Apricot Raisin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

A Christmastime tradition in our family, Apricot Raisin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is moist, flavourful, and perfect with a hot tea!

There was a time when I disliked – no, hated – this Apricot Raisin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake. The thought of ruining a perfectly good cake by filling it with dried fruit was despicable!  My ex wife and her mom were big fans of this cake, and every Christmas, Apricot Raisin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake made its annual appearance on the dessert table.

How many times did I beg her to make a different cake; not completely different, she could still use the same cream cheese batter, but leave out the reconstituted apricots and raisins, but alas, she didn’t listen to me.  So, I did what any man would do; I filed for divorce.  #kidding

So, recently, I decided to make my own. Now, I bet you’re asking why I put raisins and apricots in the cake if I have such dislike for them, aren’t’ you?

Well, the reason for that is simple. In an earlier blog post, I explained how my tastes (both likes and dislikes) have changed dramatically over the past few years.  I have grown to love the tastes of dried fruits (things like apricots, raisins, blueberries, dates, cherries, etc.)

There’s evidence of my love for these gems in this recipe and my fruit cake recipes as well.  Two recipes particularly that have dried fruits are my Christmas Cherry Butter Bundt Cake and my Glace Mixed Fruit Bundt Cake.

Try both of those if you have time.  I can’t think of allowing a Christmas season to pass by without baking a Apricot Raisin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake, as well at the Cherry Butter Cake and the Glace Mixed Fruit Cake.  You just gotta have them all!

Even though the apricots and raisins in this cake provide a moist bite of sweetness, it’s still the cream cheese that wins me over every time. This bundt cake is so deliciously moist and dense.  I love that it’s a little on the heavy side, because then I can have just a small slice of it and I don’t need to feel guilty about at all!

Another really great thing about this cake is that it freezes so well! This is certainly a cake you could prepare way ahead of time and freeze it for future use.  Think of how much time you could save by making this cake in early December for a holiday party at your home later in the month.

If you plan to make this cake ahead of time and want to freeze it, just simply wrap in cling wrap and then aluminum foil.  Double wrapping like this will help to preserve the moistness and integrity of the cake.  When your feeling the need for cake, just let it defrost on your kitchen counter for an hour or so and it will be as good as if it were freshly baked.

I’ll be whipping this one up again at Christmastime for sure, because I gave half of this one to my mom and John.e took the rest to work. By Christmastime, I’ll be craving it again, and we all know that Christmastime is free of calories.  #yayforchristmas!

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Apricot Raisin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

A Christmastime tradition in our family, Apricot Raisin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is moist, flavourful, and perfect with a hot tea!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Servings 16

Calories 347kcal

Author Byron Thomas

Ingredients

To reconstitute the dried fruit:

• 2 cups water
• ½ cup raisins
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 ½ cups dried apricots, chopped

For the cake:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 4 large eggs
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (optional)

Instructions

• In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the raisins, apricots, sugar, and water. Turn the temperature to medium and bring to a slight boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and allow the mixture to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the sauce pan from the heat and allow mixture to completely cool. Do not drain the liquid!!
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a bundt pan by lightly coating the interior with non-stick cooking spray.
• In a large mixing bowl, use a hand-held mixer to blend together the butter, sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese until fluffy.
• Add each egg one at a time and fully incorporate into the cream cheese mixture.
• Replace the hand-held mixer with a spatula. Add the flour and baking powder and fold into the batter.
• Add the apricots and raisins along with any liquid/syrup from the sauce pan. Continue to fold the ingredients together until just mixed through.
• Transfer the batter to the bundt pan. Tap the pan firmly on your kitchen counter to settle the batter into the folds of the pan.
• Bake the bundt for 50 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is ready. If not, place back in the oven for 3-5 minutes and perform the toothpick test again.
• Allow the cake to cool for five minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving. (Optional)

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 271mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1050IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1.6mg