Moist traditional fruit cake recipe (easy recipe)

I remember waiting for my grandma to cut the fruit cake so I could have a slice while it was still warm from the oven. This moist traditional fruit cake recipe is the same one she used to make, with plenty of raisins and sultanas, brown sugar, and warm spices. And there’s one ingredient she always used when soaking the fruit that makes this cake especially good.

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Why I love this traditional fruit cake recipe

The black tea makes a difference. My grandma always soaked the dried fruit in strong black tea overnight, and I’ve kept that part of her recipe exactly the same. The tea softens the fruit and gives the cake a slightly richer, almost malty flavor, without making it taste like tea.

There’s plenty of fruit in every slice. We use 500 grams of raisins and sultanas in this recipe, so you get lots of juicy fruit throughout the cake. That’s one of the things I really like about these old-fashioned fruit cakes.

It’s surprisingly easy to make. Once you’ve soaked the fruit overnight, the rest is just mixing everything together and baking. You don’t need an electric mixer, and there’s no butter to cream or anything like that.

Ingredients for this old-fashioned fruit cake

For soaking the dried fruit:

• 1½ cups (250 g) golden raisins or sultanas
• 1½ cups (250 g) raisins
• 1¼ cups (300 ml) strong black tea

For the cake:

• 2½ cups (300 g) self-rising flour
• 1¼ teaspoons (5 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine salt
• 2 teaspoons (5 g) mixed spice
• ¾ cup (150 g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 7 tablespoons (100 ml) strong black tea, cooled

• Makes: 1 loaf, approximately 10 slices
• Baking time: 60-70 minutes
• Soaking time: Overnight

Let’s make this traditional fruit cake recipe from scratch

Step 1: Soak the dried fruit overnight

Take a large mixing bowl and add the sultanas and raisins. Pour over 300 ml of strong black tea and give everything a good stir.

This is where my grandma’s secret ingredient comes in. She always used black tea to soak her dried fruit, and it helps make the cake moist while adding a richer flavor.

I like using English breakfast tea because it has a good, strong flavor, but Assam or another strong black tea will work too.

Cover the bowl and leave it overnight.

Step 2: Mix the flour and spices

The next day, you’ll notice that the dried fruit has soaked up most of the tea.

Take another large mixing bowl and sift in the self-rising flour, baking powder, salt, and mixed spice.

If you haven’t used mixed spice before, it’s a blend of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. It works really well in traditional fruit cakes, giving them that familiar warm, spiced flavor.

If you can’t find mixed spice in your local grocery store, pumpkin pie spice is a useful substitute, although the flavor will be a little different.

Step 3: Add the brown sugar

Once the spices are mixed into the flour, add the light brown sugar.

Brown sugar gives this fruit cake a slightly caramel-like flavor and a deeper color, which goes really well with the dried fruit and spices.

Give everything a good stir until the brown sugar is evenly mixed into the flour.

Step 4: Add the egg

Next, add one large egg.

I like to crack the egg into a small bowl first, just to check that it’s fresh before adding it to the other ingredients. That way, if there’s anything wrong with the egg, you won’t spoil the whole mixture.

Pour the egg into the flour mixture and give it a good stir.

Don’t worry if the mixture looks dry and crumbly at this point. That’s perfectly normal.

Step 5: Add the leftover soaking tea

Put a sieve over a bowl and pour in the soaked sultanas and raisins, letting any leftover tea drain through.

Set the fruit aside for a moment, then pour the leftover tea into the flour mixture.

Give it a good stir to mix in as much of the flour as you can, but don’t worry if the mixture still looks a little dry and crumbly.

Step 6: Add more black tea

Now, add another 100 ml of strong black tea.

If you’ve just brewed the tea, let it cool down first because we don’t want the hot tea to start cooking the egg in our mixture.

Pour the tea in a little at a time and stir as you go. You’ll notice the mixture becoming softer and easier to mix.

Keep stirring until you can’t see any dry flour and the batter is smooth. It should look like a regular cake batter, just slightly thicker than pancake batter.

Step 7: Mix in the soaked fruit

Add the soaked sultanas and raisins to the cake batter.

There’s quite a lot of fruit here, so take your time folding it in and get right down to the bottom of the bowl to make sure it’s evenly mixed through.

The batter will be quite full of fruit now, which is exactly what we want.

Step 8: Fill the loaf pan

Preheat your oven to 340°F (170°C), and line a loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving some extra paper hanging over the sides.

Pour the fruit cake batter into the prepared pan, using a spatula to scrape all the mixture out of the bowl. There’s no reason to waste any of that fruit cake batter, especially with all those juicy raisins and sultanas in there.

Spread the batter into the corners of the pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon so it’s fairly even.

Step 9: Bake the fruit cake

Bake the fruit cake in your preheated oven at 340°F (170°C) for about 65 to 80 minutes, until the top is golden brown and your kitchen smells of warm spices and freshly baked cake.

Every oven is a little different, so start checking toward the end of the baking time.

If the top is getting too dark but the middle still needs more time, loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil and continue baking.

To check if it’s ready, insert a wooden skewer into the center of the cake. If it comes out without any wet batter sticking to it, the cake is done. You might get a little moisture from the dried fruit, which is perfectly normal.

Step 10: Remove the parchment paper and serve

Let the fruit cake cool in the loaf pan for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until it’s cool enough to handle comfortably.

Use the extra parchment paper hanging over the sides to gently lift the cake out of the pan, then peel off the parchment paper.

The cake should have a lovely golden-brown top, and you might already see a few pieces of fruit around the edges.

Cut yourself a slice while the cake is still warm if you like. The crumb will be a little firmer and easier to slice once it’s completely cooled, but I still prefer a warm slice, just like my grandma used to serve it.

Related Recipe: And if you’d like to try another one, I’ve got a really nice and moist fruit cake recipe here that is made with butter, brown sugar, plenty of dried fruit, nuts, and warm spices. It’s a little different from my grandma’s recipe, but it’s just as easy to make and comes out lovely and moist.

How to store this moist fruit cake

Once the cake has cooled completely, wrap it well or keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, as long as your kitchen is fairly cool.

The dried fruit helps the cake stay moist, so it’s also nice to eat over the next few days.

If you’re keeping the cake for longer, you can freeze individual slices in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between them, so you can take out just what you need.

Check out these other fruit cake recipes below

I still love making this traditional fruit cake, and I think part of that is remembering how much I enjoyed it when my grandma used to bake it. It’s one of those recipes I’ve never felt the need to change.

I’ve also got some other delicious fruit cake recipes here on my channel, so have a look at those too if you’d like to try something a little different. You might find another fruit cake recipe that becomes one of your favorites.

• Moist Pineapple Cake Recipe with Walnuts and Lemon Glaze – If you enjoy fruity cakes with a little crunch, give this pineapple and walnut cake a try. The lemon glaze adds a lovely tangy finish that balances the sweetness of the pineapple.
• Moist Toffee and Apple Cake Recipe With Fresh Apples – Fresh apples and rich toffee are such a good combination, especially in a homemade cake. This one is lovely served slightly warm, and you can add a scoop of ice cream for an extra treat.
• Moist Carrot and Orange Cake – Carrots aren’t just for savory dishes! They help make this cake wonderfully moist, while the fresh orange adds a bright citrus flavor. It’s a nice change from a traditional carrot cake.

If you give this old-fashioned fruit cake a try, please leave me a comment below or in the comments section on my YouTube channel, and tell me how yours turned out. And if you have any questions about the recipe, feel free to ask, and I’ll do my best to help.