The Cooking Bride

Easy Meals and Southern Cooking

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact Me
    • Work with Me
  • Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Baking Recipes
    • Beverage Recipes
    • Brunch and Breakfast
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Garnishments, Sauces, and Seasonings
    • Main Courses
      • Beef
      • Fish and Seafood
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Pork
      • Poultry
      • Sandwiches
      • Slow Cooker
      • Venison
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups and Stews
  • Store
  • Ebook
  • Privacy Policy
Home / Dessert Recipes / Cake Recipes / Eudora Welty’s White Fruit Cake

Cake Recipes Christmas Intermediate Southern

Eudora Welty’s White Fruit Cake

848shares
  • Facebook42
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest790
  • Yummly16
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
white fruitcake

Moist, white fruit cake is a little lighter than traditional dark fruit cake. This Southern version is “improved” by dribbling it with bourbon instead of rum.

white fruit cake

Several notions may come to mind when you think of Eudora Welty — author, Pulitzer Prize winner, famous Mississippian. But, fruit cake? Yes. I am of course, referring to the kind of fruit cake laced with candied fruit and nuts, spiked with spirits, and eaten during the holidays.

Welty frequently made her signature white fruit cake, passed down from a family recipe, to share with her closest friends during the holidays. Sometime in the 1980’s, Welty included the recipe in her annual Christmas card. Since then, Eudora Welty’s White Fruit Cake has been republished numerous times in magazines all over the world.

white fruit cake

What is the difference between a white fruit cake and a dark fruit cake?

The main difference between a white fruit cake and a dark fruit cake are the sugars. Traditional dark fruit cake is made with brown sugar and molasses. White fruit cake is made with white granulated sugar. Some recipes also call for light corn syrup. One ingredient remains constant, however — the booze.

While most fruit cakes include dark rum in its list of ingredients, Welty opts for bourbon. One full cup of bourbon is mixed into the batter before baking.

What is the Best Type of Bourbon to Use for Baking?

You don’t need to go out and purchase the expensive stuff. Save that for sipping. For baking, stick with brands such as Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, Old Crow, or Evan Williams.

A Few Items You’ll Need Before You Get Started

To prepare this white fruit cake recipe you’ll need two bundt or angel food cake pans. If you don’t own two, you can purchase them from the links I provided (I have linked to the exact bundt cake pan I own). If this is a one-time deal, just borrow one from a friend.

You will also need a pound of candied pineapple, half a pound of red candied cherries and half a pound of green candied cherries. Candied fruit has been preserved in sugar syrup that prevents it from spoiling. You can usually find the candied fruit you need in the grocery store during the holiday season. But if you have trouble locating it, I have included links above where you can purchase it online.

How to Make White Fruit Cake

Before you get started, be sure to set out 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) of unsalted butter to soften. Depending on the temperature of your house, it should take about 30 minutes for the butter to come to room temperature

Step one. Start by preheating the oven to 250 degrees. Grease your pans well and sprinkle with a dusting of flour.

Step two. Cut the candied pineapple into chunks. Slice the cherries in half if they are not already. Reserve about ½ cup of nice-looking whole pecans to decorate the tops of the cakes and set those aside. Chop up the remaining pecans. Dust the fruit and nuts lightly with a little flour to keep them from clustering together in the batter.

Step three. In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together until it is smooth and creamy. Sift together the four, baking soda and salt. With the mixer running on medium, add 2/3 cup of flour to the butter mixture. Then add an egg yolk. Keep alternating flour-egg-flour until all the eggs and flour are mixed into the batter.

Step four. Keep the mixer running. Add the pecans to the batter. Then add 1/3 cup of bourbon. Add the pineapple, then add another 1/3 cup of bourbon. Follow with the cherries and the last remaining 1/3 cup of bourbon. Turn the mixer off.

Step five. Whip the egg whites until still peaks form. If you’re not sure what stiff peaks are, check out my post on how to make meringue. Same technique, we’re just not adding sugar to our egg whites. Fold the whipped eggs whites into the batter.

