Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake is a simple recipe that will save you time with your Holiday, Christmas and New Year’s baking.
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Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake
Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake
Fruitcake gets a bad rap, every year. People either love it or they hate it; I don’t think there is an “in between.” do you? I don’t even know anyone who has never received a Fruitcake during the holidays.
In one of my food groups, I saw Kenneth Goh’s recipe for a Three Ingredient Fruitcake. He got it from another site, whole claims that it is “a Blue Ribbon Award Winning Recipe.”
Like Kenneth, I was skeptical about how this recipe would turn out, especially since I was planning to convert it to a Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake.
Cast of Ingredients to Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake
This recipe uses no eggs and cooks in a Pressure Cooker, which is a moist environment. My concern was the fluffiness and texture of the cake. Fruit is already moist and I did not want the cake overly moist. Would it work?
I am also not a fruitcake lover, so I don’t have a preference one way or the other. I do, however, love dried fruit. That is just an aside. Now you know.
This recipe uses Self Rising Flour. If you don’t have any on hand, don’t worry, you can simply make your own Self Rising Flour with my How to Make Self Rising Flour recipe.
Combine Juice and Fruit
If you use dried fruit rather than candied fruit, make sure the dried fruit is naturally dried and not sugar-coated. If using dried fruit with sugar, rinse the fruit with water to remove the sugar.
Sugar coated dried fruit is cloyingly sweet and the cake will probably be inedible. Some people like to use Paradise Fruit Cake Mix and a bit of dried fruit, just to get some more color. Make sure you first rinse the fruit in some water to remove some of the sugar.
I used dried kiwi, mango, apricot, apples, peaches, cranberries, raisins and cherries.
The original Three Ingredient Fruitcake recipe calls for Iced Coffee, Tea or Fruit Juice. I chose orange juice for this recipe, because, that is what I had in the house. Pineapple Juice, I think, would be terrific.
I am now really curious about using Iced Coffee; that sounds yummy. I may need to make another Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake soon.
In a leak-proof 40 oz container or a heavy duty storage baggie, combine the juice with the Mixed Fruit.
Refrigerate Over Night
Refrigerate the Dried and/or Mixed Fruit with the juice overnight. The fruit will soak up the juice and make the fruit very plump.
Soaked Mixed Fruit
The Dried and/or Mixed Fruit will be very plump, with little juice left in the Lock N Lock 40 oz Storage Container.
With so many options and with this easy recipe, you can make Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcakes one after the other. Try some with Iced Coffee and different types of juice.
Add Self Rising Flour and Fruit to a Bowl
To keep things simple and easy for you, I used Self Rising Flour. If you don’t have any Self Rising Flour, check out my How to Make Your Own Self Rising Flour recipe.
Don’t Scoop from the Container or Bag of Flour
I don’t want you to end up with a rubbery or a brick Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake and then blame the recipe.
Proper measurement of Flour is essential!
Add the Self Rising Flour and Soaked Fruit to a Medium Mixing Bowl.
Gently Combine Fruit, Juice, and Flour
Gently combine the Self Rising Flour and the Soaked Mixed Fruit. The batter will be very, very thick.
If you want to add nuts, add them in here.
Grease and Flour Push Pan
Generously grease and flour your Push Pan. Don’t use Parchment Rounds for this particular cake. You will end up with the Parchment Rounds very stuck on to the bottom of your Push Pan.
Add the batter to the Prepared Push Pan
The batter will be thick and wet. Place it into the prepared Push Pan and level the top.
Place water and trivet into Pressure Cooker
Add some water and place a Trivet into your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
Lower Cake Pan into Pressure Cooker
Using a Foil Sling, lower the cake into the Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
Allow the cake to cool
The Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake will be very, very dense and heavy. Allow it to cool for a bit before removing the outer ring.
Push the pan ring down to expose the Fruitcake
Any jar that will fit into the opening of the Push Pan will work.
I used this LamsonSharp Chef’s Slotted Turner to remove the Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake to a plate. It’s super thin and fits easily between the Fruitcake and the base of the pan.
It is not a good idea to cut the Fruitcake on top of the Push Pan base, as it will scratch and sticking will become a problem.
Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake
This Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake makes a beautiful presentation Since there is no alcohol, kids can enjoy the Fruitcake too! Of course, you can always soak the fruit in rum if you like!
Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake
I wanted more traditional slices, so I first cut the cake in half and then cut slices from the inside to the outside. For more holiday baking, see my Pressure Cooker Holiday Corny Cornbread, Pressure Cooker Jewish Noodle Kugel, and others at ThisOldGal.com.
Remember, this is a very heavy and dense cake. People report that toasting slices of this Fruitcake make the cake super yummy.
Enjoy!
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot DUO 6 Quart
- J.A. Henckels 8 inch Chef’s Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Cilio Olivewood Spatula
- LamsonSharp Chef’s Slotted Turner – I totally love this spatula!
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board
- 3.5 Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
- Lock N Lock 40 oz Storage Container
- 6″ Fat Daddio’s Push Pan
- Self Rising Flour
- Paradise Fruit Cake Mix
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Here is your handy printable recipe:
Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake
Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake
Print Pin Save RateIngredients
- 12 oz/425g Dried Fruit and /or Mixed Fruit
- 2 cups/240g Self Rising Flour + 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 2 cups/500ml Fruit Juice or Ice Coffee
- 1 Stainless Steel Short Legged Trivet
Instructions
- Rinse Dried Fruit in water to remove any sugar coating (if necessary). Soak fruit in juice overnight.
- Mix Flour, Fruit and Juice together and pour into greased Push Pan.
- Add 1.5 cups of water to your Pressure Cooker cooking pot and place a trivet. Lower cake into the Pressure Cooker.
- Lock on lid and close Pressure Valve. Cook at High Pressure for 1 hour.
- When Beep is heard, allow a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release.
Notes
PIN this Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake!
Pressure Cooker Three Ingredient Holiday Fruitcake
I want to try this fruitcake in my instant pot it doesn’t have a push pan and a little considered about putting water in the bottom of it
I just re-read the whole recipe and did go review how to measure the flour. Maybe my poor results were because of the way I measured the flour! Bad on me!
The flavor of this cake was almost like eating fresh fruit. But the texture was way off. Nothing like cake. The texture was almost rubbery, kinda gelatinous.
After reading “How to measure flour” – I am going to try this cake again! I love dried fruit fruitcake but most recipes make a HUGE amount. Candied fruitcake is just revolting.
Stay tuned for my next results – when I measure the flour correctly!
I made 3 fruit cakes…two baked in the oven and one using the Instant Pot. I made them a month ago and spritzed with spiced rum once or twice a week. The fruit cake from the instant pot is so much more moist and tastes good too.
If I do this again will use the instant pot and add a few spices to the recipe.
Thank you, SLB. Jill
Hi
I am going to try this fruit cake recipe. My push pan in 7 x 3 can I still use the same amount of ingredients into this pan? And is the cooking time the same or shortened?
I love the precise weighing with the flour, used the self rising flour recipe as well. I just put my cake under the broiler for a few minutes to slightly dry out the top!
I made this for Christmas in my 6 quart IP, and my large family (some vegan) enjoyed it very much! I felt it was just a little under done, but I did not add more time for my 4800 ft. Altitude and I think it should have cooked an extra 6 or7 minutes. I am making 1-1/2 recipe today and put it in my 7 inch push pan. I have it in my 8 quart IP with 2 cups water for 75 minutes. Do my adjustments look ok to you?
I appreciate all the work you do to share recipes that work well in the IP and are delicious! You do a terrific job!!
Fingers crossed I have the fruit cake in the instant pot. I used uk traditional dried fruit for Christmas cake also added spices and used rum as part of the liquid.
I’m a rookie with the pot so hope it works.
Came out well. Don’t expect a traditional style cake, more like Christmas pudding.
Hey Jill, made this last night. Wondering….should this be refrigerated? With the top being so moist I’m afrraid it may mold if left out?
Hi Betty. I would refrigerate. Jill
This looks wonderful and so easy! My husband loves fruitcake and I have never made him one. I can’t wait to try this. One question – do you cover the cake with foil before cooking it like you do with cheesecake?
