Vegan Fruit Cake [Fruit Loaf]

5 from 35 votes

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!

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Cool10

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings: slices

Calories: 325kcal

Author: Toni Okamoto

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup (113 g) vegan butter at room temperature
½ cup (100 g) sugar
1 cup (245 g) unsweetened applesauce
3 ripe bananas mashed
1 ¾ cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (120 g) dried cranberries
1 cup (145 g) golden raisins
1 cup (130 g) dried apricots chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork.
In a large bowl, beat the vegan butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the applesauce and mashed bananas, and mix for 1 minute.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Add the dried cranberries, golden raisins, and apricots, and stir until the fruit is coated in flour.
Add the flour and fruit mixture to the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 50 minutes, until a fork inserted into the center comes out clean. If it comes out with wet batter, keep baking in 5 minute increments.
Set the loaf pan on a cooling rack and let it cool for 10 minutes.
Lift the loaf out of the pan and let it cool completely on the rack.

Notes

Fluff the flour in its bag, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it with a knife. This keeps the fruit cake from turning out dense or dry.
Chop any large dried fruit, like apricots, into small pieces so it doesn’t sink to the bottom while the loaf bakes.
Mix the batter until just combined. A few small lumps are fine, and overmixing can make the loaf dense.
Feel free to swap in any dried fruit you have on hand, like raisins, dried cherries, or chopped dates.
To test your baking soda, mix ¼ teaspoon with 2 teaspoons of vinegar. To test your baking powder, mix ½ teaspoon with 3 to 4 Tablespoons of water. Both should bubble right away.

Nutrition