Step six. Fill each cake pan about 2/3 full. The fruit cakes will rise as they bake. Decorate the tops with nuts.

Step seven. Bake for approximately three hours. Ms. Welty isn’t real specific here. The top of the cake should spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted at the center should come out clean and dry. If the top of the cakes start to brown too soon, loosely lay a sheet of foil over the top. When done, the cake should be a warm golden color.

Step eight. Once the cake pans become cool enough to handle, run a spatula around the sides of each cake, cover the pan with a big plate, then turn the pan over and slip the cake out. When cool, the cake should be stored in a container with a lid or wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

Improving the White Fruit Cake

Ms. Welty advises that you make the cake several weeks ahead of Christmas and keep “improving” it by dribbling the cake with more bourbon from time to time. The bourbon in the cake actually “preserves” it and prevents mold from forming.

I tested this out myself with a leftover half of cake. I left it sitting in a covered cake dome for the duration of Christmas and periodically drizzled some bourbon over it. After four weeks, it still looked as if it was just baked. However, it will be quite boozy, so use your own discretion.

If you’re uneasy about gifting a cake that’s been sitting out for a month, you can store them in the freezer. Simply wrap the cake in a layer of plastic wrap followed by foil.

white fruit cake

 

Parts of this post were first published in the December 2015 / January 2016 issue of eat.drink.MISSISSIPPI.

Looking for more Christmas recipes?

Cranberry White Chocolate Bread PuddingEggnog Cookies with Buttercream Icing - CookingBride.comGingerbread Christmas trifle combines spicy homemade gingerbread cake with eggnog infused whipped cream in this light Christmas dessert.
White Chocolate Cranberry Bread PuddingEggnog Christmas Cookies

Gingerbread Trifle

 

White Fruitcake
Print Pin
5 from 11 votes

Eudora Welty's White Fruit Cake

Moist, white fruit cake is a little lighter than traditional dark fruit cake. This Southern version is "improved" by dribbling it with bourbon instead of rum.
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Cook Time 3 hours
Servings 2 cakes
Calories 139kcal
Author Lisa B.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 large eggs separated
  • 4 cups flour sifted before measuring
  • flour for fruit and nuts
  • 2 teapsoons baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 pound pecan halves
  • 1/2 pound candied red cherries
  • ½ pound candied green cherries
  • 1 pound candied pineapple
  • 1 cup bourbon
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Grease your pans well and sprinkle with a dusting of flour. 
  • Cut the candied pineapple into chunks. Slice the cherries in half if they are not already. Reserve about ½ cup of nice-looking whole pecans to decorate the tops of the cakes and set those aside. Chop up the remaining pecans. Dust the fruit and nuts lightly with a little flour. 
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together until it is smooth and creamy. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. With the mixer running on medium, add 2/3 cup of flour to the butter mixture. Then add an egg yolk. Keep alternating flour-egg-flour until all the eggs and flour are mixed into the batter.
  • Keep the mixer running. Add the chopped pecans to the batter. Then add 1/3 cup of bourbon. Add the pineapple, then add another 1/3 cup of bourbon. Follow with the cherries and the last remaining 1/3 cup of bourbon and the vanilla. Turn the mixer off.
  • Whip the egg whites until still peaks form. Fold the whipped eggs whites into the batter.
  • Arrange the reserved pecan halves around the bottom of both cake pans. Fill each cake pan about 2/3 full. 
  • Bake for approximately three hours. The top of the cake should spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted at the center should come out clean and dry. If the top of the cakes start to brown too soon, loosely lay a sheet of foil over the top. When done, the cake should be a warm golden color.
  • Once the cake pans become cool enough to handle, run a spatula around the sides of each cake, cover the pan with a big plate, then turn the pan over and slip the cake out. When cool, the cake should be stored in a container with a lid or wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it from drying out.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 1.2g | Fat: 3.9g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.8g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 66mg | Fiber: 1.6g | Sugar: 12g | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.7mg


14 Comments

Newsletter

« Creamed Collard Greens
Spicy Jalapeno Cranberry Chutney »

Comments

  1. Celebrating Sweets says

    December 1, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    I have never had fruit cake before. Crazy, right?! This looks fantastic, I’ll have to try it!

