Reduced-Sugar Ginger-Apricot Fruit Cake With Hard Sauce Icing

Whether you make it the day of or months ahead, this fruitcake studded with ginger, apricot, and macadamia nuts is a simple, reasonably sweet holiday dessert.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 411 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tablespoon spiced rum
• ½ cup spiced rum
• cooking spray
• ½ cup Sugar In The Raw®
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ cup Stevia In The Raw®
• ½ cup roughly chopped toasted macadamia nuts
• ½ cup roughly chopped dried apricots
• ½ cup roughly chopped candied ginger

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment so it extends over the 2 long sides of the pan.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, toss 1/4 cup of the flour with macadamia nuts, apricots, and ginger.

Step 3

In another medium bowl, whisk to combine remaining 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.

Step 4

In a large bowl or a stand mixer with the paddle, beat butter, sugar, and stevia until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time just until combined. Gently mix in flour, then fold in fruit and nut mixture.

Step 5

Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then poke cake all over with a skewer. Very slowly pour rum all over cake and let sit 10 minutes before transferring cake to a rack to cool completely, at least 1 hour.

Step 6

Beat butter and stevia in a medium bowl or a stand mixer until smooth. Beat in rum. To serve, spread top of cake with icing, then slice.