Best Old-Fashioned Fruitcake Recipe

This old-fashioned fruitcake is sticky, chewy, and packed with dates, candied cherries, pineapple, and pecans—basically candy in loaf form. It’s been in my family for decades and makes two (5x9-inch) loaves in about 2 hours—no booze, no aging, no regrets.

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Fruitcake has a bad reputation, but this old fashioned fruitcake is the one people actually eat instead of re-gifting. It's chewy, candy-sweet, and packed with dates, pecans, and jewel-bright candied fruit. Think less hockey puck, more holiday showstopper.

This isn't just any cake-it's the simple fruit cake recipe that's been in my family for decades. Call it traditional fruit cake, call it homemade fruitcake, even call it a 100 year-old fruit cake recipe - because I think it's older than that. Just don't call it boring. Around here, it's Christmas on a plate..

Sliced old-fashioned fruitcake on a wooden cutting board, packed with pecans, red and green candied cherries, and dates, next to a cup of tea and holiday plaid napkin.

Table of Contents

🎥 Watch the video & see exactly how to make this fruitcake
🗝️ This is the best fruitcake recipe ever - fight me
🧾 Ingredient notes for this traditional fruitcake
📖 Recipe
🔪 How to make this old-fashioned fruitcake
📝 Stuff folks always ask before they bake this
🎁 More holiday chaos (the delicious kind)
👩‍🍳 From my mom's vintage recipe box to your table
💬 Comments

🎥 Watch the video & see exactly how to make this fruitcake

In this video, I'll walk you through exactly how to make an old-fashioned fruitcake people actually want to eat-and might even fight over at Christmas. No dry bricks, no weird mystery fruit, and absolutely no hockey pucks.

Reader Review
This is the fruitcake of my dreams!!Thank you for sharing another great recipe Marye. I think this will make the table for my birthday also.
Jenine

🗝️ This is the best fruitcake recipe ever - fight me

Sweet and chewy, this fruitcake is more like candy than cake-which is probably why no one ever leaves a slice behind. It's so good it's even been showing up on Tik Tok!

And showing my decadent side for a second-one of my favorite holiday breakfasts is a thick slice of this fruitcake smeared with cream cheese. I'm just saying, it's dangerously good with coffee.

Pro tip: if you watch the video, you'll see why I never use a food processor for the pecans. It just turns them into dust. Coarsely chopping by hand gives you that perfect crunch and texture in every bite.

🧾 Ingredient notes for this traditional fruitcake

The one thing that always amazes me about this old-fashioned fruitcake recipe is that there is almost nothing holding all of that sweet, sticky fruit together. Make sure you DO NOT buy fruitcake mix - you want to get each type of fruit called for individually.

Labeled ingredients for this simple fruitcake include flour, candied pineapple, candied cherries, vanilla, dates, baking powder, salt, eggs, and pecans.

A scoop of all-purpose flour, because even the stickiest fruitcake needs a little structure.
A whisper of baking powder to give it just the tiniest lift.
A pinch of salt-because even sweet things need balance.
Good ol' sugar. We're not pretending this is health food.
A splash of vanilla… or if you're feeling feisty, swap in a glug of rum, bourbon, or brandy.
A few eggs to bind it all together-get cracking.
Candied pineapple chunks (red and green if you can find them). I've used the rings in a pinch-just cut them into chunks and pretend it was on purpose.
Candied cherries-yes, the neon ones. Red and green, always. It's fruitcake, not subtlety.
Dates, chopped and sticky. They're the heart of the whole operation.
Pecans, because we're Southern and that's the law. Chop them, but not too fine-we're going for texture, not dust.

⚠️ Marye's kitchen PSA: Skip the sad "fruitcake mix" containers. They're dry, flavorless, and will ruin a perfectly good fruitcake faster than you can say "doorstop." Buy each fruit separately and let it shine.

Want extra tips, FAQs, storage info and more? Be sure to download the free Old-Fashioned Fruitcake Kitchen Cheat Sheet!

📖 Recipe

🔪 How to make this old-fashioned fruitcake

Fruit cake is usually even better a day or two after it's made, and it will last several weeks, so I like to make it before the chaos of the holidays really gets going and I can't even pronounce oven, let alone use it.

Step-by-step collage showing how to make old-fashioned fruitcake: chopped candied fruit and pecans in a bowl, mixing with flour and sugar, adding eggs and vanilla, and pressing the sticky mixture into parchment-lined loaf pans.

Start by tossing the chopped pecans, sticky dates, and all that jewel-toned candied fruit into a big bowl. If it looks like Christmas exploded, you're on the right track.
Sprinkle in the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt-then roll up your sleeves and mix it like you mean it. Hands are encouraged. Maybe even required.
Whisk the eggs and vanilla (or your booze of choice) until they're smooth and sunny, then pour them over the fruit and stir until everything's coated and clinging like gossip in a small town.
Scoop the mixture into parchment-lined loaf pans, press it down like you're trying to shut your suitcase before vacation, and bake it slow and low just like the recipe card says.

Slice of old-fashioned fruitcake loaded with pecans, dates, and candied cherries on a white plate with a cup of tea, holiday napkin, and

📝 Stuff folks always ask before they bake this

Here are some of the most common questions I get asked. You'll find more FAQs, tips, and information on the printable Fruitcake Recipe Kitchen Cheat Sheet above.

Does this fruitcake freeze well?

Yes. But well wrapped it will be fine in the fridge for weeks. If you want to freeze it wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight on the counter and you're good to go.

Can I use "fruitcake mix" instead of separate fruits?

No. Absolutely not. Non. Nyet. Nein. It will be dry, sad, and tastes like the kind of disappointment that happened when your high school crush stood you up on prom night or the great guy on the dating ap was using a 40 year old image of himself and lying about enjoying showers. I hope this is clear.

🎁 More holiday chaos (the delicious kind)

If you need a little more holiday chaos (the fun kind, not the "we lost the good scissors" kind), throw a Gingerbread House Party. I've been hosting them since the early 1980s-back when shoulder pads were big and graham cracker walls were bigger. The kids get to decorate with so much candy it looks like Willy Wonka had a meltdown, and honestly? It's a blast.

Feeling fancy? My 50 Best Red Velvet Recipes post has all the drama, color, and cream cheese frosting you need to make your dessert table feel like it's walking the red carpet. And if you want your holiday cookie tray to make your in-laws weep with envy, head straight to the 91 Best Christmas Cookies post. It's basically cookie couture. You're welcome.

👩‍🍳 From my mom's vintage recipe box to your table

This is the exact holiday fruitcake my mama made every single year. She sent it to her brothers overseas during WW2!

I couldn't tell you where she got the original recipe-knowing her, it came scribbled on the back of a church bulletin-but I can tell you that everyone who's ever tasted it went back for seconds.

I can't imagine a Christmas dinner without it, her date nut bread, and a pan of homemade fudge cooling on the counter. It's not just dessert-it's tradition wrapped in wax paper and sealed with memory.

So if you're a fruitcake lover-or you love someone who is-bake this one. It's the kind of recipe that gets passed down, talked about, and maybe even fought over a little.

Print it. Pin it. Share it with someone who still swears they "don't like fruitcake." (They just haven't tried this one.)

❤️ Thanks for spending time in my kitchen today. Don't forget to clean up after yourself on the way out.