3 days.

Stays good for a week when refrigerated.

Serve it with Tea, Coffee or have it just like that.

Can I freeze Eggless Alcohol Free Fruit Cake

Fruitcakes can be frozen for a couple of months. Wrap it nicely in cling film and freeze the whole loaf or cake. Or, you can slice and wrap individual slices in parchment paper and store in a single freezer friendly bag or container with airtight lid.

More Fruit cake Recipes from the blog

Recipe Card

Do try this soft and light fruit cake for Christmas or for any other occasion.

Taking to Fiesta Friday #254 by Angie, co-hosted by Antonia @ Zoale.com and Kat @ Kat’s 9 Lives

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