Festive Christmas Gumdrop Bundt Cake With Raisins

This vintage recipe for a festive Christmas gumdrop bundt cake with raisins is pure gold. Generations have been making this inexpensive holiday cake year after year, meaning it’s a keeper of a recipe that is perfect for the holiday season. Every fruitcake lover will appreciate this fun, festive cake with colorful gumdrops and sweet, seedless raisins. The orange flavor in the cake batter deepens the sweet candies’ flavor while boosting the crumb of the cake from humdrum to yum yum. It’s a great addition to your holiday dessert table, and you can’t go wrong serving a slice of this up during the holiday season. 

I had wanted to make this cake for a couple of months to share with you, but believe it or not, I had the Dicken’s of a time sourcing actual gumdrops. Not wine gums or jube jubes, but those tiny, colorful jelly gems. I even went to the internet to look for them when the Bulk Barn turned up empty. My soon-to-be husband was insisting his mother made the cake with candied cherries. It was a real challenge to find these time-tested jellied candies. In fact, the internet search only turned up Dots candies, which I couldn’t even find locally. I was pulling my hair out, and just about to give up entirely when low and behold, they wheeled out Christmas baking goodies in the grocery store- baking gums. Well, I just about jumped for joy, and of course, the rest is history. I hope you enjoy the fruity-flavored gumdrop bundt cake as much as we do.

Please note that I am not a professional photographer and do my best to include as many shots as possible to help you in your baking endeavors. Should you ever wish to know more about a particular recipe, please do reach out. Also, note that this gumdrop cake can be made using a regular tube pan or two small loaf pans. 

Love the idea of Christmas cake but not fruit in the batter? Why not try my chocolate Christmas cake with cranberry walnut butter buttercream filling it’s deliciously non-traditional.

Why You Will Love This Christmas Gumdrop Bundt Cake

It’s budget-friendly and festive. It’s an affordable way to bring holiday cheer to your table without compromising flavor or tradition. The cake delivers a delightful, seasonal treat that captures the spirit of the holidays.

Customizable decorations. Try lightly dusting the cake with icing sugar for a simplistic approach, or give it a sugared icing complete with colorful gumdrops for decoration. 

Kids Love It. Whether it’s your actual kids or the kid inside gumdrop cake, it brings back nostalgic memories while fueling the need for brightly colored desserts during the holiday season. It’s super yummy too!

The Legacy of Traditional Fruitcake and the Rise of the Gumdrop Christmas Cake

The gumdrop Christmas cake is a beloved holiday tradition in Canada, particularly in regions with strong British roots, where traditional Christmas fruitcake was initially introduced. Fruitcake, a dense and often heavy dessert filled with dried fruits, nuts, and spices, has deep historical ties to British culinary traditions. It was initially seen as a luxurious treat, with costly ingredients like dried fruit and sugar, making it a special cake for celebrations. Early British settlers brought the fruitcake tradition to North America, where it became a staple of the holiday season. However, as times changed and preferences evolved, people began looking for lighter, more accessible versions of the rich fruitcake.

Enter the gumdrop Christmas cake, which puts a playful twist on this tradition by replacing the dried fruits with colorful, chewy gumdrops. This variation emerged as a fun, child-friendly alternative that retained the traditional fruitcake’s festive spirit. The vibrant gumdrops brightened the cake and offered a lighter, sweeter flavor, making it more appealing to those who weren’t fond of the heavier texture of traditional fruitcake.

The gumdrop cake became popular in Canadian households, especially in Newfoundland, where it became a holiday favorite. Its simplicity—just gumdrops, flour, butter, eggs, and sugar—made it a more accessible option for families while maintaining the warm, nostalgic connection to holiday traditions. Over time, the gumdrop cake evolved into a signature holiday treat, enjoyed alongside other festive delights and often passed down through generations.

In this way, the gumdrop Christmas cake reflects the blending of old and new holiday traditions—honoring the rich British heritage of fruitcake while embracing a lighter, more modern version that resonates with contemporary tastes. It’s a reminder of how cultural traditions evolve yet still carry the spirit of family and celebration through the generations.

Let’s Get Started Making This Gumdrop Cake Recipe

You will want to bake this cake in a low oven set to preheat the oven to 325F

First, this easy recipe uses just one large bowl. You can also make the batter with a stand mixer, electric mixer, or simply enough by hand, so it is easy for anyone to make this time of year regardless of kitchen equipment—perhaps that was part of the appeal. 

Start by softening the butter for the recipe. Using cold butter is next to impossible when mixing by hand, and it will clog beater blades if using an electric mixer. Alternatively, a nice soft, not melted butter is easily workable.

Next, measure and add the sugar, creaming the two together until they are nicely blended. Crack both eggs into the bowl and mix in well. You can add two drops of the orange essence to the egg mixture. If you use an extract different from an essence, you want to add something like a teaspoonful. 

Measure the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt into the bowl. These are a lot of dry ingredients that will need added moisture to mix seamlessly into the cake batter. That comes in the form of milk. Begin mixing your dry ingredients into the wet mixture, and partway through pause, add the milk. This batter is super thick, which may surprise an experienced cake baker, as traditional layer cakes often have a thinner batter. However, remember that this is making a drier cake crumb similar to a traditional fruitcake. So thick is ok. 

Next, measure the baking gums, aka gumdrops, into a measuring cup and dust with half a teaspoon of flour, stirring to coat them before adding them to the mixing bowl. Repeat with the sultana raisins. This extra dusting of flour on the ingredients is necessary to prevent them from sinking too much into the batter. 

Be sure to grease the bundt pan well, especially if, like me, you have a fancy shape to the pan. It’s going to really help the cake release properly after baking. There’s nothing worse than a cake being stuck and then ripping when released from the pan. 

