When December rolls around, one thing becomes inevitable: fruit cakes popping up in every store like holiday-themed confetti. And honestly? Even one fruit cake is one too many for me. Something about their gummy texture and mysterious mix-ins doesn’t spark any holiday joy.
This month’s Foodie Extravaganza theme? Yep, fruit cake. I nearly bowed out of the challenge, but then I had a delicious idea: why not reinterpret fruit cake in a way I’d actually want to eat? So I did. I swapped candied mystery bits for juicy apples and warm spices, and the result? A cinnamon apple cake that disappeared almost as fast as I made it. (Okay, I shared generously—but my family didn’t hold back either.)
If traditional fruit cake makes you cringe, I think this cozy, fragrant cake might win you over. Scroll to the end of this post for 8 more fruit cake creations that reimagine the genre.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Butter, softened | ½ cup |
| Brown sugar | ½ cup |
| White sugar | ½ cup |
| All-purpose flour | 2¼ cups |
| Oat flour | 1 cup |
| Eggs | 2 |
| Salt | 1 tsp |
| Baking soda | 1½ tsp |
| Ground cinnamon | 3 Tbsp |
| Ground ginger | ½ tsp |
| Unsweetened applesauce | 2 cups |
| Diced apples | 3 cups |
| Chopped pecans | 1½ cups |
| Powdered sugar | 1 cup |
| Milk | 2 Tbsp |
| Vanilla extract | 1 tsp |
Instructions
see continuation on next page
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