This light fruitcake is so moist, tender, and packed with flavor that it will quickly convert everyone into fruitcake fanatics! It's a traditional holiday cake that can amazingly be aged and stored for extended periods of time in order to deepen the flavors. Go ahead and serve this golden fruitcake with coconut to your friends and family and they will be requesting again it every holiday season!
Light Fruitcake With Coconut Recipe
Fruitcake has such a bad reputation for absolutely no reason. If you've ever tried fruitcake and didn't like it, odds are it wasn't made correctly (or it was just store-bought). Give this homemade light fruitcake recipe a try and I promise you will change your mind!
This cake is perfect for enjoying at Christmas or gifting to loved ones. The longer you age it, the deeper the flavors become (but it is completely optional!)
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If baking gets you in the Christmas spirit, check out my holiday baking recipes! There are cookies, my fantastic Christmas cake, fruitcake and more cake ideas, pies, fudge, candy, and so much more to try!
🌎 Origin
Fruitcake is a dessert that has roots all the way back in ancient Rome where the original version contained a mixture of barley, pine nuts, raisins, honeyed wine, and pomegranate seed. It typically accompanied soldiers in the field as a sort of energy bar because it was easy to carry around and had a fantastic shelf life!
🥘 Light Fruitcake Ingredients
The cake itself uses a lot of common baking ingredients. As for the fruit, this can easily be customized with your favorite assortment of dried and candied fruits, all of which can easily be found at the grocery store!
Fruit
- Raisins - 1 cup of raisins. You can use your favorite variety!
- Dried Cherries - 1 cup of dried cherries.
- Dried Cranberries - 1 cup of dried cranberries (also called craisins).
- Dried Pineapple - 1 cup of dried pineapple, chopped into smaller pieces.
- Candied Lemon Peel - 1 cup of candied lemon peel (or candied orange peel or mixed peel). You can easily make your own at home or pick it up at the store!
- Candied Cherries - 1¾ cup of candied red and green glace cherries. If desired, you can swap these out for maraschino cherries.
- Brandy - ¾ cup of your preferred alcohol (brandy, rum, or whiskey). For a non-alcoholic fruitcake, you can use orange juice, orange pineapple juice, or apple juice. You'll also need a little extra for brushing over the top of the cake.
Cake
- Butter - 1 cup of room temperature butter. This will allow it to cream together with the sugar.
- Sugar - 1¾ cup of white granulated sugar.
- Baking Powder - 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
- Vanilla Extract - 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
- Salt - 1 teaspoon of salt to enhance the flavors and balance out the sweetness.
- Nutmeg - ½ teaspoon of nutmeg.
- Light Corn Syrup - ¼ cup of light corn syrup.
- Eggs - 5 large eggs that are at room temperature. Using room-temperature eggs helps the cakes to bake evenly.
- Flour - 3¾ cups of all-purpose flour that has been spooned and leveled. Avoid packing too much flour into the measuring cup as it could make your cakes overly dense.
- Milk - 1 cup of room-temperature milk.
- Coconut - 2 cups of shredded sweetened coconut.
- Lemon Zest (optional) - Zest from one large lemon.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Light Fruitcake
Make sure you give yourself enough time to allow the fruit to soak as well as let the cake rest in order to maximize the flavors. Whether or not you want to age your fruitcake is totally up to you! For this recipe, you will need a bowl to soak the fruit in, two 9x5 loaf pans (or your pans of choice), a mixing bowl or stand mixer, and a basting brush!
This holiday recipe is perfect for serving a large group of people, as it will yield two 9x5 loaves.
Prepare The Fruit
- Combine the fruit. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of raisins, and 1 cup each of dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried pineapple, and candied lemon peel (or mixed peel). You can leave the candied cherries out of the soaking process and wait to mix them into the batter later.
- Soak. Cover the fruit with ¾ cup of the liquid of your choice (brandy, rum, whiskey, orange juice, orange pineapple juice, or apple juice). Cover the bowl and allow the fruit to soak overnight (up to 2 days) at room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Prepare The Cake
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 300°F (145°C) and lightly grease and flour two 9x5 loaf pans.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a mixing bowl) cream together 1 cup of room-temperature butter and 1¾ cup of sugar until fluffy and light.