Hi Deb. This does not need to be covered. Jill
Another question – I bought the paradise fruit mix and added some raisins and soaked overnight but it didn’t absorb much of the juice. Do I still put all of the juice in the batter?
Wondering about how to store this fruitcake .does it have a long shelflife similar to regular fruitcakes ? Possibly freeze it in small pieces?
Hi Pauline. The shelf life of this fruit cake, would be the same as a regular cake. Jill
Could you use citron in the recipe instead of dried fruit? My mother used citron when she made her fruitcakes when I was a child. I’d love to give this a try using citron.
Yes, Elaine, absolutely. Citron works very well. I suggest soaking first to remove excess sugar. Jill
In the printable recipe the green letters do not print; I have to write them in. Can this be changed?
The pictures and directions above the full recipe makes no mention of baking powder yet recipe says to add 1/2 tsp to the 2 cups of sel rising flour. Do you still need to add baking powder if we are using self rising flour. Thanks.
Genevieve~
You don’t need it, but if you want to make it a bit lighter, then you would use it.
Jill
Hi Jill,
I’ve used your self raising flour recipe and loved the scientific accuracy of the recipe. Saw the link for this recipe, and in recipe it lists one cup as 2cups of flour at 240g.. when you make this recipe do you use 240g or 250g as you used 125g as a cup measure in the other recipe?
Wow! I have been looking for a Fruitcake recipe for Christmas coming up this year. It needs to be dairy free, eggless, and this fits the bill. I’m going to have to buy a pan just for this! Fantastic!
trying this recipe tomorrow, I have a PPCXL and am not sure about the high pressure setting….hope it will work in my cooker as I have already purchased everything I need to make it…..comments?
Can I do this in a 7″ springform pan? How long should I cook it? I’m new to this and I’ve found your blog very helpful. I made your New York Cheesecake today.
Thanks for any help you can give.
This sounds AWEsome!! Can I cook more than one at a time in my Instant Pot?
I have these pans from Amazon – 93835 Hefty EZ Foil Bake Mini Loaf Pan 5.75″x3.25″x2″ 12-5PKS/CS .. a couple of questions .. would that batter do 3 of these pans and about how long do you think it would take to cook in IP?
I don’t have a 6 x 3 inch fat daddio push pan. Can I use a 6″ x 3″ springform pan instead?
Hi Sue~
Sure, no problem.
Jill
My dad loves fruitcake and this looks super simple to make. Can I make this with candied fruit? That is the way he likes it. And if so, would I still soak the fruit with the juice? Thank you.
My husband LOVES fruit cake and we always buy a small one from a friend that makes them at Christmas. I’m about to order the fruit from Amazon and will make my own! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
Hi Brenda~
Thanks for your comment. I will look forward to hearing how you do with the fruit cake.
Jill
If you wanted to use Kahlua, how much would you use, and would it work to use milk you use milk for the balance or would you use sugar water or something else?
This looks wonderful. If I want to use rum, should I use 2 cups, or maybe half rum, half pineapple juice, or maybe pineapple rum? I’m getting giddy just thinking about it.
Hello Teri~
Any liquid you choose would be fine. The sweetness comes from the liquid, so you can control how sweet you want your fruitcake
Jill
Wow! This IP pressure cooked fruit cake looks absolutely FABULOUS.
May I ask what are the diameter and height of your push pan?
I will try this project with my dehydrated cherries, raisins, cranberries and pineapples which I’ll marinate sous-vide in 400 mL of iced espresso and 100 mL of dark rhum. Does the coffe:rhum ratio sound right to you? This fruit cake should be delicious on its own or served with homemade ice cream, or yogurt.
I can assure you that I will find occasions beyond the Holliday Season to explore different facets of this recipe.
Thank you so much.
Hi Andre~
The ratio of coffee and rum sounds fine. I guess you will know after it is baked. The Push Pan is 6×3, which you can see in the recipe.
Thank you for your kind comments.
Jill
Do you only use the foil for the sling to get the pan into the pressure cooker or doo you cook the cake with the foil wrapped over the pan, too? Sorry if it is a silly question; I’m a newbie to pressure cooking! I would love to make this for my mom since she loves fruit cake! 🙂
Hi Lisa~
I leave the sling in during the cook time.
Jill