Mincemeat Fruitcake – Virtual Recipe Exchange 2021
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This blog hop is sponsored by Just Let Me Quilt. Each designer shares their favorite recipes, Christmas traditions, and/or Christmas projects. Mine is a recipe that is near and dear to my heart. To print this entire page, use the green Print Friendly button at the bottom of this page, before the comments.
First, a little story about this mincemeat fruitcake recipe
Back in the ’70s, I was a young bride establishing my own Christmas traditions. Everyone seemed to be sharing fruitcakes, which were almost always awful. The joke was that it was the same fruitcake, just given to someone else the following year.
But then I found a recipe on the back of a Mincemeat jar. It made the most wonderful fruitcake! Soft and moist, full of flavor, terrific with ice cream or as a stand-alone. It became my share-with-the-neighbors gift that I made every year.
Until 2002. That was the year our house burned to the ground, taking my recipe collection with it. My cousin quickly replaced my Fannie Farmers, but it didn’t have the recipe in it. I’d like to say I was devastated but I wasn’t. It was a very confusing holiday, a story I will tell another time. I didn’t really feel the loss until the following year. I never made them again.
When this year’s recipe exchange came up, I was going to present my husband’s Chocolate Chip Bacon cookie recipe. But I decided instead to try to track down the fruitcake recipe. It was easier than I thought! A simple google search found it on The Recipe Link.
So, without further ado, here is:
Nonesuch Mincemeat Holiday Fruitcake recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups sifted flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 2/3 cups (28 oz. jar) None Such Mince Meat
- 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2 cups (1 lb. jar) mixed candied fruit
- 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Hubby would like me to remind everyone that this is NOT a gluten-free recipe, nor is it for the lactose intolerant. If you have nut allergies, omit the walnuts.
Here is a trick I learned in Home Ec class. (If telling you I was a bride in the ’70s didn’t give away my age, the fact I had a Home Ec class surely would.) Always gather your ingredients ahead of time and make sure they are fresh. That way you avoid this:
Here are my ingredients
Mixing Steps
Butter a springform or 90-inch tube pan. Line with waxed paper. Butter again. (I didn’t. I used Pam nonstick cooking spray and flour. It might have looked nicer if I followed the recipe.)
Sift flour and baking soda. Combine eggs, mincemeat, condensed milk, fruit, and nuts. Add the eggs one at a time. This is technically a quick bread since it has no yeast. It rises because of the interaction of the acid in the recipe and the baking soda.
I didn’t sift the flour either. I don’t think you NEED to anymore, but I admit it might have made this fruitcake a bit fluffier.
Fold in dry ingredients. Don’t mix too much.
Pour into pan. Did you notice the ramekin covering the hole in the pan? It keeps everything neat and clean. Get it into the oven quickly – don’t let it sit too long.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
Place the bread in the middle of the oven. Bake for 2 hours, or until the center springs back when touched, and the top is golden. Your house will smell wonderful.
Cool on a wire rack. Turn out; remove the wax paper if you used it.
A quick icing
Hubby whipped up a quick icing for me:
- 3/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 2 tsp milk (you could use OJ or even brandy if you wanted)
- up to 1/2 tsp flavored extract. Add one drop at a time until you get the flavor you want.
Drizzle over cake.
Eat it hot with ice cream if you like!
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So nice that you found your lost recipe. Enjoy!
What a great story! I’m so sorry about your house loss. I can see why the recipe is so meaningful to you. I wish so much that my Mom was still alive, I would make this for her. She made fruitcake every year and loved them and would scold me for picking out the candied fruits and nuts – lol. The flavor of the cake is what I liked plus the smell in the house – oh my! Thank you for sharing your story and recipe. I love your photos and that your husband is mixing it for you!
Wonderful post. I was a bride in the ’70’s as well. I also made fruit cake but never with mincemeat. Glad you found your recipe and the cake looks delicious. I also had an elderly bottle of mincemeat in my cupboard that got thrown out when we moved. My hubby loves mincemeat and cakes; I’m sure this is one recipe he would love too. Thanks for sharing!
That fruitcake looks really good! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
The internet does have its perks! I have found recipes and old songs I remembered from when I was a kid just by using the search engines. My Dad LOVES fruit cake and I might just have to make this for him. Thanks for sharing!
