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This super easy to make cream cheese fruit cake loaf is the opposite of the old-fashioned dense and heavy fruit cake. This cake has a light and fluffy texture and studded with dried fruits and infused with a great aroma from cream cheese and butter.
Most people do not enjoy the traditional fruit cake. Store-bought fruit cake doesn’t taste good though I have to be honest. They just taste too commercial. But a homemade fruit cake with high-quality ingredients, I do enjoy. A homemade fruit cake is a labor of love. It takes a few days to make. I can’t say this is a proper old-fashioned British fruit cake. Some people say to be defined as a fruit cake, it has to have alcohol in it. This “fruit cake” of mine doesn’t contain any alcohol and it doesn’t take few days to make too, but, I can’t deny the fact that this cream cheese fruit cake loaf is light, soft, with a great flavor, and worth sharing. Not to mention how easy it is to put together. The cake is still studded with dried fruit mix to make it looks festive for Christmas or any celebration.
The recipe rundown
Taste: It has a great butter and cream cheese aroma and taste, not cloyingly sweet
Texture: It has a light and soft texture, more like a hybrid between a butter cake and chiffon cake, though not as fluffy as chiffon cake and not as heavy as butter cake
Ease: Easy. No special kitchen gadget is needed. It takes less than 2 hours to make from start to finish
Ingredients
1. Cream cheese
Use regular cream cheese and not the low-fat or reduced-fat version
2. Unsalted butter
Get a high-quality butter that you like, it does make a difference.
3. Sugar
You can use granulated sugar or castor sugar.
4. Eggs
I use a large egg that weighs about 50 grams each without the shell
5. All-purpose flour
It’s not necessary to use cake flour. I found using all-purpose flour still gives really good result
6. All-spice powder
7. Dried fruit mix
You can use just dried fruit mix or a combination of dried fruit and nut mix. Whatever you choose, make sure they are of good quality that you know you will enjoy. I got my tropical dried fruit mix from Aldi and it has a mixture of pineapple, mango, coconut, banana chips (I didn’t put in there), papaya, raisins
8. Candied maraschino cherries
This is optional. I think it adds a nice pop of red color to the cake
9. Lemon extract
A lemon scent from lemon extract adds a nice touch to the finished product. You can also use about 1 Tbsp of lemon zest
How to make cream cheese fruit cake loaf without alcohol
1. Spray the loaf pan with non-stick spray or lightly brush with some oil. Line the bottom of the loaf pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C)
2. Soak the dried fruit in warm water for about 15 minutes
3. Strain off the liquid
4. Sift in the flour and toss to coat the dried fruit mix. Set aside. This step is to prevent the dried fruit from sinking to the bottom of the pan. They will hold on to the cake batter much better and rise with the cake.
5. Cream the softened cream cheese and butter until they are combined. Add sugar and mix until they are creamy.
6. Add egg, one at a time, and beat until combined and scrape the side of the bowl each time
7. Sift in the flour, baking powder, all-spice powder, and salt.
8. Fold them into the mixture until well combined. Take care not to over stirring them too much.
9. Fold in the dried fruit mix you prepared earlier and lemon extract
10. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the top. Place in the preheated oven, middle rack and bake for the next 60-70 minutes or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly at the end of cooking time and the cake is still not cooked through yet, you can tent it with aluminum foil and bake on a 5-minute increment until the tester comes out clean
11. Let the cake cools down in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to let it cools down completely before cutting or wrapping for gifting
Tips
1. Make sure the butter and cream cheese are soft enough that you can easily mash them
2. Eggs need to be at room temperature so the cake batter won’t separate when you beat them together
3. Make sure to coat the dried fruits with flour so they won’t sink to the bottom of the pan during baking
4. Do not overmix the cake batter. Just combine until you don’t see any more loose flour
How to store cream cheese fruit cake loaf
This is a totally different cake compared to the old-fashioned fruit cake that can last for one month at room temperature and 6 months in the fridge. It definitely won’t keep one month at room temperature.
1. Freshly baked cake (without frosting or cream) can be kept at room temperature for 3-4 days. Let them cool down completely and then wrap it up with a cling wrap and put in a plastic bag with zipper, push all the air out and seal.
2. Refrigerator. They can be kept in the fridge for up to one week. Make sure you wrap the cake up with cling wrap to prevent the cake from drying out. The longer you keep, the drier they will get. Simply take it out from the fridge and let it sit on the counter and the cake will soften as the butter softens
3. Freezer. For longer storage, keep them in the freezer. Wrap them in a cling wrap. Put in a freezer bag. Push all the air out and freeze for up to 3 months for best result. Simply thaw overnight in the fridge before serving
Did you make this easy cream cheese fruit cake without alcohol recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Easy Holiday Cream Cheese Fruit Cake Loaf (No Alcohol)
Ingredients
- 225 gr cream cheese 8 oz, softened
- 120 gr butter 4 oz, unsalted, softened
- 150 gr sugar 3/4 cup
- 4 large eggs room temperature, about 50 grams each without shell
- 220 gr cake flour 1 3/4 cups, see notes
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp all-spice powder
- â…› tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon extract or you can use rum extract if you prefer
- 10 pieces Candied maraschiono cherries diced into tiny pieces
To prepare the mixed dried fruit:
- 300 gr mixed dried fruit 2 1/3 cups
- 40 gr all-purpose flour 4 1/2 Tbsp
Instructions
Prepare the dried fruit mix:
- Soak the dried fruit, except for candied cherries, in warm water for about 15 minutes. Strain off liquid. Mix with the candied cherries. Sift in the flour and toss to coat the dried fruit mix. Set aside. This step is to prevent the dried fruit from sinking to the bottom of the pan. They will hold on to the cake batter much better and rise with the cake.
Prepare cake batter:
- Spray the loaf pan with non-stick spray or lightly brush with some oil. Line the bottom of the loaf pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C). Cream the softened cream cheese and butter until they are combined. Add sugar and mix until they are creamy. Add egg, one at a time, and beat until combined and scrape the side of the bowl each time
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, all-spice powder and salt. Fold them into the mixture until well combined. Take care not to over stirring them too much. Fold in the dried fruit mix you prepared earlier and lemon extract
Baking:
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Use a rubber spatula to smooth the top. Place in the preheated oven, middle rack and bake for the next 60-70 minutes or until cake tester inserted comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly at the end of cooking time and the cake is still not cooked through yet, you can tent it with aluminum foil and bake on a 5-minute increment until the tester comes out clean
Cooling down:
- Let the cake cools down in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to let it cools down completely before cutting or wrapping for gifting
