Vegan Fruit Cake [Fruit Loaf]

Traditional fruitcake meets banana bread in this vegan fruit cake recipe. It’s rich, moist, sweet, super quick and easy to make, and perfect for the holidays!

Sweet and Simple Vegan Fruit Loaf Cake Recipe

Traditional Christmas fruitcake is a rich, dense cake made with candied and/or dried fruit, sometimes nuts, and warming spices, then optionally soaked in spirits (to extend its shelf life) and sometimes even topped with apricot jam and marzipan. Sound familiar? If so, you’re also probably aware that it’s also highly divisive in a ‘love it or hate it’ kinda way.

For this recipe, though, we’ve stepped away from tradition to make a fruit cake loaf jam-packed with fruit but a little lighter, fluffier, and more crowd-pleasing than ever. This quick fruit loaf is like vegan banana bread meets tea loaf meets fruitcake and is moist and tender with a chewy burst of fruity flavor in every bite.

It’s also SO simple to make – just weigh, mash, mix (by hand or with a mixer), and bake to perfection. It’s as great to enjoy as a vegan Christmas cake as it is year-round, with lashings of vegan butter and a warm cup of tea or coffee.

Looking for more vegan crowd-pleasing holiday treats? Check out our recipes for vegan chocolate peppermint pie, vegan gingerbread cake, chocolate fruit bars, vegan chocolate crinkle cookies, or amazing vegan holiday cookies.  

The Ingredients and Substitutes

• All-purpose flour: Or a 50/50 blend of regular and whole wheat. A gluten-free all-purpose blend like King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill should also work, though the fruit cake loaf will probably be a little drier/denser.  
• Mashed banana: Use ripe bananas with plenty of black spots on the peel but not too many dark spots on the flesh (which can be bitter). This is a great egg replacement in this recipe for vegan fruit cake and adds lots of flavor.
• Unsweetened applesauce: This serves several purposes. It acts as a binding ingredient and oil replacement in this vegan fruit cake. Plus, it adds subtle flavor.
• Sugar: We used regular sugar (organic to ensure it’s vegan), but feel free to use a less refined option like raw cane sugar or coconut sugar if preferred. Using 50/50 regular and brown sugar will also work and add warm molasses flavor.
• Vegan butter: Use a good room-temperature vegan butter, like Miyoko’s or Earth Balance. Coconut oil (in its solid form) may also work, but we haven’t tried it.
• Dried fruit: We used a combination of cranberries, raisins (regular or golden), and apricots, but you can use what you have. E.g., sultanas, dried cherries, dates, figs, currants, candied peel, pineapple, apple, etc.
• Leavening agents: This vegan fruit cake recipe relies on baking powder and baking soda to provide the required lift and texture.
• Spices: Add wonderful warmth with the addition of cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Salt: To balance and enhance the flavors in this vegan Christmas cake.

What Could I Add To a Fruit Loaf?

• Ground ginger: To boost the warm spices in the vegan tea loaf.
• Nuts: Add some crunchy texture with chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.
• Tea: You can soak the fruit in rich black tea.
• Zest: Use orange zest, lemon zest, or a combination of the two for a subtle yet delicious, bright flavor in this recipe for fruit loaf.
• Glace cherries: Finely chopped.
• Vegan icing: A simple one made with powdered sugar + plant-based milk or orange juice.
• Fruity glaze: Heat marmalade or apricot jam with a splash of water until runny and brush over the loaf while it’s still warm from baking.

How to Make Vegan Fruit Cake

• First, preheat the oven to 350F/175C and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Also, mash the bananas in a small bowl.
• Then, in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer (or stand mixer), cream the vegan butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

• Then add the applesauce and mashed bananas and mix for a further minute.

• In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, leavening agents, spices, salt, and dried fruit, and whisk well.

• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix into a batter.

Be careful not to over-mix it, though, or it can overwork the gluten in the flour and lead to a dense, tough loaf.

• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake in the center of the oven for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs).

• Finally, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire cooling rack to fully cool. Enjoy!

Enjoy a slice of this fruit cake loaf warm (or even toasted) with lashings of vegan butter, plant-based cream, apricot jam, a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream, and/or a warm mug of tea or coffee.

FAQs

Top Recipe Tips and Notes

• Measure flour correctly: Fluff it up in its bag, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it with a knife rather than scooping it from the flour bag. This helps to avoid a dense and/or dry banana fruit cake.
• Chop larger dried fruits: If the pieces are too big, they’ll all sink to the bottom of the cake when baking.  
• Don’t over-mix the batter: The fruit loaf may be dense/dry if you overwork the gluten in the flour. Mix it until only just mixed – a few small lumps are fine.
• Use fresh leavening agents: If you’re unsure, test them. Combine ¼ tsp baking soda + 2 tsp vinegar and, in a separate bowl, ½ tsp baking powder + 3-4 tbsp water. Both should start to bubble immediately.

Storage Instructions

Leave the vegan fruit cake to cool and then store it in an airtight container or this cake container like I used in the photo at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. It’ll taste even better on day two.

You can also freeze the banana fruit cake whole or sliced and wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 3 months.

Leave it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, on the counter for several hours, or defrost individual slices in a toaster or microwave as needed.

More Vegan Cake Recipes

• Fluffy vegan banana cake
• Coffee walnut loaf cake
• Vegan biscoff cake
• Easy chocolate cake
• Pineapple upside down cake
• Vegan lemon loaf cake
• Vegan birthday cake

You might also like to browse this list of 35 must-try vegan cake recipes.

Photos by Alfonso Revilla