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White "Groom's" Fruitcake Recipe

White “Groom’s” Fruitcake
Difficulty: Easy | Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins, plus macerating and aging time (the latter optional) | Active Time: | Makes: 2 (9-inch) loaves

White fruitcake, so named because it’s made with sugar as opposed to the more common molasses, has origins in the South. It also goes by “groom’s cake” because it was traditionally served to a groomsman before his wedding. Buttery and tender, this fruitcake has a texture more reminiscent of pound cake, but is studded with pineapple and cherries for a festive fruitcake touch.

Game plan: You have to let the fruit macerate for 24 hours before proceeding with the recipe, so factor that into your fruitcake-making plans.

We found this cake equally delicious eaten fresh or after it had aged. For the aged fruitcake, we felt the taste and texture were best after about a month, but the cake was still delicious (though quite boozy) up to 3 1/2 months.

This recipe was featured as part of our Shockingly Tasty Fruitcakes project, as well as our DIY Holiday Gifts Advent Calendar.

INGREDIENTS

For the fruit:

  • 3 cups raw pecans, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups dried cherries, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups currants
  • 1 1/2 cups dried pineapple, finely chopped
  • 3/4 cup bourbon
  • 1/4 cup Cointreau or other high-quality orange-flavored liqueur

For the cake:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 large eggs, at room temperature
  • Bourbon, for aging (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
For the fruit:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large container and stir to mix. Cover tightly and let macerate at room temperature for 24 hours.

For the cake:

  1. Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with butter; set aside.
  2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps; set aside.
  3. Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix at medium-high speed until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add sugar and continue mixing until fluffy, about another 3 minutes.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, letting each mix in fully before adding the next. Stop the mixer a few times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  5. Remove the bowl from the mixer and transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the macerated fruit until just incorporated. Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
  6. Bake until the cakes are golden, set throughout, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.
  7. Let cool 30 minutes in the pans on a wire rack. Run a knife around the outside of each cake, turn them onto the rack, and let cool completely before slicing and eating, or aging.
  8. To age the fruitcakes, store each at room temperature in an 11-by-7-by-3-inch plastic container with a tightfitting lid and brush with 1/4 cup bourbon every 10 days for up to 3 1/2 months.
    Write a review | 5 Reviews

  • Very good! Aged mine for one month and everyone loved it!

    Didn't have bourbon so I used some cheap Black Velvet and that worked very well.

  • Do you think it would be horrible if I used ginger liqueur instead of orange? I don't bake a lot so it's hard for me to guesstimate the effect. I have some Domaine de Canton and I don't use it in drinks often because it is so sweet but it might do well here.

  • I also followed the recipe with different results. The recipe made 12 small loaf cakes that I will give today as gifts. I made the cakes about one week ago, so they've had only one dose of bourbon. My husband and I tasted one last night. The flavor of the cake is a little bland and, yes, I agree it needs more applications of bourbon; however, neither of us detected a metallic taste from the soda. I think that, given more applications of bourbon, this cake will be very tasty.

  • I slavishly followed this recipe without really reading it first and, especially given the cost of the ingredients, I'm sorry I did. What kind of cake has a tablespoon of baking soda????!! The result

    is kind of blah, but with a slightly salty off taste. It needs more sugar and less baking soda. I'm aging it and hoping the bourbon overwhelms the funky soda taste.

    I made it in little loaf pans and was hoping to give it as gifts, but I think I'll cut it up and leave it as anonymously as possible on the dessert table at my next holiday party.

  • I can't find a plastic container that is large enough to age the cakes in. Can it be aged in a resealable plastic bag like the Caribbean Black Fruitcake?

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