38 holiday fruit cake recipes

Holiday fruit cake bakes candied pineapple, red and green cherries, golden and dark raisins, pecans, and oats into a nutmeg-mace spiced loaf. Wraps and keeps for weeks.

No-bake holiday chocolate cake layered with orange juice-soaked macaroons, bittersweet ganache, chopped prunes, and toasted almonds. Dusted with cocoa and chilled overnight for deep, complex flavor.

Cherry and almond Christmas cake: maraschino cherries, apricots, ginger, and almonds macerated in amaretto and brandy, baked into a lighter apple-puree batter, then soaked in more amaretto. A boozy, fruit-packed festive cake that keeps for a month.

Little fruit cake squares packed with chopped dates, candied cherries, and pecans, baked in a 9-inch pan and rolled in powdered sugar. Bite-sized holiday treats.

Lighter cranberry orange cheesecake made with cottage cheese, light cream cheese, and yogurt on a graham cracker crust. Topped with a glossy, homemade cranberry-orange compote.

A scrumptious cake made with raisins, glaced cherries and dark rum which makes it a popular Christmas favorite in the Caribbean.

This holiday fruitcake recipe may change your mind about fruitcakes. Golden, buttery, and chock full of fruits and nuts make this delicious from the first bite to the last.

Meat loaf wreath shaped in a ring, studded with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries for a retro holiday centerpiece. Pineapple juice in the mix keeps it moist.

No-bake frozen fruitcake salad with sour cream, whipped topping, candied cherries, pineapple, bananas, and pecans. A retro holiday dessert that freezes into a creamy, fruity slice.

Barbadians make Black Cake for weddings, birthdays and at Christimas time. Indeed, no Christmas holiday is felt to be complete without black Cake. People from many of the islands make a similar cake. This Black Cake derived from the British Plum Pudding which is a must on their Christmas menu.

A sweet treat to impress: frosted cherry chocolate cheesecake.

Traditional British whole wheat Christmas cake with rum-soaked dried fruit, walnuts, almonds, stout and citrus zest. Aged dark fruit cake for the holiday season.

"This cake is a rich, dark, moist fruit cake, very flavorful at Christmas. Try icing with almond paste for a more festive touch. This recipe is started in October or November so as to let it mellow before the holidays. I remember very well my mother storing her fruit cake in an old butter churn that belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother. I wish that I had that old crock."

Magic Fruit Cake bakes up tender and jewel-bright with mincemeat, sweetened condensed milk, red and green cherries, and chopped walnuts. A no-fuss holiday tube cake that mixes in one bowl and slices into glossy, fruit-studded rounds.

Super moist friendship cake starts with a 30-day brandied fruit starter, layering peaches, pineapple, and cherries, then bakes into a tender, fruit-and-nut loaf. The shareable holiday baking tradition.

Fruit cake cookies loaded with candied cherries, candied pineapple, white raisins, and pecans with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Holiday baking in cookie form.