Imagine walking into a cozy cottage where the air smells like freshly baked sourdough fruit cake. Every bite is a yummy mix of sweet fruits and soft, tangy cake. Make your home feel warm and inviting with our Sourdough Fruit Cake recipe—a tasty treat to share with your family and friends!

This cake is perfect for any occasion, especially the holiday season, made with dried fruit, sourdough starter, and a touch of liqueur of your choice(or apple juice).
Our favorite liqueur flavor is Peach Brandy.
It makes this fruitcake superb!!
You can also substitute the brandy for apple juice or apple cider.

Why You Will Love This Sourdough Fruit Cake Recipe
Delicious Flavor: The cake is a perfect blend of dried fruit like golden raisins, tart cherries, and dried apricots. The addition of a spice mixture, including cinnamon and ginger, along with orange zest, makes every bite of this sourdough fruit cake a delightful experience.
Sourdough Starter: Using a white sourdough starter or discard gives this sourdough cake its tangy flavor. The sourdough sponge, left to ferment overnight, adds a unique taste and helps the cake rise naturally, reducing the phytic acid content and making it easier to digest.
Simple Ingredients: This recipe uses common ingredients like all-purpose flour, sugar, and butter. You’ll also need dried fruits, a little liqueur of your choice (or apple juice), and some nuts. It’s easy to prepare with tools like a stand mixer, making it accessible to everyone.
Versatility: You can customize this traditional cake by trying different recipes with various fruits, nuts, and spices. Whether you want a rich Christmas cake or a lighter fruit bread, this recipe can be adapted to suit your taste.

Tips for the Best Sourdough Fruit Cake
- Adjust for Different Flavors: Experiment with different liqueurs, such as rum or triple sec, for a unique twist. You can also replace the brandy with apple juice or apple cider for a non-alcoholic version.
- Use Fresh, Quality Ingredients: The quality of your dried fruits, nuts, and spices will directly impact the flavor of your cake. Use the freshest ingredients available.
- Active Sourdough Starter: Ensure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly before using it in the recipe. This will help the cake rise and improve its texture. But you can use discard as well if your starter is not active and you must make this recipe without waiting. The result will be less tang and less rise but the final cake will still be great tasting.

FAQ
What is Sourdough Fruit Cake?
Sourdough fruit cake is a traditional cake made with a sourdough bread starter, dried fruits, and spices. The sourdough sponge gives it a tangy flavor, and it is often enjoyed during the holiday season.
How long should I age the fruit cake?
While this cake is delicious and fresh, it becomes even better with age! Wrap the cooled cake tightly in parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 weeks. For a deeper flavor, brush the cake with a bit of brandy or orange juice as it ages for up to 4 weeks.
Can I make this recipe without alcohol?
Absolutely! Instead of soaking the fruits in brandy or rum, you can use orange juice, apple cider, or even brewed tea. These alternatives keep the fruits moist and flavorful without alcohol.
How Should I Store Sourdough Fruit Cake?
Store your sourdough fruit cake in an airtight container at room temperature, allowing it to age for a few weeks. For longer storage, wrap the cake in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to three months.
Can I use sourdough discard for this fruit cake?
Yes, you can absolutely use sourdough discard! It adds a subtle tang and enhances the cake’s texture without overwhelming the flavor. If you have an active starter, that works too, but discard is a great way to minimize waste and give your baked goods a delicious depth.
What type of dried fruits and nuts work best for sourdough fruit cake?
This recipe is versatile so you can use a mix of your favorites! Popular options include raisins, dried cranberries, chopped apricots, and candied orange peel for fruits. For nuts, walnuts, pecans, or almonds add a nice crunch. Just make sure to chop larger pieces into smaller bits for even distribution.

Tools you may need
- Loaf Pans x2
- Mixing Bowls
- Stand Mixer
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Danish Wish or Wooden Spoons
- Baking Pan for a liner *optional
- Cooling rack
- Optional: Parchment paper or cake liners
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Ingredients You Need to Make Sourdough Fruit Cake
Dry Ingredients
- Dried Blueberries: Dried blueberries retain their sweet and slightly tangy flavor, adding a burst of fruity goodness.
- Golden Raisins: These dried fruits add sweetness and texture.
- Raisins: Adds sweetness and texture
- Dried Apricots: Add a fruity flavor that balances the other fruits.
- Dried Tart Cherries: Adds fruity flavors and texture.
- Crystallized Ginger: Ginger cooked in sugar syrup and coated with sugar provides a sweet and spicy kick.
- All-Purpose Unbleached Flour: This versatile flour, made from a blend of hard and soft wheat, offers a balanced protein content that provides both structure and tenderness.
- Sugar Cane: adds a rich sweetness to the cake.
- Ground Clove, Allspice, Cinnamon, and Ginger: These spices add warmth and depth, enhancing the overall flavor of the cake.
- Salt: Enhances all the other flavors.
- Baking Soda: Helps the cake rise, ensuring a light texture
Wet Ingredients
- Lemon, Lime, and Orange Zest and Juice: These citrus elements add a bright, fresh flavor that balances the richness of the cake.
- Orange Marmalade: Enhances the fruity notes of the cake.
- Peach Brandy: Adds depth to the flavor, or use apple juice for a non-alcoholic option.
- Eggs: provide structure and richness to the bread dough, making it tender and moist.
- Salted Butter: Adds a smooth, rich flavor.
- Mulled Cider, Apple Cider, or Juice: These liquids add both flavor and moisture, making the cake juicy and flavorful.
- Sourdough Starter: This mixture of fermented flour and water, activated by wild yeast and bacteria, naturally leavens the bread dough, giving it a distinct tangy taste.

