Paula Deen’s Coconut White Fruitcake
This recipe for Coconut White Fruitcake is from the early 2000s, but I have no idea the exact year. I know I made it for the first time before I moved to Las Vegas, and that was in the spring of 2005.
Every time I make this, I think about my friend Michele’s late father, who LOVED fruitcake. She mentioned to me one year that he was sad because the lady who used to make fruitcake for him moved away, so I sent him one. All the way to Hawaii. Where the post office promptly lost the box, and it spent 6 weeks in limbo, before finally arriving beaten to death and the cake was mostly a pile of crumbs.
Did I mention that he loved fruitcake? He REALLY loved fruitcake, because he ate the pile of six-week-old crumbs anyway.
The following Christmas, Michele traveled home for the holidays, and tucked a tightly-wrapped fruitcake in her luggage so that her dad would get it safely. When she came back to work, she reported that he loved it so much that when one of her sisters asked if she could have some, he wrapped it back up, put it in the cabinet, and politely said “No”.
I hope you love this Coconut White Fruitcake as much as Michele’s dad did!
PrintPaula Deen’s Coconut White Fruitcake
This is not your stereotypical fruitcake that’s dark and sickly-sweet.
I don’t make it every year, but it keeps well and is always a welcome addition to the dessert table.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 Hours
- Total Time: 2 Hours 20 Minutes
- Yield: 10-12 Slices
- Category: Holiday
- Method: Baking
Ingredients
7 Egg Whites from large eggs
1 Cup Candied Cherries (I use a mix of red and green)
1 Cup Candied Pineapple
1 Pound Golden Raisins
4 Cups Chopped Pecans
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Butter, at room temperature
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Line the bottom and sides of a tube pan with parchment and grease the paper.
Using your electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the fruits, nuts, flour and salt, and toss to coat the fruit and nuts. This will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Using your electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
Fold in the beaten egg whites, then the coconut and vanilla. Add the fruit and nut mixture, and stir just until combined.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 2 to 2-1/4 hours.
Let cool before serving.
Notes
Store in a plastic tub, or ideally, in a tin with a tight-fitting lid.
