Sugar-Free Keto Fruitcake Recipe

This is a recipe for Keto fruitcake, not your typical fruitcake loaded with sugar. It’s delicious and easy to make, using low carb ingredients and the perfect dessert for this time of year.

I think people are mixed about eating fruitcake. You either love it and buy it every year, or you hate it and never buy it, and also hope that nobody ever gives you one.

When someone asked me to make a low carb fruitcake I was not thrilled because I’m one of those people that hates fruitcake, even though fruit is one of my favorite things to eat. 

So I began to experiment with ideas of how to make a low carb fruitcake …and surprise, surprise…I actually liked it when I made it!

It’s entirely different than that high carb, icky sweet fruitcake. It’s actually good, and I served it for friends and they loved it too. 

I think you should give it a try making one, it’s super easy to do and delicious.

What is in a Traditional Fruitcake?

Traditional fruitcake is not the same as low carb fruitcake. Usually, it is full of high carb fruits, fruit colored with artificial colors, honey, sugar, flour, fructose corn syrup…etc. After all, whoever has heard of bright green cherries??

A 1 oz piece has approximately 26 carbs, that’s way too many carbs on Keto or a low carb diet.

Do People Eat Fruitcake?

Yes, people eat fruitcake, some people love it and some people don’t. I think they love it because it’s sweet, very sweet.

Maybe they also eat fruitcake because it’s a family tradition and their family serves it every year.

Why is Fruitcake a Thing?

I think fruitcake is a traditional winter food, dessert. It’s like a tradition, so much so that besides eating it themselves, some people give them as gifts at this time of the year. I get them all the time at work as you probably do too.

Can I Eat Fruitcake on the Keto Diet?

If you are on the Keto diet you can not eat traditional fruitcake because it’s high in carbs being so full of sugar, honey, high fructose corn syrup, and white flour.

Just a 1 oz piece is approximately 26 carbs!

Our low carb fruitcake is different. It has monk fruit which replaces the regular sugar and corn syrup, almond flour, to replace the white flour (which is made from just almonds), and even though it has dried fruit in it, cranberries and cherries, the quantity does not bring the carb count up too much. 

It also has nuts that are very good for people on a low carb/Keto diet. A lot of nuts are low in carbs, pecans and walnuts have only 4 carbs for each ¼ cup.

So yes you can eat this sugar-free fruitcake on Keto, but as usual, watch your quantity and count your carbs for the day to see how big of a piece that you can have and stay within your range.

Each piece of our sugar-free fruitcake is only 2.6 NET Carbs.

What Ingredients are in Keto Fruitcake?

Eggs – Eggs create body and substance and bind things together.

Butter – A yummy ingredient in so many baked goods

Vanilla – This is an essential flavor in a lot of baked goods

Monk Fruit – A non-carb sweetener, a sugar replacement with a one to one ratio so it’s an easy replacement in recipes for sugar. We have come to love using it to replace sugar in recipes which allows us to make so many yummy low carb treats. 

Almond Flour – Nut flours are an integral part of low carb cooking and baking.  Being made from just nuts makes it perfect for anyone on a Keto diet or watching their carb count. 

Dried Cranberries and Cherries – Dried fruit is very high in carbs/sugar so we only use a small amount in this low carb fruitcake. Don’t go overboard or it will be too many carbs.

Pecan, Walnuts – These nuts are only 4 carbs per ¼ cup so it’s ok to load up your sugar-free fruitcake with them.

Orange Zest – This is a unique ingredient you make by grating the outside peel of an orange. This orange flavor gives your Keto fruitcake a very fresh and yummy taste, especially since you don’t have so many dried fruits in it.

Baking Soda, Salt

What are the Green Things in Fruitcake?

The green things in fruitcake may look colorful or attractive but they are cherries soaked in green food coloring. 

So not only are they full of sugar, like all dried fruit, but they are full of artificial colors. Whoever has heard of green cherries?!

What about Alcohol?  

When you purchase fruitcake you can get it with or without alcohol. Some people do purchase it with alcohol in it and prefer it that way. It’s usually Dark Rum or Brandy. 

Even though both of these liquors have zero carbs and can be consumed on a low carb diet, it’s still better to keep your alcohol intake to a minimum or not at all if you are trying to lose weight.

If you really want to add alcohol go ahead, just be aware you are adding more calories.

How to Make a Sugar-Free Fruitcake 

Now that you know what to put in your sugar-free fruitcake, we can share with you the steps on how to make it, an easy way. 

Here’s what you do…

First, whisk together eggs, butter, vanilla, sugar, orange zest, and salt until well mixed.

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Next, add almond flour and baking soda, and then whisk until smooth.

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Lastly, add fruit and nuts, which in my opinion is the best part of the fruitcake.

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Once your batter has been mixed, line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

Pour the batter into the lined loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.

Remove from the oven and wait 30-60 minutes to cool. You don’t want to cut into a low carb fruitcake too soon because it will crumble.

Once it’s ready, slice and serve!

Tips for Making the Best Keto Fruitcake

You could place a secondary pan with water in the oven to add moisture, which will in turn help keep the low carb fruitcake from drying out.

If you don’t have an orange to make zest, yet you really want that orangey taste, you could always add ½ tsp of orange extract to your sugar-free fruitcake.

Be sure to check the date on your baking soda or baking powder to make sure that it hasn’t expired because if it has, your sugar-free fruitcake or anything else that you bake will not rise.

How Do You Keep Fruitcake Moist? 

If when you make your fruitcake you aren’t able to eat it all that day, it’s best to keep it wrapped tightly and place it in the refrigerator. It will stay moist for a month or so this way.

Also, a good way to make your fruitcake moist is to soak your fruit overnight in rum or brandy, which have zero carbs, before making the fruitcake. That way your sugar-free fruitcake will stay moist longer.

You could also use fruit juice to soak the fruit but be careful of the carbs that are in fruit juice.

Different Variations of Fruitcake

I have friends who are obsessed with chocolate and need to have it in every dessert. If that is you, or you have chocolate-loving friends, you could add some Lilly’s chocolate chips into your low carb fruitcake. That would be delicious!

If you want an alcohol flavored fruitcake you can soak the fruit in dark rum, which has zero carbs.

You can also soak the dried fruit in the rum so that way it will keep your fruitcake moist for a long time. Soaking it in fruit juice is an option too, but be careful not to use too much because fruit juice does have carbs.

Other Diets This Recipe is Good for

Gluten-free – Another great recipe for anyone who can’t eat gluten as almond flour is the main ingredient.

Vegetarian -This is a good one for vegetarians, as long as you can eat eggs.

What to Serve with Fruitcake

Your low carb fruitcake is complete on its own and does not need to be eaten with anything else. You can eat it plain, or even spread some soft butter on it!

However, if you are a coffee or tea lover then this would make a good breakfast treat with your hot drink.

Or if you are like my daughter-in-law from Italy, she enjoys a good sweet treat like this for breakfast with warm milk!

How to Store Fruitcake

The best way to store low carb fruitcake is by wrapping it and placing it into an airtight container. Then put it into the refrigerator. It will last up to 6 months if wrapped properly. 

You can also freeze fruitcake if you wrap it well. In that case, it will last up to a year in your freezer.

Other Similar Low Carb Recipes:

If you’re in the mood for some other Keto-friendly recipes, check out our:

• Keto Pumpkin Bread
• Sugar Free Pecan Pie
• Low Carb Dinner Rolls / Fathead Dough
• Almond Flour Pie Crust

All of them are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will have your friends raving!

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