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A beautifully baked, traditional Southern white fruitcake decorated with red and green candied cherries and pecan halves, surrounded by two smaller loaf pan fruitcakes.

Traditional Southern White Fruitcake

A massive, heirloom Southern white fruitcake packed with golden raisins, candied cherries, pineapple, and pecans in a rich, buttery pound cake base.
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Equipment

  • Extra-large mixing bowl
  • Heavy-duty stand mixer
  • 2 large tube pans or bundt pans
  • Stiff wooden spoon or spatula

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb 4 sticks butter, softened
  • 1 lb 3 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 6 large eggs separated
  • 1 qt 4 cups pecan halves, chopped
  • 1 lb 3 cups white (golden) raisins
  • 1 lb candied pineapple chopped
  • 2 lbs candied cherries red and green mix
  • 1 lb 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp or 2 small bottles lemon extract

Instructions
 

  • In an extra-large bowl, combine the pecans, raisins, pineapple, and cherries. Take a small handful of the measured flour and toss with the fruit/nut mixture until well dredged.
  • In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until incredibly fluffy and absolutely no grit remains when rubbed between your fingers.
  • Add the 6 beaten egg yolks to the butter mixture and beat well.
  • Whisk the remaining flour and baking powder together. Add to the butter mixture, followed by the lemon extract. Beat until smooth.
  • Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a heavy spoon, manually fold the flour-dredged fruit and nuts into the thick batter.
  • In a separate clean bowl, beat the 6 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the heavy batter as the final step.
  • Preheat oven to 250°F. Grease and flour two large tube pans (or a combination of tube and loaf pans).
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 3 hours at 250°F, or until a long skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Cool completely before removing from pans. Store in a tight container for several days or weeks to age.

Notes

Smaller Pans: If baking in smaller loaf pans or muffin tins, reduce the baking time significantly. Check smaller pans after 1.5 hours.
Dry Cake Trick: If an aged cake seems dry, wrap it in a tea towel, place it in a tight container, and lay fresh apple slices on top of the towel for a day to rehydrate it.