Pumpkin fruitcake with pineapple is loaded with warm spices, dried fruits, and nuts for a delicious fall dessert recipe that has a sweet touch of summer. Everyone will love this tropical spin on an old fashioned holiday fruit cake, and you'll love how easy it is to make!
This pumpkin fruitcake with pineapple is moist and tender, and studded with dried fruits, candied ginger, and chopped nuts. But that's not all... As a classic fall treat it also includes a must-have homemade pumpkin spice combination!
The loaf comes together easily in about 10 minutes. There's nothing complicated here: simply mix up a bowl of wet ingredients, a bowl of dry ingredients, and then stir 'em together. So this is a great recipe even for people totally new to baking.
Give this recipe a try and I'm sure you'll wind up making several more loaves this season to keep and share as tasty gifts with family and friends!
Recipe ingredients
Pumpkin puree. Use true canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling includes added sweeteners and other ingredients.
Crushed pineapple. There is no need to drain the can before adding to the cake batter.
Mixed dried fruit. Use a combination of your preferred dried fruits like raisins, cranberries and currants, or chopped mango, papaya, and apricots.
Candied ginger. The sugar coating makes ginger far less spicy. But feel free to omit if you are at all sensitive to heat.
Chopped nuts. I like a combination of pecans and walnuts. You can use one or both of these, or other chopped nuts you want.
All-purpose flour. To get the most accurate portion use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup.
Brown sugar. Light brown sugar is sweet but not too rich. I prefer it for baking versus dark brown sugar, which has a deeper more molasses taste.
Melted butter. Use unsalted butter so you have control over the total salt content. After melting the butter allow it to cool before adding to the batter.
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Eggs. Let the eggs come to room temperature while you get everything prepped to make the pumpkin fruitcake with pineapple.
Vanilla extract. Use high-quality extract for the besting tasting fruitcake.
Spices. This recipe includes a classic combination of fall spices: Cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg and ground cloves, plus a bit of salt.
Baking soda. You'll get a nice tall bake and fluffy crumb with just the right amount of baking soda.
Baking tips
- Baking can be a precise science to get just right. Use a food scale to measure ingredient quantities to be sure!
- If you don't have the individual ingredients (or don't want to keep them on hand), a store bought pumpkin pie spice blend will work fine. Replace the cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves with 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.
- Do not over mix the batter! Stir everything together gently, and just as much as needed.
- Test the cake with a toothpick on the low end of suggested baking time. Remove the pan from the oven as soon as you get a toothpick that comes out clean.
- Take the time to let the pumpkin fruitcake with pineapple cool in the pan. This makes it much easier to remove without cracking or sticking.
Frequently asked questions
I have not tried making a GF version of this cake. But you might try using a gluten-free all-purpose flour replacement - not a full baking blend.
These classic holiday treats are made with dried fruit and lots of spice. But figgy puddings are steamed whereas fruitcakes are baked. The result is that figgy puddings are more dense and moist, like a bread pudding, while fruitcakes are fluffier bread-like cake.
Wrap loaves of pumpkin fruitcake with pineapple in plastic wrap to keep it moist. I don't recommend refrigerating, as that tends to dry out baked goods.
More pumpkin recipes
Hope you will like this pumpkin fruitcake with pineapple as much as we do. Rate the recipe if you made it and leave a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions.
Recipe
Pumpkin fruitcake with pineapple
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree canned or homemade
- 1 cup crushed pineapple drained
- 1 cup mixed dried fruit raisins, cranberries, or other preferred fruits
- ½ cup candied ginger chopped (optional)
- ½ cup chopped nuts pecans or walnuts
- 1 ½ cups flour all-purpose
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup melted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan or a cake pan.
- In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, crushed pineapple, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Don’t overmix!
- Fold in the dried fruit, candied ginger, and nuts.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 60–70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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