If you love fruitcake, then you're going to love these miniature Christmas fruitcakes.
Enjoy traditional English fruitcake flavours in a recipe that is easy and comes together quickly.
This recipe makes a large batch and freezes well for holiday baking trays.
These mini fruitcakes taste as delicious as they look. A quick overnight soak in rum or brandy for the fruit and you will have these tasty desserts ready in less than an hour.
The perfect balance of fruit and spices, these little gems are so tasty!! They just might convert a non-lover of fruitcake!
For my husband, English Christmas fruitcake is a long standing cherished family Christmas tradition.
In fact they are such big fruitcake lovers they often eat a months worth of fruitcake in their car before they can even make it home!
If you love fruitcake and it is a Christmas tradition in your family, then you will also want to try my Fruitcake Shortbread Cookies this holiday season!
Why you'll love this recipe
- It's so easy to make and the tiny sized pieces are so fun and tasty
- We find even non fruitcake lovers enjoys these mini bites of fruitcake
- You can customize using the nuts and fruit of your choice
- Visually stunning on a mixed holiday cookie platter
- Terrific gift for fruitcake lovers
Ingredients & substitutions for tiny fruitcake
Not pictured in the above ingredients is powdered sugar and milk for icing which is optional but tasty!
For full recipe and instructions, see the recipe card at the bottom of this page. Here are a few notes about the ingredients and substitutions:
- Glace cherries & glace fruit mix with peel - soaked with rum, you will need 1 and ½ cups total of the fruit mixture. You can change up the amounts. For example, if you don't care for the diced fruit and peel, just use the cherries! You can also add in candied pineapple.
- Raisins - golden or dark raisins may be used, or a mixture of both!
- Rum - I used rum in this recipe. You can substitute with brandy or apple juice.
- Butter - should be at room temperature.
- Walnuts - substitute pecans if you prefer
- Egg - should be at room temperature. Take it out of the fridge one hour before you start the recipe.
- Glaze - brush with warmed apple jelly or apricot jam.
- Powdered sugar and milk makes a nice light icing that can be drizzled or pipe on top of the fruitcakes.
Step by step instructions for the best mini fruitcakes
The first step in this recipe is to soak the fruit in brandy or rum. If you prefer not to use alcohol, you can use apple juice. Soak the fruit overnight.
The next day:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Place mini cupcake cup liners in mini muffin tins.
Add the glace fruit mix with peel, raisins and the liquid. Stir well to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together brown sugar, butter and egg. You can use a mixer, stand mixer or mix by hand. I mixed this recipe completely by hand.
In a separate mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and stir just to combine.
Add in walnuts and fruit mixture and stir until combined.
Use a small cookie scoop to fill mini muffin tins. Place a cherry, walnut or pecan in the centre.
Bake in 300°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Bake until toothpick inserted in centre of cake comes out clean. Transfer immediately to a cooling rack.
Lightly brush tops with warmed apple jelly or apricot jam. Place jam in microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds.
For the drizzle of icing combine powdered sugar and milk or heavy cream and stir. You may need to add a bit more cream or powdered sugar to reach the right consistency.
You can also, place the icing in a ziplock or piping bag and pipe it over top of each cake.
Variations for English mini Christmas fruitcake
- Adding a drizzle of icing is optional but highly recommended!
- Replace some of the fruit with dried cherries or dried cranberries.
Top tips for making Christmas fruitcake
- Always use high quality ingredients, it will make a big difference in the flavor
- The butter and eggs should be at room temperature for best baking results
- You can use apple juice instead of rum or brandy
- Mix up the nuts and fruit for different flavor according to tastes
- Use the decorative liners of your choice if they are to be given away for gifts or cookie exchanges
Storage and freezing instructions
Cover with plastic wrap or place in airtight storage containers in the refrigerator for up to one month. Separate the layers using parchement paper so they do not stick together.
These fruitcakes freeze well. Freeze for up to 3 months in freezer-safe containers separating any layers with parchment paper.
You may also want to try these recipes
- Glazed fruitcake shortbread cookies
- Easy cinnamon roll cookies
- Cherry shortbread cookies
- Maraschino cherry thumbprint cookies
- Cranberry magic bars
- Pecan sandies
Miniature Christmas Fruitcakes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 48 1x
Description
These tasty Miniature Christmas Fruitcakes will bring joy to the fruitcake lovers! A great last-minute baking idea that looks pretty on a baking tray.
Ingredients
1 cup glace cherries, red & green, coarsely chopped
½ cup glace fruit mix with peel
½ cup raisins, dark or golden
½ cup rum, brandy or apple juice
¾ cup packed brown sugar
⅓ cup butter, softened at room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground allspice
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
Glace, candied cherries for garnish (one for the top of each muffin)
½ cup apple jelly or apricot jam, warmed
Icing (optional)
1 to 1 and ½ cups powdered sugar
2 to 3 tbsp. milk or heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Line mini muffin pans with paper liners. (This recipe makes 48 mini muffins)
- In a non-reactive bowl (glass mixing bowl), combine fruits, raisins and rum or brandy. Stir well to combine. Refrigerate overnight.
- The next day prepare the fruitcakes. In a large mixing bowl, cream together brown sugar, butter and egg.
- In a separate mixing bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir well to combine.
- Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and stir just until combined.
- Mix in walnuts and marinated fruit.
- Spoon batter into lined muffin tins. (a small cookie scoop works well). Overfill the muffin cups to give them a nicely rounded top.
- Place a red or green candied glace cherry on top of each mini muffin. Alternatively, you can top with a walnut or pecan.
- Bake in 300°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Move to cooling racks immediately.
- Warm apricot jam or apple jelly in microwave until warm and runny. Lightly brush over each of the mini muffin tops.
- The icing is optional. Combine powdered sugar and milk (or heavy cream) together. Stir well to combine. You will need to either add a bit more powdered sugar or milk to achieve the desired consistency. You should be able to drizzle it from a fork or pipe it with a piping bag. The thickness is up to you! I used a piping bag for the ones in the photos.
Notes
- Cover with wrap, or place in storage containers in refrigerator for up to one month. Separate any layers with parchment paper.
- These fruitcakes freeze very well. Freeze for up to 3 months in freezer-safe containers separating layers with parchment paper. Thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before eating.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Miniature Christmas Fruitcakes, Christmas Fruitcake
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!