- Beat. Beat in ¼ cup of light corn syrup, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of nutmeg until well combined.
- Add the eggs. Add 5 room-temperature eggs one at a time, making sure to beat well in between each addition and scraping down the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl if necessary.
- Mix in flour and milk. Alternate between adding 3¾ cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of room-temperature milk. Make sure you only mix long enough for the flour to be just combined, being careful to avoid over-mixing the batter.
- Stir in the fruit. Pour the soaked fruit (without draining off the liquid) into the batter, as well as the 1¾ cups of candied cherries and 2 cups of coconut as well as the optional lemon zest. Stir until all of the fruit is evenly distributed.
- Transfer to the pans. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans, only filling them ¾ of the way to the top.
Bake
- Bake. Bake the cakes in the preheated oven at 300°F (145°C) for 80-110 minutes. Your cakes will be ready when they are a nice golden-brown color and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs. *If your cake is browning too much while baking, you can place a piece of aluminum foil over the top and allow it to finish baking.
- Brush the cakes. Once baked, remove the cakes from the oven and brush the top of them with your preferred apple juice or liquor while they are still warm.
- Wrap and rest. Once your fruitcakes have cooled entirely, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and let them rest for at least 24 hours.
Aging Your Fruitcake
- Brush. If you want to age your fruitcake or keep it stored for longer than 24 hours before serving, simply unwrap the cake once a week and brush the top of it with your preferred liquor or apple juice.
- Store. Re-wrap the cake with plastic wrap and store it in a cool, dry place.
- Repeat. Repeat the process of brushing liquid on the cakes once a week until ready to serve.
This fruitcake is perfectly delicious exactly as it is. Go ahead and serve it at Christmas and your family will gobble it up! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- This recipe will yield 10½ cups of batter, so you can choose to make different-sized cakes or loaves using a variety of pans. Feel free to prepare it in a bundt pan, mini loaf pans, or 9x13 pans. Just remember to adjust the bake time accordingly as smaller cakes will bake faster.
- If using 9x5 loaf pans, this will yield 2 cakes. An 8x4 pan will yield 3 cakes.
- The fruit in the fruitcake can easily be customized to your liking. Opt for dried or candied fruits. Some great options are raisins, mixed peel, candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, dates, dried cranberries, dried peaches, and dried pineapple! Just make sure that the total amount of fruit is equal to 6¾ cups.
- Fruitcakes have an amazing shelf life and also taste better as they age (if you can wait!) Of course, this fruitcake will also be delicious if you eat it as soon as possible!
- Letting the fruitcake rest for a minimum of 24 hours allows the flavors to mingle and the crust to soften. It really does help to boost the flavor!
🥡 Storing
Keep your fruitcake tightly wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature in a cool, dry place. Make sure it is completely covered in plastic wrap to avoid drying out.
You can also store your fruitcake in the freezer, just make sure it is in an airtight container and you allow it to thaw before eating.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
There isn't an exact answer for how long fruitcakes can last, due to the aging process. If the cake isn't aged, it can last about 1 month at room temperature, 6 months in the fridge, or 1 year frozen.
However, aging your fruitcake can significantly enhance how long it is good for. For example, the oldest fruitcake was baked in 1878 and is still around today!
Brandy, whiskey, and rum are the best types of alcohol to use for fruitcakes. However, the exact variety is largely dependent on your personal preferences. Go ahead and choose your favorite kind!
Most commonly, three months is seen as the ideal timeline to age your fruitcake. This gives the flavors plenty of time to deepen and develop without it simply becoming a chore to keep up with.
Any less than three months and you might not receive the full flavor impact of the aging process.
🎄 More Holiday Desserts
- Cranberry Orange Shortbread - Tasty shortbread cookies are loaded with orange zest and craisins!
- Christmas M&M Oatmeal Cookies - Classic oatmeal cookies are packed with red and green-colored M&M candies.
- Christmas Fudge - This quick and simple fudge is beginner-friendly and completely delicious!
- Gingerdoodles - Combine ginger and snickerdoodles for a wonderfully delicious cookie!
