Icebox Fruitcake

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This old-fashioned icebox fruitcake recipe is a traditional holiday dessert for my family and many here in the South. This deliciously dense cake is overflowing with decadent ingredients, like graham cracker crumbs, pecans, maraschino cherries, and mini marshmallows.

Bite taken out of piece of icebox fruitcake.

This classic icebox fruitcake recipe is one of those simple things that have always made holidays special in our family. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas you would find one on my grandmother’s table, and now I get the opportunity to share her delicious recipe with y’all.

Fortunately, it’s so easy to make this Southern icebox fruitcake. The most challenging part is using a food processor to crush the graham crackers (yep, really). From there, you simply mix together all the ingredients, including raisins, pecans, mini marshmallows, maraschino cherries, and shredded coconut. A can of sweetened condensed milk perfectly brings all the ingredients together.

The best part is that this is a no-bake fruit cake. Yep, once you combine the ingredients, let it chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours. Now, I prefer to make icebox fruitcake bars in a baking dish. But if you’d prefer to make an actual fruitcake, go right on ahead and chill it in a bundt cake pan, round cake pan, or tube pan. 

So if you’ve been searching for a holiday dessert you can make ahead of time, look no further. If you’re on the lookout for another enjoyable icebox cake to bake, check out my lemon icebox cake recipe. Or you may like my fruitcake bar cookies. Okay, enough chattin’, let’s get not-baking 😉.

Labeled ingredients for icebox fruitcake.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Graham crackers
  • Pecans
  • Maraschino cherries
  • Shredded coconut
  • Raisins
  • Miniature marshmallows 
  • Sweetened condensed milk

Helpful Kitchen Tools

How to Make Icebox Fruitcake

Crush graham crackers in food processor.

Crush the entire box of graham crackers.

I used my food processor but you can also pop those crackers in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Coarsely chop pecans.

Coarsely chop pecans.

Chop cherries.

 Chop cherries (saving the cherry juice).

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Combine everything in a large mixing bowl.

Mix ingredients well.

Mix well.

You may have to use your hands for this. It’s messy but you get to lick your fingers afterward, so it’s totally worth it.

Line baking dish with parchment paper.

Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper or grease it with butter/cooking spray.

Press cake batter flat into prepared pan.

Press the cake batter flat into the prepared pan.

Turn out icebox fruitcake once chilled and cut into bars.

Chill for at least 6 hours and then turn out before cutting into bars.

Place of icebox fruitcake.

How good do these icebox fruitcake bars look?

Stack of icebox fruitcake bars.

Enjoy!

Storage

  • You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. The fruitcake will actually get better the longer it sits in your fridge, as the cake soaks up all the delicious flavor.
  • You can also freeze leftover fruit cake for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and it will be good to serve the next day.

Recipe Notes

  • If you miss that rum flavor of a traditional fruitcake, you can add 1 teaspoon of rum extract or dark rum to the mix.
  • Don’t hesitate to substitute any of the dried fruit or nuts if you don’t like them. For example, swap pecans for walnuts, or raisins for dried apricots.
  • Another great substitution is the graham crackers for crushed vanilla wafers.
  • If you can’t get your hands on maraschino cherries, you can use candied cherries or candied holiday fruit instead, and just add a tablespoon of water to the batter if it’s too tough.

Here are more popular holiday dessert recipes:

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe From Scratch

Holiday Popcorn Crunch

Festive Holiday Fruit Salad

Pumpkin Praline Cake With Cream Cheese Icing

How To Make Apple Pie

Plate of icebox fruitcake.

Icebox Fruitcake

This old-fashioned Icebox Fruitcake recipe is a traditional holiday dessert that's overflowing with decadent ingredients, like graham cracker crumbs, pecans, maraschino cherries, and mini marshmallows.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake, fruit
Servings: 4
Calories: 135kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 14.4-oz box graham crackers
  • 1 cup pecans
  • 1 10-oz jar maraschino cherries
  • 1 tablespoon cherry juice
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup shredded coconut, firmly packed
  • 1.5 cups mini marshmallows
  • 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

  • Finely crush graham crackers and coarsely chop pecans and drained cherries.
    1 14.4-oz box graham crackers, 1 cup pecans, 1 10-oz jar maraschino cherries
  • Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
    1 14.4-oz box graham crackers, 1 cup pecans, 1 10-oz jar maraschino cherries, 1 tablespoon cherry juice, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup shredded coconut, firmly packed, 1.5 cups mini marshmallows, 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • Turn out into a lightly buttered 9x13 baking dish and press flat into the pan with your hands.
  • Chill for at least 6 hours before cutting the fruitcake into bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 135kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

Original icebox fruitcake recipe from Southernbite.com

Remember, if you don’t have Christmas in your heart, you won’t find it under a tree.

Similar Posts

96 Comments

  1. MY GRANDMA AND MY MOMMA MADE THIS CAKE AND I STILL DO TODAY. WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT I MAKE MINE WITH MELTED MARSHMALLOWS, THE MARSHMALLOWS HAVE BEEN MELTED WITH BUTTER.
    AND I USE WALNUTS. VERY GOOD FRUITCAKE. WE CALL IT ICEBOX FRUITCAKE.

  2. Christy, if you never shared one recipe with me, I would still check out your website to read your comments. Girl, you are too funny! I made this fruitcake and licking my fingers was part of the fun!

  3. My family makes this with vanilla wafer crumbs. I use candied red and green cherries…only red if not at Christmas… pecans, marshmallows, and 3 T. frozen coconut, 3T. golden raisins and 1 can Eagle Brand milk. Thanks for all your recipes. Enjoy the website so much!

    1. That’s how my mom made it. My job was to crush the vanilla wafers. I hated the job, but loved the fruitcake. Now each Christmas I crave a piece of it.

  4. My grandmother used to make this recipe when I was little. I am not in my mid 50’s! My mother continued the tradition. She just made one the other night. This old fashioned recipe really is delicious. If you ever try this recipe, you will make it again and again! It is scrumptious! Thank you, Stacey!

  5. I LOVE Fruitcake, Claxton especially; however, I have recently discovered I’m gluten intolerant. I’m going to try this with gluten free graham crackers. Thanks for the recipe!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe or Post Rating