How to Make Sourdough Fruit Cake
The Day Before:
Step 1: Prepare the Fruit Mixture
Mix your dried fruits, including golden raisins, raisins, tart cherries, apricots, blueberries, and crystallized ginger, with a liquid of choice, such as liqueur or apple juice. Cover the bowl and let the mixture sit overnight to allow the flavors to meld.
Step 2: Make the Sourdough Sponge
Combine bread flour, apple cider or apple juice, and sourdough starter or discard in a large bowl. Cover the bowl and let it ferment overnight, ideally for 8 to 12 hours, to develop the unique flavor.
The Next Day:
Step 3: Mix the Wet Ingredients
Cream together sugar and softened salted butter in a large bowl until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in orange zest, orange juice, and orange marmalade.
Step 4: Combine the Sourdough Sponge and Fruit Mixture
Mix the fermented sourdough sponge with the soaked fruit mixture. Stir in additional zest, juice, and a flavorful liquid like mulled cider or apple juice. Fold in toasted nuts for extra crunch.
Step 5: Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice until well blended.
Step 6: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients
Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Avoid overmixing to maintain a tender texture.
Step 7: Prepare the Pans
Preheat the oven to a low temperature. Grease and line the bottoms of your loaf pans with parchment paper. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.


Baking the Cake
Step 8: Bake the Cake
Place the loaf pans in the center of the oven and bake at **275°F for 2 1/2 hours, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Alternatively, you can bake at 300°F for 1 1/2 hours for a faster result, but slower baking ensures even cooking. **Baking at 275°F yields a denser, more traditional fruitcake texture, while 300°F produces a lighter texture.
Step 9: Cool the Cakes
After baking, immediately baste the cakes with additional liqueur or apple juice. Allow the cakes to cool on wire racks before removing them from the pans.

Storing the Cake
- Room Temperature: After cooling, store the cake in an airtight container. For best flavor, age the cake for 2-4 weeks, brushing with additional liqueur, apple juice, or apple cider weekly.
- Freezing: For longer storage, wrap the cooled loaf tightly in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
- Refrigeration: For short-term storage, refrigerate the wrapped cake in an airtight container for up to 2-4 weeks. Warm it slightly before serving to refresh the flavors.
Serving Ideas
This sourdough fruit cake is delicious on its own, but you can make it even better by serving it with a dollop of whipped cream or a drizzle of maple syrup.
For a festive touch, sprinkle some powdered sugar on top and add fresh fruit.
The cake’s moist texture and rich flavors make it a perfect treat for any occasion.
For even more delicious, homemade treats, explore our favorite cozy recipes below;
- Cottage Inspired Sourdough Starter Recipe
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Cranberry Orange Bread
- Easy Mulled Apple Cider
- Hot Cocoa Mix
We hope you love this Sourdough Fruit Cake as much as we do. If you decide to whip up a loaf, please tag us @themoderndaycottage on Instagram and leave a comment below. And don’t forget to 📌 pin this recipe to your 📌 Pinterest board for future baking adventures. Happy Baking

