Do not confuse this cake with the classic fruit cake. There’s a lot more to it. Three generations have passed down this recipe, which I now wish to share with you all. Don’t worry about the ingredients at all. Everything is manually combined in a huge bowl.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 20 |
| Yield: | 20 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 ½ cups raisins
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 pound pecan halves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 ½ cups canola oil
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 3 cups candied fruit
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 8×8-inch baking pans.
- Bring water and raisins to a boil in a saucepan; cook until raisins are plump, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool raisins; reserve raisin water.
- Mix 3 cups flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Place pecans and 2 tablespoons flour in a resealable plastic bag; close and shake bag until pecans are coated. Pour pecans into a colander and shake off excess flour.
- Whisk sugar, oil, eggs, and cooled raisin water together in a bowl; fold in candied fruit. Stir flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, into sugar mixture until fully incorporated; fold in raisins and pecans. Fill the prepared pans a little over half full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Lower temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C); bake until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 more hour.
- You can also use one large Bundt(R) pan. I usually buy disposable aluminum pans of varying sizes and give as gifts. I have at times used 10 to 15 mini tins, serves 2!
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 621 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 78 g |
| Cholesterol | 37 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 465 mg |
| Sugars | 28 g |
| Fat | 35 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I found this to be a simple to make but standard fruit cake. Nothing special but nothing horrible either- the raisins were really plump, which was a nice touch. I did turn the bundt pan over on top of a plate and left it that way, covered by the pan, until we ate it the next evening- it was not dry at all.
This is the best fruit cake I’ve made and my husband likes it , I’ve spoiled him once again on my cooking and baking ! I have to make it every year for Christmas.
I didn’t add the salt. I used 1 cup brandy and 2 cups water instead of all water. It turned out great. I had 3 loaves. I took it to coffee hour at church and it was a hit as well there. Everyone was raving about how good it was and asked for the recipe.
A hit! Changed it up a bit after reading the reviews to keep it moist also used flute pan and only cooked 40 minutes to perfect.
A little oily but very nice. I used an 8″ square pan and a medium ring pan and it cooked in an hour–350 for the first 45 mins then 325 for the next 15 minutes. In a square pan I would use parchment or brown paper to absorb the extra oil. But still a great cake for someone who is allergic to dairy.
tasted very good, but was very crumbly
I used this recipe because it was less work then the old family recipe I have used in the passed. I did save some effort, but the results where disappointing . The cake is dry, lacks integrity and taste is so so.
I made it exactly as per the recipe. The batter was a little runny. Cake turned out very tasty but was a little crumbly and dry. Eating it the next day, the cake is soft although still crumbly. I baked it in a convection mode microwave oven. First at 170 deg C for 40 minutes and then at 160 deg C for 50 minutes. Will try adding a cup of curd and only 1.5 cups of water next time.