Cream Cheese Fruitcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Put aside all your opinions of fruitcakes. These are the most delicious, orange flavored light cakes that are full of moist pieces of candied cherries, pineapple and golden raisins. These make great gifts for neighbors and friends if you can bear to part with them. They can be wrapped in plastic wrap and foil and frozen if you want to make them ahead. Frost them with the white chocolate ganache after thawing them.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cream cheese fruitcake, fruitcake, holiday baked gift, make ahead fruitcake, white chocolate, white chocolate frosting

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 20

Calories 487 kcal

Author Jane

Ingredients

½ cup golden raisins
¼ cup Grand Marnier or rum
2 ¼ c. flour plus 4 tablespoons for flouring the pans
½ cup candied red cherries chopped and reserving 6 for garnish
½ cup candied green cherries chopped and reserving 6 for garnish
1 cup candied pineapple chopped
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature plus 4 tablespoons for buttering the pans
1 ½ cups sugar
1/1/2 teaspoons baking powder
8 ounces Philadelphia cream cheese full or reduced fat at room temperature
4 eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
grated zest of two oranges
3 cups white chocolate chips divided
1/3 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 12 mini-loaf pans or two 9 inch loaf pans depending on how large you want the fruitcakes.
In a one cup heatproof glass measure, heat Grand Marnier or rum for one minute in the microwave. Add the raisins and let sit for one hour.
In a large bowl combine the flour and all of the chopped fruit.
In a medium sized bowl beat the butter and the sugar, adding the sugar gradually until the mixture is very light and fluffy. Add the baking powder and cream cheese and beat for two minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and orange zest and pour all of the mixture into the flour and fruit mixture.
On slow speed, beat the mixture until the flour and fruit is well-combined but do not overmix. With a spatula, fold in 1 cup of white chocolate chips.
Divide the mixture into the buttered pans, filling each one ¾ full. Do not overfill the mini-loaf pans.
Bake the cakes on the middle rack of the oven for 50 minutes for the mini-loaf pans or 1 hour and ten minutes for the large loaf pans. Check the large loaf pans with a skewer to confirm the cakes are done. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes.
With a knife, cut around each of the cakes, unmold and place them on a wire rack to cool.
After the cakes are completely cool, make the white chocolate frosting. In a large, heatproof glass measuring cup, microwave the remaining 2 cups of white chocolate chips and heavy cream for one minute. Stir the mixture and heat again for 20 seconds. Stir until the chips and cream are smooth and all the chips are melted. You can microwave the mixture for 5 seconds at a time, stirring just until the chips are melted.
Pour the frosting evenly over each of the cooled fruit cakes and decorate each one with halved red cherries and quartered green cherries to look like holly, if desired.

Nutrition Facts

Cream Cheese Fruitcakes with White Chocolate Frosting

Amount Per Serving

Calories 487 Calories from Fat 189

% Daily Value*

Fat 21g32%

Saturated Fat 12g75%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 6g

Cholesterol 70mg23%

Sodium 143mg6%

Potassium 184mg5%

Carbohydrates 68g23%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 44g49%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 619IU12%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 131mg13%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.