German Fruit Cake

This German Fruit Cake is a 70+ year old tried and true family recipe that has been passed on through the generations. A densely rich cake bursting with sweetened fruit and robust spices that is a must make recipe every Christmas season.

Every Christmas, my mother-in-law lovingly bakes a traditional German fruitcake, a cherished recipe passed down to her by her own mother-in-law. This cake has become more than just a holiday treat; it’s a symbol of family heritage and connection, linking generations together.

I love that the simple act of baking has the ability to remind us of people we love, the importance of family, tradition, and the joy of passing down treasured recipes to the next generation.

Family History

This German fruitcake is a recipe passed down from my husband’s grandmother whose family immigrated to America from Europe during the 1800s. Just like my family, both are very rich in German heritage. (In fact, a fun little side note, my grandparent’s, on my dad’s side managed one of Amling’s flower shops in Forest Park, IL, just outside of Chicago after my grandpa retired from teaching. My husband’s dad’s uncle was the General Manager for all of the Amling’s stores and would have known my grandparents! What a small world!)

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My father-in-law, on the far left in this photo below, recalls his mother baking this German fruit cake every year at Christmastime and being told that it was a “$100 recipe”. As the story goes,

“Supposedly the recipe was a friend of my grandmother’s, and the original owner of the recipe would sell the recipe to other people for a pretty high price but she gave it to my grandmother Lydia. My mom claimed the recipe was sold for $100! Which would’ve been an extremely high price. I am wondering if the maker of the recipe sold it to a business or a cookbook publisher for $100? However, my grandmother Lydia, got the recipe given to her by the original owner.” – T. Bruce

Family Travels

For Christmas 2019, we took our little family of five to Germany (and Austria, France and London)! We had been so looking forward to our first Christmas in the new house after our cross country move, but with the lightning strike/fire, we weren’t able to live in it, so we used this as an opportunity to pull a Christmas With The Kranks and “skip Christmas”. It was a trip of a lifetime, full of memories that we will all cherish for forever!…especially now, with world travel bans, it truly was a blessing in disguise, that we now realize!

This was the view from our room in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany! A cobblestone road town nestled in the mountains of Bavaria. Yep, I’d go back anytime!

So this year, now that we just moved back home, in the nick of time for Christmas, we are making the most of it and making it a very “family oriented” Christmas season. Full of hand-me-down family recipes, and spending time with the ones we love the most. … something that is so needed after a long and very trying 18 months.

Crock Pot Holiday Ham
Grandma’s Gingerbread Boy Cookies
Mom’s Classic Sugar Cookies
Christmas Breakfast Casserole
Mom’s Mini Cheesecakes
This year for Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law and daughter took their turns at making the very special fruit cake. It was one of the very first things to be baked in my new oven (that came the night before Thanksgiving!)

How To Make German Fruit Cake

While this cake is very easy to make, there are some tips and tricks that I have found over the years that are very helpful in making sure the cake is baked all of the way through the center.

Ingredients

First, let’s start with the ingredients. There are so many ingredients that get added to this fruitcake that stirring it is very challenging. I have found that if I do a really good job of draining the juice from the canned pineapple, then the mixture is very very dense and my professional KitchenAid stand mixer cannot keep up with stirring it, so I have to use a wooden spoon. While this is not a problem at all, I actually prefer it, this may not be everybody else’s preferred method.

With that said, it should be noted that a very large bowl is needed for this recipe, as it yields a lot of cake!…see photo below: the recipe yields 1 large bundt cake and 1 bread loaf. Some of the more “odd”/harder to find ingredients are:

• candied fruit mix – usually sold in the baking isle during the holiday season and the easiest to find of these “odd” ingredients. This is a mix of candied fruit
• candied red cherries – these red cherries and green cherries are often harder to find…and sell out quickly! I recommend purchasing a couple containers the first time you see them appear in the grocery store! You can thank me later 😉
• candied green cherries – the green cherries are often harder to find than the red cherries! I have ordered them online in the past when I couldn’t find them in the store

Baking Pans

As far as pans go, this fruitcake is typically baked in a bundt pan. However, I will say that sometimes it can be challenging to ensure that the cake is cooked all of the way through since it is so dense.

Over the years I have started using bread loaf pans instead of the bundt pans because I have a much easier time with ensuring the batter is cooked all the way through as well as removing the fruitcake from the pan.

While bundt pans provide a gorgeous finished product, they can be challenging to work with. To ensure that your cake comes out as one whole piece, rather than breaking into pieces or even crumbles, you have to properly prepare your pan before spooning in the batter.

I have found that spraying my bundt pan with spray vegetable oil very generously is the trick. I have used vegetable shortening and then sprinkled flour on top of it before, however, I sometimes have areas where the cake ends up sticking and breaks when I remove it.

How To Remove A Cake From A Bundt Pan

Another very important tip when using a bundt pan is to allow the cake to fully cool before trying to remove it from the pan.

• To successfully remove the cake from the pan, place a large plate or platter on top of the cake holding the rims of the bundt pan and platter
• Carefully flip the bundt pan and platter over so the bundt pan is sitting upright on the platter
• Allow the cake to work its way out of the pan by itself. If necessary, tap around the edges and top of the Bundt pan to help loosen the cake so it will come out of the pan

Baking Tips

Place the cake filled pan(s) in the oven and set the time.. When the timer goes off, check the center of the cake by inserting a wooden toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake can be removed from the oven and left out to cool. If the toothpick comes out with batter, keep the cake in the oven for five minute increments, checking after each increment with the toothpick. Once the toothpick comes out clean, the pan can be removed from the oven and set out to cool.

If the exposed area of the cake (the bottom of the cake when flipped over) starts to become extra brown/baked, you can turn down the oven temperature by 25° and allow the cake to continue baking until cooked all of the way through.

If you are still having issues with getting the cake to cook all of the way through, even after turning the temperature down, place a piece of tinfoil over the exposed cake and allow to cook covered until the center of the cake is baked thoroughly.

How To Store German Fruit Cake

This recipe makes a lot of fruit cake! The likelihood of you having leftovers is high! Typically what I do, especially if I make the recipe in loaf bread pans, I will allow the cakes to cool completely. Then I will wrap the individual loafs in freezer paper followed by wrapping it in plastic wrap. Before storing it in the freezer, I place the wrapped loafs in a freezer Ziplock bag and store in the freezer until I want to use it at a later date. This fruit cake can be stored in the freezer for up to a year.

When you’re ready to eat the cake, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw either in the refrigerator or on the counter. Unwrap and serve as usual.

More Great German Recipes

• German Chocolate Cake Balls
• Grandma’s Orange Slice Cake
• German Black Forest Cake

Happy baking my friends! Wishing you the merriest of seasons filled with delicious hand-me-down family recipes!