The cake in your photo looks like a rich, moist dried-fruit-and-nut loaf/fruit cake: dark, dense, glossy on top, packed with raisins and chopped nuts. A low-temperature bake around 140–150°C is commonly used for dense fruit cakes, while faster versions bake around 170–180°C.
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Food Fusion
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Below is a home-bakery-style version designed to give you a cake close to the picture.
Recipe at a glance
Yield: 1 large loaf, about 10–12 slices
Pan: 8 × 4-inch loaf pan, or 8-inch round cake tin
Prep: 30–40 minutes
Fruit soaking: 30 minutes minimum; overnight is even better
Baking: about 75–100 minutes
Oven: 150°C / 300°F
Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
Dried fruits — about 450 g total
Ingredient Amount
Black raisins/kali kishmish ¾ cup / 120 g
Golden raisins ½ cup / 75 g
Currants ¼ cup / 40 g
Chopped dates ½ cup / 80 g
Chopped dried apricots ½ cup / 70 g
Tutti frutti/candied peel ¼ cup / 40 g
Dried cherries or cranberries ¼ cup / 40 g
You can adjust the fruit as long as the total is approximately 400–450 g. A Pakistani-style holiday fruit cake commonly combines black raisins, raisins, tutti frutti and dates with almonds, cashews and pistachios.
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Food Fusion
Nuts — about 150 g
For the appearance in your photograph, I recommend:
Almonds: 60 g, roughly ½ cup chopped
Walnuts: 40 g, roughly ⅓ cup chopped
Cashews: 30 g, roughly ¼ cup chopped
Pistachios: 20 g, roughly 2–3 tbsp chopped
Total nuts: ~150 g.
Other nuts that work:
Pecans
Hazelnuts
Brazil nuts
Macadamias
Traditional fruit-cake recipes use combinations such as almonds, walnuts, pecans or cashews; nuts can also be omitted completely for a nut-free cake.
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Farmers’ Almanac
Fruit-soaking mixture
Orange juice — ½ cup / 120 ml
Water — ¼ cup / 60 ml
Brown sugar — 2 tbsp / 25 g
Orange zest — 1 tsp
Vanilla — 1 tsp
Optional
For an alcohol-containing version:
Brandy or rum — 60 ml
For an alcohol-free cake, simply use additional orange juice/water.
Cake batter
All-purpose flour/maida — 2 cups / 250 g
Unsalted butter — 170 g, softened
Brown sugar — 150 g / about ¾ cup packed
Eggs — 3 large
Vanilla extract — 1 tsp
Baking powder — 1½ tsp
Baking soda — ¼ tsp
Cinnamon — 1 tsp
Nutmeg — ¼ tsp
Ground ginger — ¼ tsp
Allspice — ¼ tsp
Salt — ½ tsp
Orange zest — 1 tsp
Caramelized fruit syrup/soaking liquid — ¼–½ cup, as needed
Step-by-step method
1. Prepare the dried fruits
Put the raisins, currants, dates, apricots, cranberries/cherries and tutti frutti into a saucepan.
Add:
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup water
2 tbsp brown sugar
orange zest
Heat over low-medium heat.
Bring just to a gentle simmer and cook for 3–5 minutes.
Don’t aggressively boil the fruit.
Turn off the heat, cover and leave for 30 minutes.
For a deeper, softer fruit cake, refrigerate the covered mixture overnight and bring it back toward room temperature before making the cake. Soaking dried fruit before baking is also used in traditional fruit-cake recipes.
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Amanda Cuisine
2. Prepare the nuts
Roughly chop the almonds, walnuts, cashews and pistachios.
Don’t grind them into a powder.
Aim for pieces approximately:
5–8 mm
This gives you the visible pieces of nuts seen in bakery-style fruit cake.
Optional roasting
For better flavor, roast the nuts at:
150°C / 300°F for 7–10 minutes.
Cool completely before adding them to the batter.
Don’t over-roast them because the cake itself has a long baking time.
3. Prepare the dry ingredients
Sift together:
250 g flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp allspice
½ tsp salt
Set aside.
4. Cream butter and sugar
Place softened butter in a large bowl.
