This recipe is designed to produce the tall, moist, fruit-packed cake shown in your photo, with a soft crumb and lots of visible dried fruit and nuts.
Pan: 8-inch (20 cm) round, deep pan
Yield: 10–12 slices
Oven: 325°F / 165°C
Bake: 65–80 minutes
1. Dried Fruit — 450 g total
Raisins — 150 g (1 cup)
Dried apricots — 120 g (¾ cup), diced
Dried cranberries — 80 g (½ cup)
Golden raisins — 60 g (⅓ cup)
Dates — 40 g (¼ cup), finely chopped
Soaking liquid:
Orange juice — 120 ml (½ cup)
Orange zest — 1 tsp
Put all the dried fruit in a bowl, pour over the orange juice, cover and soak for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight.
Drain thoroughly and pat dry before adding to the batter.
2. Mixed Nuts — 200 g
For the combination closest to the picture:
Walnuts — 60 g
Almonds — 40 g
Pecans — 40 g
Pistachios — 30 g
Hazelnuts — 30 g
Roughly chop everything. Don’t grind them—the larger pieces give the cake the chunky appearance visible in the photograph.
Easy alternative
If you don’t have all five nuts:
Walnuts 100 g
Almonds 100 g
works very well.
Nut substitutions
Original Substitute
Walnuts Pecans
Pecans Walnuts
Almonds Cashews
Hazelnuts More almonds
Pistachios Pumpkin seeds or cashews
Keep the total nuts at approximately 200 g.
3. Cake Batter
Dry ingredients
All-purpose flour — 250 g (2 cups)
Baking powder — 1 tsp
Baking soda — ½ tsp
Salt — ½ tsp
Cinnamon — 1 tsp
Nutmeg — ¼ tsp
Cardamom — ¼ tsp, optional
Wet ingredients
Unsalted butter — 113 g (½ cup), softened
Granulated sugar — 150 g (¾ cup)
Brown sugar — 50 g (¼ cup)
Eggs — 3 large
Vanilla — 1 tsp
Greek yogurt or sour cream — 120 g (½ cup)
Honey — 2 tbsp
Orange zest — 1 tbsp
Milk — up to 60 ml (¼ cup), only if needed
Step-by-Step
Step 1 — Prepare the fruit
Soak the dried fruit in orange juice for 30 minutes or overnight.
Drain and dry very well.
Important: Wet fruit can make the center of the cake gummy.
Step 2 — Toast the nuts
Place the chopped nuts in a dry skillet over medium-low heat.
Toast for 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Cool completely.
Step 3 — Prepare the pan
Preheat oven to 325°F / 165°C.
Grease an 8-inch deep round cake pan.
Line the bottom with parchment.
Because this is a tall cake, make sure your pan is at least 3 inches / 7.5 cm deep.
Step 4 — Mix dry ingredients
Whisk together:
flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt + cinnamon + nutmeg + cardamom.
Set aside.
Step 5 — Cream butter and sugar
Beat softened butter with white sugar and brown sugar for 3–4 minutes.
The mixture should become lighter and fluffy.
Add honey and orange zest.
Step 6 — Add eggs
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
Add vanilla.
Step 7 — Add yogurt
Mix in the yogurt or sour cream.
Step 8 — Add flour
Add the dry mixture in 2–3 additions.
Mix gently.
The batter should be very thick.
If it is excessively stiff, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
Don’t make the batter runny.
Step 9 — Coat fruit and nuts
Put the dried fruit and chopped nuts into a bowl.
Add 1 tablespoon flour and toss.
This helps distribute them throughout the cake instead of allowing everything to sink.
Step 10 — Fold everything together
Fold the fruit and nuts into the batter with a spatula.
Do not overmix.
Step 11 — Fill pan
Put batter into the prepared pan.
Smooth the top.
Scatter a few extra pieces of nuts and dried fruit over the surface.
Step 12 — Bake
Bake at:
325°F / 165°C for 65–80 minutes.
Start checking at 60 minutes.
A wooden skewer inserted into the center should come out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
If the top gets brown too quickly, loosely cover with foil.
Step 13 — Cool
Leave the cake in the pan for 15–20 minutes.
Remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack.
For beautiful, clean slices like the photograph, refrigerate the cooled cake for 1–2 hours before cutting.
Optional Bakery-Style Finish
Mix:
Apricot jam — 2 tbsp
Hot water — 1 tbsp
Warm briefly and brush a thin layer over the cooled cake.
This gives the top a beautiful glossy finish.
Q/S — Quantity & Substitution Guide
Want more fruit?
You can increase the dried fruit from 450 g → 500 g, but I wouldn’t go much higher because the cake may struggle to hold everything together.
Want fewer nuts?
Use 150 g nuts instead of 200 g and increase dried fruit by about 50 g.
Want a very nutty cake?
Use up to 250 g nuts, but reduce dried fruit to approximately 400 g.
Want it less sweet?
Reduce granulated sugar from 150 g → 120 g.
Don’t eliminate the sugar completely—it contributes to the cake’s moisture and texture.
No orange juice?
Use:
Apple juice
Pineapple juice
Milk
Orange juice gives the best flavor with apricots and raisins.
No Greek yogurt?
Use:
Sour cream
Plain full-fat yogurt
Buttermilk
No butter?
Use 100 g neutral vegetable oil, although butter gives a richer flavor.
No eggs?
For an egg-free version, the recipe needs different proportions rather than simply removing the eggs.
Most Important Tips
Dry the soaked fruit well.
Toast and cool the nuts before adding them.
Keep the batter thick.
Toss fruit and nuts with a little flour.
Don’t overmix after adding flour.
Bake relatively low at 325°F/165°C so the tall cake cooks through without burning outside.
If the top browns early, cover with foil.
Don’t slice while hot. The crumb needs time to set.
For the texture in your photo, let it rest overnight before serving—the fruit becomes softer and the flavors develop.
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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