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Chocolate Ale Fruit Cake: We’re All Baking Mad

ByChoclette 6th March 201215th May 2026

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If you like a good fruit loaf, you’re in for a treat with this chocolate ale fruit cake. It’s virtually fat-free and is tangy and moist with a nice chewy texture. Serve it with a wedge of cheese for a lunchtime special. It’s also delicious toasted with butter.

Baking Mad

In case anyone hasn’t heard, there is a new series of Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard coming to Channel 4. It started yesterday on 5 March at 12:05 and will run every day for 4 weeks.

Each 30 minute episode will feature three members of the public. They’ll attend his cookery school, Cake Boy, to demonstrate their baking skills and take part in a “Bake Off”. Our very own Dom of Belleau Kitchen will be featuring on 15 March.

Chocolate Ale Fruit Cake

So that I can share in the fun, I’m baking one of Eric’s recipes developed especially for the series. Amazingly I still had some chocolate ale left over from the triple chocolate ale brownies I made a year ago and even more amazingly it was still potable.

Taking this as a good omen I decided to have a go at making this chocolate ale fruit cake. Baking Mad provided the flour, sugar and my chosen recipe. Although, I did, of course, tinker with the latter somewhat.

The fruit loaf is really easy to make. But it does take a bit of time. Not hands on time, but fruit soaking time. The longer you can leave the dried fruit to soak in the chocolate ale, so much the better. Overnight to 24 hours is a good bet.

Unusually for a cake, this fruit loaf is virtually fat-free. The only fat going in to the mix is from the duck eggs, there is no butter or oil. This does mean it’s a good excuse to slather it with butter after it’s baked. It’s particularly good toasted and also goes nicely with a slab of cheese.

I baked the chocolate ale fruit loaf in a brick shaped mould. It could be this along with its robust tasting nature, that made me think of if it as perfect for sustaining the workers. It certainly sustained us.

We’d been working particularly hard down on the plot. CT reckoned, “it was probably good with a nice mug of builder’s tea (or chocolate ale even) for elevenses after a long session digging over the beds. Especially if brought out wrapped in waxed paper from a pair of overalls”.

Duck Eggs

Hooray, duck eggs are back in season! As regular readers will have gathered, I do love baking with duck eggs. Head over to this duck egg post to find the reason why.

You don’t have to use duck eggs for this recipe of course, large hens eggs will be fine. But it is worth seeking some out if you are able.

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Keep in Touch

Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this chocolate ale fruit loaf, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.

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If you’d like more loaf cake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.

Choclette x

Chocolate Ale Fruit Loaf. PIN IT.

Chocolate Ale Fruit Cake – The Recipe

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5 from 2 votes

Chocolate Ale Fruit Loaf

This virtually fat-free loaf cake is tangy and moist with a nice chewy texture. It's particularly good served with a wedge of cheese or toasted with butter.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 30

Soaking time1

Total Time1 1 50

Course: Afternoon Tea, Snack

Cuisine: British

Keyword: beer, cake, chocolate ale, fruit cake, fruit loaf

Servings: slices

Calories: 213kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Ingredients

390 g dried mixed fruit of your choice (I used mostly raisins, but some pineapple & some papaya).
250 ml chocolate ale or beer of your choice
100 g dark muscovado sugar
2 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
85 g self-raising flour (self-rising flour)
100 g self-raising wholemeal flour (self-rising whole-wheat flour)
3 tsp mixed spice (my mix was allspice, cinnamon, mace, cloves & cayenne)

Instructions

The day before baking, place the dried fruit in a bowl with the chocolate ale. Give it a good stir, cover with a plate and leave in a warm place to soak.
The next day, stir in the sugar, then beat in the eggs.
Sift in the flours and spices, then fold in to the fruit mix.
Pour the batter into a buttered 21.5 x 11 cm silicone loaf mould, or lined tin. Bake at 140℃ (275℉, Gas 1) for 1.5 hrs or until risen, golden in colour and firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve sliced with butter or a good wedge of cheese.

Notes

If you don’t have a warm place to leave the fruit overnight, heat the ale first before adding to the bowl. Just ensure you don’t bring it to the boil.

You can use a slightly larger loaf tin, but you’ll need to reduce the cooking time a little.

Will last for a week in an air tight container. Best toasted when its a few days old.

Nutrition Estimate

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below letting us know how you got on and do share a photo on Instagram. Tag @choclette8 or use hashtag #tinandthyme.

I was sent some of the ingredients to make this chocolate ale fruit cake. I was not asked to write a positive review and all opinions are, all always, my own. Thanks to my readers for supporting the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.