Eudora Welty's White Fruitcake (2024)

Moist, white fruitcake is a little lighter than traditional dark fruitcake. This Southern version is “improved” by dribbling it with bourbon instead of rum.

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Several notions may come to mind when you think of Eudora Welty — author, Pulitzer Prize winner, famous Mississippian. But, fruitcake? Yes. I am, of course, referring to the kind of fruitcake laced with candied fruit and nuts, spiked with spirits, and eaten during the holidays.

Welty frequently made her signature white fruitcake, passed down from a family recipe, to share with her closest friends during the holidays. Sometime in the 1980’s, Welty included the recipe in her annual Christmas card. Since then, Eudora Welty’s White Fruitcake has been published numerous times in magazines all over the world.

What is the difference betweena white fruitcake and a dark fruitcake?

The main difference between a white fruitcake and a dark fruitcake are the sugars. Traditional dark fruitcake is made with brown sugar and molasses. White fruitcake is made with white granulated sugar. Some recipes also call for light corn syrup. One ingredient remains constant, however — booze.

While most fruitcakes include dark rum in its list of ingredients, Welty opts for bourbon. One full cup of bourbon is mixed into the batter before baking.

What is the best type of bourbon to use for baking?

You don’t need to go out and purchase the expensive stuff. Save that for sipping. For baking, stick with brands such as Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, Old Crow, or Evan Williams.

How to make white fruitcake

Before you get started, be sure to set out the butter to soften. Depending on the temperature of your house, it should take about 30 minutes for the butter to come to room temperature.

Start by preheating the oven to 250 degrees. Grease your pans well with cooking spray and sprinkle with a dusting of flour. This will prevent the cake from sticking to the pan and make it easier to release later.

Cut the candied pineapple into chunks. Slice the cherries in half if they are not already. Reserve about a ½ cup of nice-looking whole pecans to decorate the tops of the cakes and set those aside. Chop up the remaining pecans. Dust the fruit and nuts lightly with a little flour to keep them from clustering together in the batter or sinking to the bottom.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together until it is smooth and creamy. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer running on medium, add 2/3 cup of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Then add an egg yolk. Keep alternating flour-egg-flour until all the eggs and flour are mixed into the batter.

Keep the mixer running. Add the pecans to the batter. Then add 1/3 cup of the bourbon. Add the pineapple, then add another 1/3 cup of bourbon. Follow with the cherries and the last remaining 1/3 cup of bourbon. Turn the mixer off.

Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. If you’re not sure what stiff peaks are, check out my post on how to make meringue. Same technique, we’re just not adding sugar to our egg whites. Fold the whipped eggs whites into the batter.

Fill each cake pan about 2/3 full. The fruitcakes will rise as they bake. Decorate the tops with nuts. Bake for approximately three hours. Ms. Welty isn’t real specific here. The top of the cake should spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted near the center should come out clean and dry. If the top of the cakes start to brown too soon, loosely lay a sheet of foil over the top. When done, the cake should be a warm golden color.

Once the cake pans become cool enough to handle, run a spatula around the sides of each cake, cover the pan with a big plate, then turn the pan over and slip the cake out.

“Improving” the white fruitcake

Ms. Welty advises that you make the cake several weeks ahead of Christmas and keep “improving” it by dribbling the cake with more bourbon from time to time. The bourbon in the cake actually “preserves” it and prevents mold from forming.

I tested this out myself with a leftover half of cake. I left it sitting in a covered cake dome for the duration of Christmas and periodically drizzled some bourbon over it. After four weeks, it still looked as if it was just baked. However, it will be quite boozy, so use your own discretion.

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