These recipes using fruitcake mix feature a variety of delicious desserts that are perfect for the holidays! From traditional fruitcakes to cookies or bars, there is something for everyone! They are all easy-to-make, tasty, and use store-bought fruitcake mix.
For some more classic holiday treats, try my red velvet blossoms, Italian Christmas cookies, candy cane cookies, or sugar cookie bars.
Jump to:
- Best Store-Bought Fruitcake Mix
- Desserts Using Fruitcake Mix
- 1. Light Fruitcake
- 2. Christmas Cake
- 3. Jamaican Rum Cake
- 4. Black Cake
- 5. Barmbrack
- 6. Fruitcake Cookies
- 7. Fruitcake Bars
- 8. Fruitcake Shortbread Squares
- 9. Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies
- 10. Fruitcake Magic Bars
- 11. Christmas Fruitcake Truffles
- 12. Upside-Down Fruit Cake
- 13. Fruitcake Balls
- 14. Fruitcake Fudge
- 15. Fruitcake Biscotti
- 16. Fruitcake Bundt Cake
- 17. Candied Fruit Macaroons
- 💭 Tips For Using Fruitcake Mix
- 📖 Recipe Card
- Recipes Using Fruitcake Mix: Light Fruitcake (+17 Other Tasty Treats!)
- 💬 Comments & Reviews
Fruitcake mix isn't limited to only making fruitcakes. You can also use this assortment of dried fruits for tons of other delicious treats!
I've included all of my favorite recipes as well as the best storebought fruitcake mix you can buy. At the end of this post, I've even added some tips for you.
Best Store-Bought Fruitcake Mix
You can grab a handful of different fruitcake mixes at the store, especially around the holidays. The brands and varieties of fruitcake mixes feature different dried fruits, so you can choose the best combination you like!
In my experience, Paradise Fruit Company makes the best fruitcake mix. In fact, I even asked my local grocer to bring it in for the holiday 2022 fruitcake blend! That's how much I like it!
You can always purchase them online if you can't find them in-store. They sell individual dried fruits as well as a ton of different fruit mixes.
Desserts Using Fruitcake Mix
1. Light Fruitcake
This classic light fruitcake is perfect for the holidays! Feel free to enjoy it right away or properly age it to deepen the flavors.
If you aren't sure what a light fruitcake is, check out my article on light vs dark fruitcakes.
2. Christmas Cake
Traditional American fruitcake has roots that take it back to this delicious British Christmas cake! It still includes your dried and soaked fruit as well as warm spices.
What makes it unique is that it also has marzipan and royal icing!
3. Jamaican Rum Cake
Your dried peels and fruits are soaked in a combination of rum and sweet wine. Then, more rum is incorporated into the batter itself!
Feel free to add the icing or leave it off, but I highly recommend including some toasted coconut!
4. Black Cake
This Jamaican fruitcake variety is similar to traditional fruitcake but with orange peel, lime zest, and lime juice! You can even prepare it an entire six months ahead of time!
5. Barmbrack
This barmbrack is similar to an upgraded version of raisin bread. The dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, cherries in this case) is actually soaked overnight in tea!
6. Fruitcake Cookies
These cookies feature all your favorite dried fruitcake mixes but in some chewy and soft cookies rather than a cake! There's no need to soak the fruit, but you can add a splash of alcohol to the cookie dough!
7. Fruitcake Bars
These fruit-packed bars are perfect for when you are hosting a crowd! They are easy to slice, serve, and eat without a plate!
8. Fruitcake Shortbread Squares
Tender shortbread is combined with dried fruit for these wonderfully delicious and easy-to-serve bars. The squares are topped off with booze-infused icing, making them irresistible!
>>>See All Of My Tasty Recipes Here!<<<
9. Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies
Shortbread cookies are jam-packed with your preferred holiday fruitcake blend for an easy and tasty holiday treat. Not to mention, you'll only need four ingredients in total!
10. Fruitcake Magic Bars
These fruitcake magic bars really bring out all of your favorite flavors. They have a graham cracker crust, white chocolate chips, almonds, dried fruit, and shredded coconut!
11. Christmas Fruitcake Truffles
If you have any leftover fruitcake, you can easily repurpose it into these addicting bite-sized treats! Just roll them into balls and dip them in melted chocolate!
12. Upside-Down Fruit Cake
This unique twist has dried fruit, brown sugar, and butter evenly spread on the bottom of the pan. The brandy-infused cake batter is poured on top and then baked.
When you take it out of the oven, you just flip it over and enjoy!
13. Fruitcake Balls
These fruitcake balls are actually made on the stovetop, so they are completely no-bake! They are similar to a Rice Krispie treat but with fruitcake mix, coconut, and pecans!
14. Fruitcake Fudge
This simple stovetop fudge is incredibly easy to make (you can't mess it up!) It features white chocolate chips, marshmallows, and fruitcake mix!
15. Fruitcake Biscotti
These classic biscottis have fruit cake mix added to the batter. They are then twice-baked and drizzled with a simple icing.
16. Fruitcake Bundt Cake
Upgrade your standard fruitcake by using a bundt pan! It is easy and delicious, and the result is stunning!
17. Candied Fruit Macaroons
These ultra-easy macaroons only use 4 ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, coconut flakes, fruitcake mix, and chocolate for dipping! They are pretty effortless but completely delicious.
💭 Tips For Using Fruitcake Mix
As always, make sure you follow your recipe, but here are some tips and tricks for using fruitcake mix in your desserts!
- Soak the Fruits. Before you use your fruitcake mix, try soaking it in your favorite variety of alcohol (like brandy, whiskey, or rum). If you don't want to use alcohol, you can use any variety of fruit juice. Not only does this add flavor, but it helps to plump up the fruit.
- Control Liquor Amount. If you do choose to soak the fruit in alcohol, be careful about how much you use. Start out with only a small amount so you don't overpower the flavor of the fruit.
- Add Nuts. For some bonus crunch, you can add in some chopped nuts like pecans, walnuts, or almonds.
- Chop The Fruit. If the fruit pieces are too large, or if your recipe needs smaller pieces, feel free to chop them down to size.
- Use Spices. Adding some warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice, is an easy way to make your treats extra delicious.
These recipes using fruitcake mix are some family favorites in my house. Leave a comment down below and let me know which one you want to whip up first.
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe Card
Recipes Using Fruitcake Mix: Light Fruitcake (+17 Other Tasty Treats!)
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.
Nutrition
Originally published October 3, 2023
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