This Applesauce Spice Fruit Cake is a moist, dense, spicy cake filled with chopped nuts, coconut, raisins, dates, and orange candy slices. Perfect sprinkled with powdered sugar or drizzled with a little caramel sauce.
2cupsall-purpose flour + additional for dredging fruit
1teaspoonbaking soda
¼teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonground cloves
1teaspoonnutmeg
2teaspoonscinnamon
¼teaspoonground ginger
1cuppecans or walnutschopped
1cupdateschopped
1cupraisins
1cuporange slice candychopped
1cupcoconut
½cuprumoptional
¼cuppowdered sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a tube pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper to make it easier to release.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and beat until incorporated.
Add applesauce and beat until well mixed.
In another bowl, combine 2 cups flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
Gradually add dry ingredients into wet ingredients, beating until just mixed.
In a large bowl, combine all nuts, chopped fruit, coconut, and candy. Dredge with flour. Make sure to mix with your hands and pull apart fruit and candy that it sticking together so each piece is coated with flour. This helps distribute it better throughout the cake.
Stir the flour-coated fruit and nuts into the cake batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.
Let rest on a wire rack for 10 to 20 minutes until firm enough that it can be turned out onto a rack to cool the rest of the way.
If using the optional rum, pour ¼ to ⅓ cup rum over the cake and let it soak in. Once the top is dry, move on to the next step.
When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. You can also serve the cake with caramel sauce on the side to drizzle over the top.
Notes
STORE/FREEZETo Store: Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, wrap it tightly in several layers of plastic wrap. Store it on the counter for 1 week without rum and 1 month with rum.To Freeze: Wrap the cake tightly with a layer of plastic wrap then aluminum foil. Freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake on the counter at room temperature.