- British Christmas Pudding - A sweet cake-style base filled with dried fruit and warm spices!
- Jamaican Rum Cake - Dried fruit and mixed peel are soaked in wine and rum before being baked into the cake!
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📖 Recipe Card
Light Fruitcake (with Coconut)
Ingredients
Fruit
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup dried pineapple (chopped)
- 1 cup candied lemon peel (or candied mixed peel)
- 1¾ cup candied red cherries (red and green glace cherries, quartered or chopped)
- ¾ cup brandy (or rum, whiskey, orange juice, orange pineapple juice, or apple juice - plus more for brushing over the top of the cake)
Cake
- 1 cup butter (room temperature)
- 1¾ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 5 large eggs (room temperature)
- 3¾ cup all-purpose flour (spoon and leveled)
- 1 cup milk (room temperature)
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 1 large lemon (optional, zested)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Prepare The Fruit
- In a large bowl, combine your raisins, dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried pineapple, and candied lemon peel (or mixed peel).
- Cover the fruit with the liquid of your choice (brandy, rum, whiskey, orange juice, orange pineapple juice, or apple juice). Cover the bowl and allow the fruit to soak overnight (up to 2 days) at room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Prepare The Cake
- Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C) and lightly grease and flour two 9x5 loaf pans.
- In a large mixing bowl (or your stand mixer), cream together the room-temperature butter and sugar until fluffy and light.
- Beat in the light corn syrup, baking powder, vanilla extract, salt, and nutmeg until well combined.
- Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, making sure to beat well in between each addition and scraping down the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl if necessary.
- Alternate between adding the all-purpose flour and the room-temperature milk. Make sure you only mix long enough for the flour to be just combined, being careful to avoid over-mixing the batter.
- Pour the soaked fruit into the batter without draining off the liquid, as well as the candied cherries, coconut, and optional lemon zest. Stir until all of the fruit is evenly distributed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans, only filling them ¾ of the way full.
- Bake the cakes in the preheated oven at 300°F (150°C) for 80-110 minutes. Your cakes will be ready when they are a nice golden-brown color and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs. *If your cake is browning too much while baking, you can place a piece of aluminum foil over the top and allow it to finish baking.
- Once baked, remove the cakes from the oven and brush the top of them with your preferred apple juice or liquor while they are still warm.
- Once your fruitcakes have cooled entirely, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and let them rest for at least 24 hours.
Aging Your Fruitcake
- If you want to age your fruitcake or keep it stored for longer than 24 hours before serving, simply unwrap the cake once a week and brush the top of it with your preferred liquor or apple juice.
- Re-wrap the cake with plastic wrap and store it in a cool, dry place.
- Repeat the process of brushing liquid on the cakes once a week until ready to serve.
Notes
- This recipe will yield 10½ cups of batter, so you can choose to make different-sized cakes or loaves using a variety of pans. Feel free to prepare it in a bundt pan, mini loaf pans, or 9x13 pans. Just remember to adjust the bake time accordingly as smaller cakes will bake faster.
- If using 9x5 loaf pans, this will yield 2 cakes. An 8x4 pan will yield 3 cakes.
- The fruit in the fruitcake can easily be customized to your liking. Opt for dried or candied fruits. Some great options are raisins, mixed peel, candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, dates, dried cranberries, dried peaches, dried apricots, dried currants, and dried pineapple! Just make sure that the total amount of fruit is equal to about 6¾ cups.
- Fruitcakes have an amazing shelf life and also taste better as they age (if you can wait!). Of course, this fruitcake will also be delicious if you eat it as soon as possible!
- Letting the fruitcake rest for a minimum of 24 hours allows the flavors to mingle and the crust to soften. It really does help to boost the flavor!
- To store: Keep your fruitcake tightly wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature in a cool, dry place.
Linda Segal says
Salted butter, and salt in the recipe? I normally use unsalted butter for baking, so I am worried this will be too salted.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
If you're worried about the salt, reduce to half a teaspoon. It is written this way intentionally, as the salt offsets the sweetness and makes the other flavors 'pop'. Thanks for asking!
Kathleen says
The coconut fruitcake recipe is awesome. Perfect texture. Perfect taste. Very Sicilian!