Apricot-Cashew Fruit Cake

It's closing in on Christmas Day, which means it's time for me to make my annual "fruit cake." I put that in quotes because it's more of a pound cake studded with dried apricots, golden raisins, and salted cashews. I've made this cake now for a good 20 years at Christmas--and it would not be Christmas with out it. In fact, if Christmas only consisted of our Christmas tree, Russian Tea Cakes, and this fruitcake, I think Drake and I would be happy enough.

You can go directly to the printable recipe, or I'll show you how to make it, step-by-step...

The ingredients. Note the bag of cashews on the right.

Part of the ritual of making this cake is paying a visit to the "nut man" in Pike Place Market for freshly roasted and salted cashews.

I also want to make a note about the butter. This cake does not contain any baking powder or soda: it relies on beaten egg whites and creaming the butter/sugar for leavening (both of which incorporate air into the batter). The New York Times published a wonderful article about the correct temperature of butter for creaming butter and sugar together. The butter should be cold to the touch, but still make an indentation when you gently press your finger on it. I find leaving butter out for about an hour at room temperature accomplishes this.

So before you begin this recipe, leave 3/4 cup butter to soften to cool room temperature.

Preheat oven to 275° F.

Start by generously buttering a 6-cup bundt pan...

...sprinkle in some flour...

...and shake it all around...

...so that it's nicely coated. Set the pan aside for now.

Measure out 1 cup of dried apricots. Cut into lengthwise strips...

...and cut those strips crosswise...

...until you have them all nicely diced. Set aside.

Coarsely chop 1 cup roasted, salted cashews and add to the diced apricots.

Measure out 1 cup of golden raisins, adding to the prepared apricots and cashews.

In a separate bowl, measure out 1 3/4 cup cake flour. The light texture of cake flour is absolutely necessary here.

Pour 1/2 cup of milk into a small measuring cup.

Add 2 tablespoons apricot brandy...

...and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Set aside.

Separate 3 eggs, putting the yolks in a small bowl and the whites in a medium bowl.

Measure out 1 cup of ultra-fine baker's sugar. As with cake flour, baker's sugar is very helpful in getting the right texture for the cake.

Here's the mise en place you should have ready before we begin.

Put the 3/4 cup softened, but still cold, butter into the bowl of an electric mixer, along with the sugar.

Cream at medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until soft and fluffy.

Briefly beat the egg yolks with a fork...

...and with the mixer on low speed, mix into the butter/sugar.

Keeping the mixer on low speed, pour in 1/3 of the liquid ingredients and mix just until incorporated.

Follow with 1/3 of the flour, again mixing just until incorporated. Repeat the above steps (1/3 of wet ingredients, 1/3 of flour) two more times. Gradually adding these ingredients in this way will help keep the cake light.

To the mixer bowl, add the apricots, raisins, and cashews.

Mix on low just until combined. Set aside the batter for now.

Meanwhile, measure out 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites just until soft peaks form.

Add the cream of tartar...

...and  beat again briefly - the egg whites should form soft, but not stiff, peaks.

Stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Gently fold the remaining egg whites into the batter...

...and transfer to the prepared pan.

Bake at 275° F. for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until lightly golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. I generally start checking the cake with a toothpick at about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Cool completely in the pan.

Turn the cooled cake on to a plate...

...and enjoy!

Apricot-Cashew Fruitcake

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to cool room temperature
1 cup ultra-fine Baker's sugar (or superfine sugar)
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons apricot brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 cup dried apricots, diced
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup salted cashews, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 275° F. Grease and flour a 6-cup bundt pan.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. In a small bowl, briefly beat the egg yolks. With the mixer on low, add the yolks to the butter mixture.

In another small bowl, combine the milk, apricot brandy, and vanilla. Measure the flour and set aside. With the mixer on low, add the milk and flour in four alternating batches: 1/3 of the milk, 1/3 of the flour, etc. Stir in the apricots, raisins, and cashews.

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating egg whites briefly (the white should not be stiff). Stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Cool completely in the pan. Store at room temperature wrapped tightly in plastic.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! To view more step-by-step recipes, see the complete recipe index.

If you'd like to subscribe to future posts, you can do it here.