Your post made me want to cry (the house burning) and laugh (the expired mincemeat.) I can’t even imagine how devastating that fire must have been. As for the expired jar of mincemeat, I can’t even count how many times I’ve had expired items when I went to bake. In the olden days that wouldn’t happen because I baked all the time, but now things get old fast. My mom always made a mincemeat pie for Christmas or Thanksgiving but I’d never eat it. The word “meat” in it scared me away. LOL Thank you for sharing and hopping with us, Kris!
What would we do without Mr. Google – I’m so glad you found the recipe. I’ve never made a fruitcake. It was always something joked about, although my mom and grandma made fruitcake cookies, I think (pretty sure I now have that recipe). This recipe looks so good, I’m tempted to give it a try!
Mmm the fruit cake looks delicious. I need to get a move on and make my fruit cake. I’m really running behind.
That looks really good, so glad you found the recipe. Years ago I found a chocolate oatmeal cookie on a Quaker Oats and Fruit box and cut it out. Many purchases after that the recipe was on the box so when a checker at a local convenience store asked about the recipe I gave her the cardboard cutout thinking the recipe would be on the next box I purchase. She retired and the recipe was not on the next box or any other box. 15 years later I still have not found the recipe.
You mention you always baked loaves. What pans did you use? I would prefer to make small loaves……71/2 x 31/2 are my favorite pans. How would you adjust the baking for that? I guess I could ask the mincemeat folks. I love mincemeat. As a kid it was my favorite pie. I have a newer recipe that makes a streusel topping for the mincemeat in the pie…..so good.
Not being a native speaker, I wondered for the longest time if I wanted to eat mincemeat pies… I am with Carol, it sounded weird to me. I finally looked it up, and the next time I was offered one, I accepted, and it was delicious!
I had to laugh at the picture of the expired jar. 11 years is probably some kind of record, LOL. We used to go through my MIL’s kitchen when she wasn’t paying attention and throw out all her expired stuff.
Wow that looks like a very moist fruit cake. and yummy looking too. Very sorry about that fire but glad you and your family were able to move forward in life.
My hubby loves fruit cake but I have never found one I was willing to try. This might be the one! Thank you!
I think my grandmother used to make this recipe. I remember that label you shared.
This looks delicious! Mincemeat is a favorite of mine. Thank you for sharing your cake recipe in the hop … 🙂 Pat
I love fruitcake and this is a keeper for sure. I’ve never tried to make one. Maybe this is the year and this is the recipe. Thank YOU!
Oh my goodness, I had to laugh at your expired jar. We recently cleaned out the pantry and found some oldies but goodies here too. In the trash they went. LOL!! I’m so glad you were able to find your beloved recipe. Google searching is such a god send some days!
I hear stories about my grandmother’s fruitcake ❤️ this!
Yes, I made that size. I would buy the decorated glass pans from the Christmas Tree Shop and give them as gifts. They cook a little faster. You have to test a lot. Your recipe sounds great!
Send them an email! You would be surprised at how responsive some companies are.
Oh, gosh! That expired jar from 2010 . . . I probably could find something close to that in my cupboard. Mincemeat and fruitcake . . . a combination that my mom would have just LOVED. I can’t say I’ve ever had mincemeat, but I do recall a fruitcake being cured for a few weeks. The adding of liquor of some sort was a big deal to me! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
My MIL used to make the best fruitcake in those tiny loaves. Perhaps it was because she started in August, and then every week would pour brandy over it and let it sit. How fun you found the recipe which was lost so long ago.
Love the backstory of your cake! And how nice to have hubby help you 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us! xx
I’m glad you found your lost recipe and thanks for sharing it with us! Yep, heard that joke about the fruit cake getting passed around from year to year! LOL
Your fruitcake looks delicious! I used to make a fruitcake for my husband each Christmas, but he was the only one who enjoyed it so I stopped doing that after a few years. Merry Christmas!
Yes, also glad you found your recipe. The cake does look tasty, I have never tasted mincemeat before, Thanks for the recipe.
How long to store fruits and nuts stored in jars.to cure, then use making fruitcakes?
I don’t know, I have always used mincemeat in jars (which is just fruit, really, despite the name.)