This is not your mother’s fruit cake recipe! These irresistible Fruit Cake Muffins are a delectable fresh take on a classic that appeals to everyone!
![Delicious, and very easy to make, fruit cake muffins, filled with dried figs and dried cranberries. Placed on white plate.](https://combinegoodflavors.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/fruit-cake-muffinsD75_6286-scaled.jpg)
I know that fruit cake can be divisive; some people love it, and some just don’t, but this recipe will change that forever! These incredible Fruit Cake Muffins have a little something for everyone!
They are soft yet chewy and fruity, and they have just the right amount of sweetness to be the perfect pairing with your delicious cup of joe.
Bake up a batch for breakfast, snacking, or dessert because any time of day is a good time to change your mind about fruit cake!
🥘 Ingredients
- Eggs: Eggs give the muffin batter richness and body. Remember to choose fresh eggs for the best flavor; if you’re not sure if the egg is fresh just gently drop it in water. Fresh eggs sink whereas old eggs float.
- Granulated Sugar: This sweetener works to create a nice chewy texture.
- Muscovado or Turbinado Sugar: This adds an irresistibly complex sugary note to the fruity muffins.
- Milk: Whole milk is a great choice, but you can also use lactose-free or plant-based milk if you need it.
- Sunflower or Canola Oil: A little plant-based fat adds flavor and richness to the recipe.
- Baking Powder: This helps create a nice texture and rise in these fruit cake bites.
- Orange Juice and Orange Zest: Fresh orange juice brings a sweet citrus taste that makes these muffins shine with vibrant orange flavor! Since you need both juice and zest, try grabbing a few oranges and juicing them fresh.
- Vanilla Extract: This brings a smooth and sweet note to round out all the fruity notes in this bake.
- Flour: For this tasty muffin recipe, choose all-purpose flour.
- Dried Figs and Dried Cranberries: Dried figs are so sweet and wonderful that they are perfect for baking! Dried cranberries are nice and tart, so the pair makes an ideal contrast!
- Cinnamon and Nutmeg: This one-two punch of warm spice rounds out the batter with a fantastic sweet and spicy taste!
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
- Step One: Beat the eggs, then continue mixing while spooning both sugars into the mixture. The mixture will become nice and fluffy.
- Step Two: Add the milk, oil, vanilla extract, orange zest, and orange juice and mix. Add the flour, chopped dried fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder. Mix at medium speed until combined.
- Step Three: Use a large ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups about two-thirds full with batter.
- Step Four: Bake.
- Step Five: Remove the fully baked muffins from the oven and allow them to cool on a cooling rack. Enjoy!
🌡️ Storage
These muffins are just as easy to store and enjoy as they are to bake and the leftovers make an ideal breakfast or snack!
To save any extra muffins for later, allow them to cool and then transfer them to an airtight container. Keep them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Alternatively, you can freeze them. To freeze, wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw them in the fridge overnight.
👩🏻🍳 Substitution
Do you want to make this delicious treat gluten-free? Then replace the wheat flour with two parts gluten-free flour plus 1 part gluten-free starch flour and one binder.
Gluten-free flours: Buckwheat, amaranth, millet, quinoa, almond, soy, chickpea.
Starch flours: Potato, rice, corn, whole wheat
Binders: chia seeds, flax seeds, locust bean gum, guar flour, tapioca flour, agar-agar, eggs, gelatin.
🍇 Variations
If you want a slightly less tart flavor, try trading the dried cranberries for raisins. It’s a simple sweet fruity flavor. You can also do half and half if you just can’t choose! Or try dates instead of figs, you really can’t go wrong mixing and playing with the fruity addition in this recipe.
If you want to kick up the bake a notch, why not spike it? Try swapping the vanilla for an orange liqueur, rum, or rum extract. This adds a wonderful note of warmth that cannot be beaten!
🍽 Equipment
- Muffin Pan and Liners: Feel free to have fun with the muffin liners. You can pick bright colors and patterns to bring a smile to these fruity treats!
- Mixer with Whisk Attachment: A mixer makes this recipe so easy, but in a pinch, you can mix this by hand.
- Ice Cream Scoop: For dishing the batter.
- Cutting Board and Knife: Grab a paring knife or chef knife for slicing the citrus and dried fruit in the yummy recipe.
- Cooling Rack
🙋🏻 FAQ
Fruit cake muffins are great at any time of day! They’re awesome for breakfast or as a lunchtime side dish, and they make a perfect sweet snack or light dessert.
Whatever time you enjoy these amazing muffins, pair them with a warm coffee or black tea for the perfect mash-up of sweet, fruity, and bold flavors. If you want a cool drink with the muffin, try it with apple juice. The sweet apple perfectly contrasts the citrusy muffin!
Unfortunately, these fruity muffins are not naturally gluten-free; however, if you need a gluten-free option, try trading the flour for King Arthur All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour.
Other Recipes for You to Try
- Banana Oatmeal Muffins {three ingredients}
- Apple Yogurt Breakfast Granola
- Gluten-Free Cinnamon Granola
- Easy Rice Pudding Breakfast
- Apricot Compote
- Apple Compote
- Biscoff Granola
- Lavender Lemon Muffins
- Red Velvet Cupcakes without Buttermilk
- Baileys Salted Caramel Cupcakes
- Strawberry Cobbler
If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest or Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @combinegoodflavors and hashtag #combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.
📖 Recipe
Fruit Cake Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin mold
- Muffin paper cups
- Hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment
- Ice cream scoop large
- Saucepan
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
Ingredients
- 1 Egg
- ¼ cup Granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Muscovado or turbinado sugar dark brown sugar for a more intense flavor
- ⅛ cup Milk
- ½ cup Sunflower or canola oil
- 2-3 tablespoon Orange juice
- Orange zest from ½ orange
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
- ½ cup Flour
- ¼ cup Dried figs
- ⅛ cup Dried cranberry or raisins
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ½ tablespoon Baking powder
Instructions
- Add 1 Egg to a bowl and beat it with a mixer. Add ¼ cup Granulated sugar and ¼ cup Muscovado or turbinado sugar by the spoonful, till they become fluffy (mix for 3-5 min).1 Egg, ¼ cup Granulated sugar, ¼ cup Muscovado or turbinado sugar
- Then add ⅛ cup Milk, ½ cup Sunflower or canola oil, 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract, and Orange zest , 2-3 tablespoon Orange juice and mix a bit, then add ½ cup Flour ¼ cup Dried figs (chooped), ⅛ cup Dried cranberry, ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg , and ½ tablespoon Baking powder, and combine everything well with the mixer on medium speed.⅛ cup Milk, ½ cup Sunflower or canola oil, 2-3 tablespoon Orange juice, Orange zest, 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract, ½ cup Flour, ¼ cup Dried figs, ⅛ cup Dried cranberry, ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg, ½ tablespoon Baking powder
- Put the muffin cups on a baking tray or in a muffin rack and fill ⅔ with the muffin batter. As the batter is very runny, I used a large ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin tins.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C / 400 °F for 20 minutes.
- Once baked, leave to cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For further information, check Safe Food Handling - FDA.
Alexandra
I was craving something sweet to go with my cup of coffee, and I came across your recipe. These muffins came out perfectly - love the delicate spices and delicious fruit filling.
Nora
Yeah, they go amazingly well with coffee! Thank you, Alexandra!