Sourdough Fruit Cake Recipe (starter or discard)
Get into the holiday spirit with this traditional sourdough fruit cake. You can make it with sourdough starter or discard. This cake is filled with dried fruits and has a soft, rich taste that’s great for any celebration. Whether you’re baking for a special occasion or just for fun, this sourdough fruit cake will be a hit. Follow our simple recipe to make this classic dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of dried golden raisins
- 1 cup of dried raisins
- 1 cup of tart dried cherries
- 1/2 cup of dried blueberries
- 1 cup of crystallized ginger
- 1/2 cup of dried apricots
- 1 cup of peach brandy
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon, 1 lime, and 1 orange
- 1 cup of bread flour
- 5 cups all purpose unbleached flour
- *1 1/2 cups of apple cider or juice (*Reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid for the sponge mixture.)
- 1 cup of sourdough starter or discard (If using sourdough discard, consider adding 1 tsp of baking powder to help with the rise.)
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/4 tsp of ground clove
- 1/2 tsp of ground allspice
- 2 tsp of ceylon cinnamon
- 1 tsp of ground ginger
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup of chopped toasted pecans
- 1/2 cup of chopped and toasted walnuts
- 1/2 cup of orange marmalade
Instructions
The Day Before:
1. Prepare the Fruit Mixture: In a medium-sized bowl, mix your dried fruit (golden raisins, raisins, tart cherries, apricots, blueberries, and crystallized ginger) with 1 cup of liqueur of your choice or apple juice. Cover and let it sit overnight so the flavors meld.
2. Make the Sourdough Sponge: In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of bread flour, 1 cup of hard cider or apple juice, and 1 cup of white sourdough starter (If using sourdough discard, consider adding 1 tsp of baking powder to help with the rise). Cover and let it ferment overnight, preferably for 8 to 12 hours. This fermentation is crucial for developing the cake’s unique flavor.
The Next Day:
1. Mix the Wet Ingredients: In another large bowl, cream together 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of softened salted butter until light and fluffy. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the orange zest and juice, along with 1/2 cup of orange marmalade.
2. Combine the Sourdough Sponge and Fruit Mixture: Add the fermented sourdough sponge to the soaked fruit mixture. Stir in the zest, juice, and 1/2 cup of mulled cider or apple juice. Fold in 1 cup of toasted nuts for extra crunch.
3. Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together 5 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of ginger, 1/4 tsp of cloves, and 1/4 tsp of allspice.
4. Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can affect the texture of the cake.
5. Prepare the Pans: Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F. Grease and line the bottoms of two 9-inch loaf pans or tea loaf pans with parchment paper. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
Baking the Cake:
1. Bake the Cake: Place the loaf pans in the oven center and bake for 2 1/2 hours at 275 degrees F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. You can also bake the cakes at 300 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours, but a slower baking time results in a more evenly baked cake.
2. Cool the Cakes: Once the cake bakes, baste it with more liqueur or apple juice immediately. Let the cooled loaf cakes rest on wire racks before removing them from the pans.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 573Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 326mgCarbohydrates: 87gFiber: 4gSugar: 42gProtein: 10g
“The Modern Day Cottage” are not dietitians or nutritionists, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
After soaking the dried fruit, will most/all of the liquid be absorbed? Should I decant any extra or mix it into the rest of the dough?
Hi Brianna! 😊
Great question! After soaking the dried fruit, most of the liquid will be absorbed, but you may have a little left over. Yes, go ahead and mix any remaining liquid right into the rest of the ingredients—it adds extra flavor and moisture to the fruitcake. We’ll make a note of this helpful tip in the instructions—thank you for bringing it up!
We hope you absolutely love your fruitcake, and please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions. Happy baking and enjoy!
Happy Baking,
Ruby Ann & Emily
One last question. In the ingredients it mentions 1 cup of butter but the instructions list 1/2 cup of butter.
Hi Brianna,
Thank you for catching that! The correct amount is 1 cup of salted butter. We’ve updated the instructions to reflect this. Let us know if you have any other questions—happy baking! 😊
Warmly,
Emily and Ruby Ann Rider
Ingredients calls for 1/2 cup
Instructions calls for 1 cup of sour dough starter
Which is it
Hi Laura! 😊 Thanks for catching that! I truly appreciate your attention to detail. The correct amount for this recipe is 1 cup. I’ll update the recipe to make sure it’s consistent across both the ingredients list and instructions.
If you have any other questions or need help while making the recipe, feel free to reach out. Happy baking! 🍞✨
When do you add the Turbinado sugar? I read through the recipe a few times and it does not state when to add it?
Never mind I see where you added it. You called it brown sugar in the steps, and I got confused.
😊 Great question, and thank you for catching that. While brown sugar works beautifully in this recipe and adds a deeper, molasses-like flavor, we used granulated sugar during testing for our blog post to ensure consistent results.
We’ve also made this fruit cake with brown sugar before, and it turns out just as delicious! If you’d like to try it with brown sugar, go for it—you’ll still get a wonderful result. We’ll make a note in the post to clarify this. Thanks again for pointing that out, and happy baking! 🍰✨
Warmly,
Emily & Ruby Ann
Hi Brooklyn! 😊 Thank you for your question. The sugar called for in this recipe is granulated sugar, not turbinado sugar. The recipe instructions in both the blog post and the recipe card clearly state when to add the sugar—it’s mixed in with the wet ingredients during the preparation process.
If you’d like to use turbinado sugar, it can be sprinkled on top before baking for a delightful crunch, but it’s not required for the recipe as written. We’ll make sure this is clear in the post to avoid any confusion.
We really appreciate your feedback! Let us know if you have any other questions. Happy baking! 🍰✨
Warmly,
Emily & Ruby Ann
Hi. I’m confused. In the list of ingredients you say 6 c of bread flour in the instructions you say 2 cups of white all purpose flour.
Ingredient list 4 eggs, instructions 3 eggs etc etc. You don’t say when to fold in butter mixture….I hope mine turns out fine. Luckily I’m not a new baker and I figured it out ….I hope.
Dear Bronwen,
Thank you so much for catching those typos! We really appreciate your attention to detail. We’ve made the necessary corrections to the post. Here’s what needed fixing:
– It’s actually 4 eggs, not 3.
– For the flour, the recipe calls for a total of 6 cups—5 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour and 1 cup of bread flour to make the sourdough sponge.
– And lastly, you should fold in the melted butter when combining all the wet ingredients, which is Step 3 under “The Next Day.”
We hope everything turns out perfectly for you! Thanks again for your patience and for being so understanding. 😊