Beat for approximately 2–3 minutes until creamy.
Add the brown sugar gradually.
Beat another 3–4 minutes.
The mixture should become lighter and fluffy.
🥚 5. Add eggs
Add eggs one at a time.
Beat after each egg.
If the mixture looks slightly curdled, don’t worry. A little flour can be added to stabilize it.
Add:
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange zest
Mix.
6. Add the fruit liquid
Drain the soaked fruit, but save the liquid.
Add approximately ¼ cup of the reserved liquid to the cake batter.
If your fruit mixture has produced a lot of syrup, you can use up to ½ cup, but don’t make the batter watery.
7. Add flour
Add the sifted dry ingredients in 2–3 additions.
Fold gently.
Do not overmix.
Stop as soon as you no longer see dry flour.
The batter should be thick and heavy, not runny.
8. Add fruits and nuts
Add the soaked dried fruits.
Then add approximately:
120–150 g chopped nuts.
Keep a small amount of nuts and fruit for decorating the top.
Fold gently with a spatula.
Important trick
If your dried fruit is extremely wet, toss it with 1 tablespoon of flour before adding it.
This helps distribute the fruit rather than allowing everything to sink to the bottom.
9. Prepare the pan
Use an 8 × 4-inch loaf tin.
Grease the pan with butter or oil.
Line the bottom and sides with parchment/butter paper.
For a very dark, rich fruit cake, two layers of parchment around the sides are useful.
10. Bake
Preheat the oven to:
150°C / 300°F
Transfer the thick batter to the prepared pan.
Smooth the surface.
Tap the pan gently on the counter a few times.
Add the reserved nuts/fruit on top.
Bake for approximately:
75–100 minutes
Start checking around 75 minutes.
Dense fruit cakes need considerably longer than ordinary sponge cakes; recipes for similar fruit cakes use temperatures from 140°C to 180°C depending on the formula and pan size.
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Food Fusion
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If the top becomes dark
Place a piece of aluminum foil loosely over the cake.
Continue baking.
This prevents the fruit on top from burning while the center finishes cooking.
11. Test for doneness
Insert a wooden skewer into the center.
It should come out:
clean, or
with a few moist crumbs
It should not have wet cake batter attached.
Because the cake contains fruit, hitting a raisin can make the skewer look wet. Test another spot if necessary.
12. Cool
Remove from the oven.
Leave in the pan for 15–20 minutes.
Then transfer to a wire rack.
Allow it to cool completely before slicing.
For the cleanest slices, wrap the cooled cake and allow it to rest for several hours or overnight.
13. Make it glossy like the photograph
For that beautiful shiny bakery finish, heat:
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp apricot jam
until warm.
Brush a very thin layer over the cooled cake.
Alternatively, simply brush it with reserved orange syrup.
This gives the surface the dark, glossy appearance visible in your photo.
How to get those perfect slices
Use a serrated bread knife.
Don’t press straight down.
Instead:
Saw gently back and forth.
For very clean slices, refrigerate the cake for 30–60 minutes first.
Complete nut guide
Alonds
Give the cake a slightly firm, crunchy texture and mild nutty flavor.
Best amount: 40–60 g.
Walnuts
Softer and richer, with a slightly earthy flavor.
Best amount: 30–50 g.
Cashews
Creamier and slightly sweet.
Best amount: 25–40 g.
Pistachios
Add color and a delicate flavor.
Best amount: 15–25 g.
Pecans
Excellent substitute for walnuts and give a buttery flavor.
Hazelnuts
Strong roasted flavor; use moderately.
Macadamias
Very rich and buttery, but expensive; excellent for a premium version.
Nut allergy information
If serving this to other people, treat all tree nuts as allergens.
Tree nuts commonly include:
Almond
Walnut
Cashew
Pistachio
Pecan
Hazelnut
Brazil nut
Macadamia
If you need a nut-free cake, don’t merely remove the nuts from the recipe. Check the labels of your chocolate, candied fruit, flour, decorations and other ingredients for possible cross-contact.
For a nut-free version, replace the 150 g nuts with approximately:
75 g extra dried fruit
50 g sunflower seeds
25 g pumpkin seeds
Or simply use another 150 g dried fruit.
