This is the only dairy-free and gluten free fruit cake recipe you will need! It is moist, fluffy, and full of the holiday flavors you love! Use your favorite dried fruits to make this cake with more natural ingredients!
I am so proud of this new gluten free cake recipe. Fruit cake has such a bad reputation, and I have always wondered how to make this cake better. I used dried fruits instead of those icky food color-dyed fruits, which makes my gluten free cake have much better flavor!
I will walk you through every step of the way so you can make this delicious homemade fruit cake at home! If you are a cake fanatic like me, you will want to check out all of my delicious gluten free cake recipes!
After you make this cake, give my delicious Gluten Free Apple Cake recipe a try…it is totally fool-proof!
Why this gluten free fruit cake is so good:
- It is moist but fluffy.
- This cake is also dairy-free!!
- No icky food color-dyed fruit.
- I give some fun variations so you can enjoy this cake in a few different ways!
If you love how this cake sounds, you will also love this Gluten Free Honey Cake recipe!!
This is one of my favorite gluten-free flour blends for cookies, cakes, pie crust, biscuits, and muffins! (Do not use this flour blend for yeast recipes.)
Ingredient notes:
- Gluten free flour blend – I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend, Cup4Cup, and King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours, and I can not guarantee the recipe will work if you use other mixes.
- Xanthan gum – Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Butter or Oil – I used a light oil, but unsalted butter works well.
- Non-dairy milk – I used almond milk, but other dairy-free kinds of milk will work to make this dairy-free spice cake. I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
- Dried fruit – Apricots, figs, apples, raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries. Use any combination of dried fruit you love.
- Nuts – I used walnuts, but you can use any kind of nuts you like.
- Brandy – You can use brandy or dark rum in my recipe. I didn’t have brandy, so I used dark rum. Be sure your brandy is gluten free!
Recipe Step-By-Step directions:
Step 1: Add your chopped dried fruit to a glass container and add the dark rum. Mix well. Cover and place it in the refrigerator. Let this sit for at least 6 hours, or even better, 1-2 days. Stir a couple of times a day so all of the fruit absorbs the rum.
🔑 Sandi says: I recommend using a lot of different dried fruits so the flavors all come through in the cake. I used dried cherries, blueberries, apricots, and raisins.
Step 2: Start by mixing up the gluten free fruit cake mix! Add the dry ingredients to a bowl. Whisk to blend.
To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale.
Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.
Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 3: Add the wet ingredients, nuts, and alcohol-soaked fruit to a bowl and mix well.
Step 4: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Step 5: Mix the wet and dry ingredients until they are just barely mixed. Do not overmix your cake batter, or your cake will turn out dense. This is what your batter will look like.
Step 6: Spread the batter in a greased loaf pan and bake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes. Actual baking time will depend on the loaf pan size you use.
To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cake needs to be baked longer.
Variations:
- Add mini white chocolate chips to the cake!
- Dust powdered sugar on top.
- Add in walnuts or pecans for a little texture.
- Top it with this creamy Vanilla Cream Sauce
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
You can definitely make this fruit cake vegan by using an egg replacer like Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer or flaxseed meal (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal to 3 tablespoons water.)
My gluten free fruit cake is made with dried fruit soaked in alcohol, gluten free flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla, sugar, spices, molasses, and salt.
Some of the alcohol will bake off, but not all of it. If you drizzle brandy over your cake every few days, it will boost the alcohol content even more.
This cake will keep for up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
You can easily freeze this cake. I recommend wrapping the cake in plastic wrap, then in foil, and placing it into a freezer-safe zipper bag.
If you used a starchy gluten free flour blend or didn’t measure your gluten free flour correctly, it is possible your cake didn’t have enough liquid.
More delicious gluten free cake recipes:
- Gluten Free Apple Bundt Cake
- Easy Gluten Free Date Nut Cake
- Gluten Free Orange Cake
- Delicious Gluten Free Carrot Cake
Gluten Free Fruit Cake
Ingredients
Dried Fruit:
- 1 ½ cups dried fruit * see note
- ¾ cup brandy or dark rum
Cake:
- 2 ¾ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- â…” cup brown sugar
- â…“ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda aluminum-free
- â…› teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- â…” cup light oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- â…” cup chopped nuts
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Add your chopped dried fruit to a glass container and add the dark rum. Mix well. Cover and place it in the refrigerator. Let this sit for at least 6 hours, or even better, 1-2 days. Stir a couple of times a day so all of the fruit absorbs the rum.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Start by mixing up the gluten free fruit cake mix! Add the dry ingredients to a bowl. Whisk to blend.
- Add the wet ingredients, nuts, and alcohol-soaked fruit to a bowl and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients until they are just barely mixed. Do not overmix your cake batter or your cake will turn out dense. This is what your batter will look like.
- Spread the batter in a greased loaf pan and bake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes. Actual baking time will depend on the size of the loaf pan you use.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cake needs to bake longer.
- Allow the cake to cool completely then dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this cake nut-free, omit the nuts and add more fruit.
- To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using the spoon method or leveling method. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale. Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
- This cake will keep for up to 4 days in an air-tight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
- Add mini white chocolate chips to the cake!
- Dust powdered sugar on top.
- Add in walnuts or pecans for a little texture.
- Top it with this creamy Vanilla Cream Sauce
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Should this cake have butter in it?
Not mentioned in list of ingredients but when you read your blog it says to make vegan replace butter with non dairy spread.
Very confusing
Hi Jodie, I clarified. You can use butter or oil. I tend to like the oil a little more because it keeps the cake a little lighter.
Hi there will try your fruit cake looks lovely but j really wish you had the weight makes everything simple especially when GF
Hi Kay, I am not sure how to do measurements because ever single gluten free flour blend has a different weight.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! The cake turned out beautiful! Our friends and family loved it!
I am so glad you enjoyed the fruit cake Sheryl! Happy holidays.