How to Keep Fruit Cake from Sinking During Baking

Last Updated: November 4, 2020 Tested

These quick and easy remedies will prevent your fruit cakes from sinking to the bottom when cooking them. These clever remedies are definitely worth adding to your list of cake tips for effective baking.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:
Baking Powder

1
Sprinkle a little bit of baking powder across the base of the cake pan (tin). Do this prior to adding the fruit cake batter. If you are using parchment paper (baking paper), sprinkle the baking powder over that.
2
Pour the batter into the pan. It will sit over the top of the baking soda.

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3
Bake the fruit cake as usual. Follow the instructions for your recipe properly - in conjunction with complying accurately with the measurements and cooking directions, the baking soda should do the trick an help stop the fruit cake from sinking during backing.
4
Finished. Remove from the oven when baked and cool according to the recipe's instructions. Your fruit cake should be in great shape!

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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:
Flour Coating

1
Place the fruit to be added to the fruit cake into a bowl. The fruit should be of the size needed already, so cut if needed before adding to the bowl.
- Any large pieces of fruit must be cut smaller, in order to prevent their weight from causing these pieces to stick.
2
Add a small scoop of flour to this bowl. The amount of flour should be taken out of the flour being used in the recipe, to avoid adding too much flour in the recipe.
3
Toss the flour gently over all of the dried fruit. It is important to coat as much of the fruit pieces as possible. The flour stops the fruit from clumping together (allowing for better distribution across the cake), and it will also prevent the fruit from getting stuck to the cake batter and sinking downward.
4
Add the flour coated fruit to the cake batter. Follow the recipe and add the flour coated fruit when appropriate, then transfer to the prepared baking pan.

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Community Q&A

Question

The fruit has already been soaked in wine, how do I prevent them sinking?

Amy273

Community Answer

Adding approximately 100g of self-rising flour can reduce the amount of sinking.
Question

My cake did rise but the fruit stayed at the bottom. What happened?

Community Answer

Try cooking the cake a few minutes and then add the fruit when the cake batter is firmer.
Question

Is it baking soda or baking powder?

Community Answer

Neither, toss the dried fruit with a little flour to coat it. Cut fresh fruit like apples or glacé cherries into smaller pieces and then coat them.
Question

I made a lovely brack and it turned out perfect but with the next two, the all fruit sank to the bottom. What went wrong?

Ann Hupe

Community Answer

Toss dried fruit with a little flour to coat. Make sure the fruit and nuts are diced and not whole because the bigger the fruit or nut, the more likely it will sink.
Question

Am I supposed to use baking powder or baking soda in step one?

Community Answer

Baking powder. There was an error in that step that has since been corrected to make this clear.
Question

My fruit cake is cooked through, the fruit is evenly dispersed, but it still sinks in the middle?

Community Answer

You can try to toss the fruit in flour before adding it to the batter. You can also add the fruit last, just before baking. You can also up the amount of baking soda/powder. And sprinkle the pan base with baking powder. Altogether, these things should improve the placement of your cake's fruit.
Question

Should the fruitcake be soaked before or after cooling?

Community Answer

Adding wine or liquor, and/or soaking cheesecloth and wrapping should be done after fruitcake has cooled down and no longer feels warm.