Best fruit combinations
Classic
Raisins
Currants
Dates
Candied orange peel
Cherries
Pakistani bakery style
Black raisins
Regular raisins
Tutti frutti
Dates
Almonds
Cashews
Pistachios
A Pakistani holiday fruit-cake recipe published by Food Fusion uses black raisins, raisins, tutti frutti, dates, almonds, cashews and pistachios and bakes at 140°C for about 90 minutes.
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Food Fusion
Premium version
Dark raisins
Golden raisins
Cranberries
Apricots
Dates
Figs
Candied orange peel
Walnuts
Pecans
Almonds
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my fruit sink to the bottom?
Usually because the fruit is too wet or the batter is too thin.
Fix: Drain the fruit well and toss it with 1 tbsp flour before folding it into the batter.
Why is my cake dry?
Possible causes:
Too much flour.
Overbaking.
Oven temperature too high.
Not enough fruit-soaking liquid.
Slicing while very hot.
Fruit cake should be moist and dense, not dry and crumbly.
Why did the middle sink?
Possible reasons:
Underbaking
Too much liquid
Opening the oven too early
Excess baking powder/soda
Overmixing after adding flour
Make sure the center is properly baked before removing the cake.
Can I make it without eggs?
Yes.
For 3 eggs, you can use approximately:
¾ cup thick yogurt, or
a suitable commercial egg replacer.
The texture will be somewhat different—usually softer and less rich.
Can I make it without alcohol?
Absolutely.
Use:
orange juice + water
instead of rum/brandy.
You still get a very flavorful fruit cake.
Can I soak the fruits overnight?
Yes. It is one of the best ways to make the fruit tender and flavorful.
Keep the soaking fruit covered in the refrigerator if soaking overnight.
Can I use only raisins?
Yes, but the cake will have a less complex flavor.
A combination of raisins + dates + apricots + candied citrus gives more variation in texture and sweetness.
Can I use oil instead of butter?
Yes.
Use approximately 135–140 g neutral oil in place of 170 g butter.
However, butter gives a richer bakery-style flavor.
Can I use ghee?
Yes. Ghee works particularly well with the spices and dried fruits.
Use approximately 150 g ghee.
The flavor will be richer and more distinctly South Asian.
Why is my cake darker than expected?
That’s normal for a rich fruit cake.
Darkness comes from:
Brown sugar
Caramelized sugars
Raisins
Dates
Spices
Long, slow baking
You can also make the cake lighter by using white sugar and golden fruits.
Can I make it in a round pan?
Yes.
An 8-inch round pan works well. A similar Pakistani holiday fruit-cake formula uses an 8-inch round pan and a low 140°C bake.
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Food Fusion
Watch the baking time because a shallow round pan may finish sooner than a deep loaf pan.
How should I store it?
Once completely cool, wrap it tightly.
For ordinary alcohol-free fruit cake:
Room temperature: several days when properly wrapped
Refrigerator: about 1–2 weeks
Freezer: approximately 2–3 months for good quality
For longer storage, freezing is the safer practical option for a homemade alcohol-free cake.
Can I freeze individual slices?
Yes.
Wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap and place the wrapped slices in a freezer bag/container.
Thaw at room temperature.
Why does fruit cake taste better the next day?
The moisture redistributes through the cake and the fruit and spices have more time to blend into the crumb.
That’s why this style of cake is excellent when made a day before serving.
My recommended exact combination for the cake in your photo
For the closest result, I’d use:
Fruit — 450 g
120 g black raisins
75 g golden raisins
40 g currants
80 g dates
70 g dried apricots
40 g tutti frutti
25 g dried cranberries
Nuts — 150 g
60 g almonds
40 g walnuts
30 g cashews
20 g pistachios
Spices
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp allspice
Bake at 150°C / 300°F for roughly 80–100 minutes, covering loosely with foil if the top becomes dark before the center is cooked.
With years of experience in restaurant research and local SEO, Sara creates accurate, user-friendly guides that work for both people and search engines. Her goal is to help users go from search results to their nearest restaurant or menu choice with as few clicks as possible.
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