Light Fruitcake Recipe without eggs, and alcohol.
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. I used to bake this cake while I was in India for my clients who wanted a light, eggless and alcohol-free fruitcake.
Christmas Fruitcake with 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. Remember my post-Fudgy Almond Chocolate Cake when my kids asked me to make just a cake with no veggies or fruits or nuts!! 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.
Few pointers of what I did and what can be used in the cake recipe...
- Soak whatever dried fruits are available at home for at least 30 minutes. You can soak for even more time, for a more rich flavor. I added raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots, dried tutti-frutti, finely chopped almonds and cashew nuts. Dried Blueberries is 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.
- To flavor the cake I used fresh orange zest, rubbed it well in sugar and then added the sugar to the cake. This way the cake gets more flavor. I always use this method whenever I flavor my cakes or muffins with any citrus fruits. Dried fruits and nuts can be soaked in fresh or store-bought orange juice.
- Use any fruit essence, while in India I used mixed fruit essence. Here in US I haven't seen it in the stores so I use any fruit essence like strawberry/orange or raspberry essence. In place of orange juice, you can soak fruits in fresh pineapple juice or even rum and vodka if it is fine with you. Soaking fruits at least for 30 mins helps the nuts and fruit absorb moisture hence these become heavy and don't sink to the bottom while the cake bakes.
- For the first time, I added Chia seeds to the fruits mix. Chia seeds are a popular super food these days and used as egg-replacers. Check my Chai Spiced Whole Wheat Apple Cake recipe (another cake apt for the holiday baking). Soaking seeds in juice gave it a gel-like effect that worked quite well for my eggless cake.
- Also, 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.
- 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 in the recipe. The final cake batter was so light and fluffy that I looked like the one with eggs.
The cake always comes out well-baked with a nice crumb and full of flavors!!
Follow the recipe and trust me you will get a super yummy well-baked treat!!
Let's see how to make Eggless Light Fruit Cake Recipe
Light Fruit Cake
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1/2 Cup All-Purpose flour
- 1/2 Cup Semolina
- 1/2 Cup Milk Powder
- 1 Cup Castor Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Yogurt/Curd
- 3/4 Cup Butter
- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil or use any other flavorless oil
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Cup Mixed Dried Fruits,Nuts Almonds, Cashew nuts,Cranberries, Raisins, Blueberries,Cherries etc
- 1 tsp Orange Zest freshly grated
- 1 Cup Orange Juice/Fresh or Store bought or use Pineapple Juice/Rum/Vodka
- 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds optional
- 1 Tbsp Mixed Fruit Essence or use any fruity essence (orange/strawberry/raspberry)
- 1/4 tsp Salt if using unsalted butter
Instructions
- Pre-heat The oven to 375°F or 190°C.
- Grate the orange peel lightly without grating the white part just under it. The white part is bitter in taste.
- Rub this freshly grated orange zest in sugar. This step incorporates the orange oil from the zest in sugar and makes the bake more flavorful.
- Soak the mixed dried fruits, chia seeds and nuts in orange juice. Finely chop cashews and almonds or any other nuts.
- Sift together Wheat Flour, All-purpose flour, Semolina and Milk Powder, Baking Powder and Baking Soda in a bowl. Add salt if using unsalted butter.
- Beat butter, oil, sugar and essence together till light and creamy. Add yogurt and mix nicely. The mixture will be light and fluffy.
- Add the flour mix and fold in the butter mix. Add the soaked fruits, then add juice as per the required consistency of the batter.
- Batter should be of dropable consistency. If the batter is thick, add milk little by little.
- Transfer batter to a parchment paper-lined or greased and dusted cake pan.
- Bake in the oven for 40-50 mins, at 375 F or 190 C.
- After 35 mins, check for the doneness of the cake by inserting a toothpick or a skewer in the center of the cake, if it comes out with crumbs, take out of the oven, else, cover the pan with an aluminum foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes. The final baked cake should leave the sides of the pan.
- Once baked take out of the oven and coo on a wire rack. Let the cake cool completely and then cut it. Store in an air-tight container.
Notes
- The cake tastes best the next day when the flavors of fruit and juice are fully absorbed in the cake.
- Drizzle some melted white chocolate orange glaze made with icing/confectioner's sugar and orange juice to add some glamour to the cake or simply dust with icing sugar and enjoy the treat!!
Step-wise Pics
I am taking this Fruity Cake to Dec'18 Bake-A-Thon Day 5.
Check out the other bloggers doing this Bake-a-Thon An InLinkz Link-up
Also sharing at Blogging Marathon for Week 2 Day 3 where the theme for this week in Kid's delight is Make them Cakes.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#95. You can read about#95 Blogging Marathon in detail and who all are participating in it and the various categories.. here.
Also, taking to Fiesta Friday #254 by Angie, co-hosted by Antonia @ Zoale.com and Kat @ Kat’s 9 Lives
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Thanks for stopping by. Keep coming back for more such yummy recipes ?!
Ronak Mehta
The cake looks perfect and fabulous to bake for a special day. Yes, its definitely the best fruit cake. Lovely!!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
That is a gorgeous loaf and I love the texture of the fruit cake. Even though I baked some during holidays, after seeing your post I am craving to bake some more.
code2cook
another awesome bake from you. fruit cake come out so moist and soft. perfect texture and a great snack with tea or kids tiffin box. great share.
Varada
I have not had a fruit cake in a very long time. Your lighter version has turned out perfect with a great texture.
Renu Agrawal Dongre
Beautiful delicious and moist cake it is. Yum .
Priya Srinivasan
fruit cake looks very inviting dear! looks very pretty and that texture is perfect!!!
Veena Krishnakumar
This looks so beautiful and so light as the name suggests. Lovely bake
Simply Tadka
This cake look so interesting and tasty. perfect for any festive time.
Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille)
love the color you got on the cake - perfect holiday cake
srividhya
I have tried baking this only with tutti-frutti. This looks great with that nuts... Thanks for those great tips.
gayathriraani
Such a beautiful fruit cake for the holidays. Loved reading your tips and it would help beginners so much with baking.
Suma Gandlur
Looks like one perfect fruit cake for those looking to avoid eggs / alcohol in it. It looks moist and perfectly made.
Pavani
That is the perfect holiday fruit cake -- so so moist and absolutely delicious. Using wholewheat flour and semolina sounds interesting and yummy!!
Sharmi
Combining Wheat flour and semolina in fruit cake is making this cake lighter! This looks super yum.
Nalini
Interesting fruit cake and love the texture of it.
Sharmila - The Happie Friends Potpourri Corner
So light and beautiful texture!! Love such simple bakes!!
harini
Very interesting ingredients and I am sure it tastes amazing as well.
Srivalli
Wow that fruit cake looks stunning and so light...fantastic one to bake!
Swati
Thanks Srivalli!!
ParsiCuisine.com
Thanks for sharing this cake and joining the party at Fiesta Friday!
Swati
Thanka Rita!! 🙂
usha
Though it is an eggless cake, it is moist and had nice texture.
Kat
The chia seeds are an interesting addition. I like chia seeds, so I would be willing to try it! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday! Have a lovely weekend!
Kalyani
semolina in a buttery cake would be soooo loved by the kids ! ur cakes are truly awesome, swati !
Priya Suresh
Such an interesting fruit cake with beautiful texture. Semolina in fruit cake, that seriously something innovative. And the cake looks absolutely super delicious.
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth
You have used a mix of flours and fats to make this bake interesting.... looks like a nice recipe... the crumb of the cake looks very tempting and the flavoring of orange will only amp up the cake...
Madhura Doshi
definitely going to try this soon!