    Reply
  2. Patty @ Spoonabilities says

    December 1, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    This fruitcake looks so delicious and so special! This would make such a wonderful gift too.

    Reply
  3. Mary // chattavore.com says

    December 1, 2017 at 8:41 pm

    Now THAT sounds like a fruitcake. It looks and sounds delicious!

    Reply
  4. Emily says

    December 2, 2017 at 3:19 am

    This is so festive, it looks delicious!

    Reply
  5. dontgobaconmyheart says

    December 2, 2017 at 5:17 am

    Oh my goodness this looks so angelic I can’t wait to try it!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  6. Tina says

    October 18, 2018 at 9:37 am

    5 stars
    Would you believe I have never made a fruit cake before? This looks delicious and easy. I’m going to have to give this one a try. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Jessica Formicola says

    October 18, 2018 at 9:46 am

    5 stars
    To be honest, I’ve never actually tried fruit cake! I will for sure be trying this one!

    Reply
  8. Camilla Hawkins says

    October 18, 2018 at 9:53 am

    5 stars
    I have a cup of tea next to me and the only thing missing is a slice of this delicious looking fruit cake – yum yum!

    Reply
  9. Elaine Benoit says

    October 18, 2018 at 10:12 am

    5 stars
    I’m so excited that fruitcake season is almost upon us! I have never had white fruitcake but I can’t wait to try your delicious recipe!

    Reply
  10. Sonal says

    October 18, 2018 at 10:23 am

    5 stars
    I love fruit cake. Your fruit cake looks superbly amazing and so flavorful.

    Reply
  11. Rosina Alaimo says

    December 8, 2019 at 3:25 pm

    I’d like to make this fruitcake in mini loaf pans. How would I adjust the cooking time?

    Reply
    • The Cooking Bride says

      December 8, 2019 at 6:33 pm

      Hi Rosina, I can’t accurately answer that since I’ve never made this in mini pans. I would start checking them at the halfway mark, then every 10 minutes after until cooked through.

      Reply
  12. Joanne knorr says

    December 11, 2019 at 8:53 am

    What can I use to replace the alcohol?

    Reply
    • The Cooking Bride says

      December 11, 2019 at 10:41 am

      You can replace the alcohol with fruit juice. I recommend orange or apple juice.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Who Is the Woman Under the Veil?

I'm Lisa, a first generation Southerner. While I was born and raised in Mississippi, I wasn't raised on Southern food. Then I met and fell in love with a boy who grew up eating his Grandmama's fried chicken and his Mamaw's biscuits and gravy. I realized I had a thing or two to learn about Southern cooking. Read More…

As Seen In:

Most Recent Posts

Cranberry Braised Beef Short Ribs

overhead shot of a glass bowl of snack mix and three individual cup of snack mix on a blue background

Buttery Seasoned Snack Mix

Small jar of strawberry cranberry jam decorated with a checkered ribbon and a stick of cinnamon

Strawberry Cranberry Jam [Christmas Jam]

two copper mule cups of spiced apple cider against a red plaid napkin

Cranberry Spiced Apple Cider

fresh cranberry sauce

Fresh Cranberry Sauce with Bourbon and Vanilla

Most Popular Posts

How to Make Homemade Pink Lemonade

fresh salsa

Garden Fresh Salsa

homemade strawberry jam

How to Make Homemade Strawberry Jam

jar of plum jelly

Homemade Plum Jelly

Sliced Homemade Dill Pickles

Homemade Dill Pickles

Copyright © 2019 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2019 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in