Instant Pot Grandma Marie's Fruitcake

Where does fruitcake come from?

Fruitcake dates back to Ancient Rome where it was made with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins mixed into a barley mash. It survived into the Middle Ages when it was common to add in honey, spices, and preserved fruits. Further still, Victorian England added spirits to the already decadent dessert.

Truman Capote even wrote about it in his 1956 short story "A Christmas Memory". Capote's aunt was dubbed "The Fruitcake Lady" as he wrote about her making the cake once "Fruitcake weather" had arrived. The ancient dessert is a traditional wedding cake served in Britain, and there is even an annual fruitcake toss in Colorado.

The cake began to be mass produced in 1913 by Collins Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas which is still sold today. They began selling via mail order in 1947. If you would like to read more about the history of fruitcake head over to Smithsonian Magazine.

A Family Tradition

The recipe this is based on one that has been in my family for at least the last couple of generations. My soon-to-be 98-year-old Grandma Marie passed this on to me, and she recalls maybe getting it from her mother-in-law back in the day.

My grandmother would make this every year for the Christmas. My grandfather would give it away as gifts at work, and my Grandma Marie would sell it to neighbors during the holidays. As a girl I was convinced the green cherries tasted way different from the red ones. Of course, I thought the red ones tasted far superior! LOL It really wasn't Christmas without it!

Prepping the fruits & nuts

In a large glass mixing bowl combine all of the ingredients below.

• 1 cup walnuts
• ¾ cup pecan halves
• ½ cup almonds, slivered
• 1 cup hazelnuts

Next add in the candied and dried fruit.

• ½ cup each red and green candied cherries
• ½ cup dried or candied pineapple
• ½ cup candied lemon peel
• 1 ¾ cup raisins

Add ½ cup of dark rum and marinate overnight. The original recipe called for sherry, but I prefer dark rum so I used this. I have also had fruitcake made with tequila which is also delicious. Mix well with a spoon, or gloved hands. You can marinate for up to one week. If you marinate longer than add another ½ cup of rum half way through the week.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight, or up to one week.

Making the cake batter

In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg then set aside. In another large mixing bowl, cream together with a hand mixer the sugar, softened butter, and vanilla. If you only have a stand mixer then prepare the cake batter, but use a larger bowl later when adding in the fruit/nut mixture.

Add the eggs in one at a time with the had mixer.

Fold in the marinated fruit and nut mixture with a spoon or spatula until well combined.

What kind of pan should I use?

Grandma Marie's original recipe has no less than five options for baking pans with five different cooking times. She used rectangular pans, shortening cans, and muffins pans for example. I wanted to share the same type of flexibility so I used three different things to cook my fruitcake in.

• Mini loaf pans (roughly 5.7 x 3.3 x 1.8)
• Fluted bundt pan
• Silicone egg bite tray (can be stacked off set, do not overfill)

Cooking the fruitcake

I cooked my fruitcake in my 6-quart Instant Pot Duo. I cooked three batches, and in each I used two cups of water in my inner liner with the rack. Spray the inside of each cooking vessel with PAM or oil. See cooking times below.

• Mini loaf pans - filled with 1 ½ cups of batter or within ½ inch from top of the pan. Cooking Time: 60 minutes High Pressure (normal) with a 10 minute NPR
• Bundt pan - fill normally. Cooking Time: 60 minutes High Pressure (normal) with a full NPR
• Silicone egg bite trays - fill almost to top leaving a short amount of space. Cooking Time: 40 minutes High Pressure (normal) with 10 minute NPR.

Can I bake this in the oven?

Of course, you can! Grease your pan, and line with parchment paper.

10x4 pan - 3 hours at 275-degrees

8.5x4.5x2.5 loaf pan - 2 hours 275-degrees

4.5x3x2 loaf pan - 1 ½ hours 300-degrees

1 pound shortening can - 2 hours 300-degrees

2-21/2 inch muffin pan cups - 1 hour 300-degrees

Once finished, cool completely on a wire rack. Soak cheesecloth in dark rum. Remove from baking trays, cover in cheesecloth and aluminum foil. Store in a cool place for one week.

Open and sprinkle with additional rum. At this point you can call it done then give away as gifts, store in a cool place, or store in the freezer. Or, you can continue to marinate with rum by sprinkling once per week for a few weeks more.