This cake does take a longer time to bake in your oven. An hour to forty-five minutes, depending on your oven style. Be sure to peek in the oven and see if it’s looking baked after an hour. Experienced bakers have developed an eye for doneness over the years. For those who are new to baking the cake will start to pull away ever so slightly from the edges of the pan while developing a light golden brown. It will not appear wet at all and will be slightly rounded up. If you inspect it visually and think it’s ready to be tested, use a cake tester and insert it into the center to see if it’s done. 

Cake testers aren’t always on hand in everyone’s kitchen. Growing up, I knew we were ‘bare bones,’ as my mom liked to say. We had minimal kitchen tools, living off the grid, and learned to do everything like my Great-grandma had taught the other women in the family. So, I knew that a simple butter knife inserted into baking on a downward angle into the middle from the edge of the pan would work wonderfully. It should come out clean when it’s pulled out, meaning the cake or baking is done. Of course, this method will run into a few snags, like when baking a Christmas gumdrop cake. Didn’t I pull a gumdrop right out of this very cake pictured? I had to laugh a little. Investing in a cake tester could be beneficial if you’re making a lot of cakes throughout your lifetime. But then I like to keep things’ bare bone’ for nostaglia’s sake, so I haven’t gotten around to getting one.

If the cake tester indicates it’s not fully baked, keep it in the oven longer. Also, be careful not to keep the oven door open for very long, as it can drastically lower the oven’s temperature, impeding proper bake time. 

Once the cake has fully baked, take it out of the oven, put it on a wire rack, and let it cool in the pan for half an hour. Lift the pan and see if it’s cooler to the touch on the bottom after a half hour. If it’s cooled down, you can invert the pan and let it cool. It should be released from the pan on its own. If, after an hour, it’s still stuck in there, you may need to help it by sliding a butter knife into the cake pan, around the edges, and down the center tube. Never force the cake out of the pan too early, as it will result in ripping. 

Ingredients:

Butter: This provides richness and moisture, contributing to the cake’s tender texture and slightly golden flavor. 

Sugar: Sweetens the cake and aids in its structure by helping to create air pockets when combined with butter. This air helps the cake rise and produces a light, soft crumb. Sugar also helps retain moisture, keeping the cake fresh longer.

Eggs: These act as a binder, helping to hold the ingredients together and contributing to the cake’s structure. They also add richness and help with leavening, providing a slight lift as the cake bakes. The proteins in the eggs contribute to the cake’s texture, making it firm yet tender.

Orange Essence: Adds a fragrant citrus note that complements the sweetness of the gumdrops and raisins. It brings a touch of brightness to the cake’s flavor, enhancing the overall taste and adding a festive holiday touch.

All Purpose Flour: Provides the structure of the cake.

Baking Powder: This ingredient in this recipe helps the cake rise as it bakes. 

Salt: Improves the overall flavor of the cake by balancing the sweetness. 

Milk: Adds moisture to the batter, ensuring the cake has the right consistency.

Gumdrops: These are the star ingredient in this cake, adding colorful, chewy bits that give the cake both flavor and a festive look.

Sultana Raisins: These provide sweetness, moisture, and a chewy texture to the cake. They also give it more of a traditional fruitcake look.

Substitutions and Add-Ins For This Christmas Cake Recipe

Butter: Margarine, neutral oil, or vegan butter may be used instead of the butter. 

Sugar: You can sub in brown sugar or coconut sugar for the regular white sugar in your gumdrop Christmas bundt cake, but there will be some differences in flavor and texture.

Eggs: -Remain-

Orange Essence: Replace with an orange blossom water or orange extract. Alternatively, a lemon extract will also suffice.

All Purpose Flour: -Remains-

Baking Powder:-Remains-

Salt:-Remains-

Milk: You can use milk kefir, sour cream, Greek yogurt (unsweetened plain), or cream in place of the milk. Each will alter the end result, but not in an unpleasant way. 

Gumdrops: -Remain-

Sultana Raisins: These can be omitted or switched out for other dark raisins or dried currants. 

If you would like to make this even more like a traditional Christmas fruitcake, add slivered almonds or crushed walnuts. A rum soak will increase the traditional fruitcake aspect. Soak a large enough piece of cheesecloth in rum and then squeeze it out lightly before wrapping the cake in the cloth. Let it sit covered in the fridge for a day or two before serving. 

Expert Tips, Serving And Storing Suggestions For This Gumdrop Cake

Tip #1: Ensure Proper Butter Softening. Softening butter is crucial for smooth mixing, especially if you’re using a hand mixer. Cold butter can cause clumping, making it difficult to incorporate evenly into the batter. Let the butter sit at room temperature until soft to the touch but not melted. This will help it cream properly with the sugar, ensuring a smooth and airy batter.

Tip #2: Properly Coat Gumdrops and Raisins in Flour. Before adding your gumdrops and sultana raisins to the batter, dust them lightly with flour. This simple step helps keep the fruit and candy from sinking to the bottom of the cake during baking. It’s a trick that helps evenly distribute these ingredients throughout the batter, resulting in a more consistent texture and better flavor in every bite.

Tip #3: Don’t Rush the Baking Process. This cake requires a longer baking time, sometimes up to an hour and forty-five minutes. Be patient and check on the cake around the one-hour mark to see how it’s progressing. Keep the oven door closed as much as possible to avoid temperature fluctuations. Also, don’t rely on the timer when you think the cake is ready. Test the cake’s doneness with a knife or cake tester—insert it into the thickest part and ensure it comes out clean. If it’s not ready, give it a bit more time and continue to check.

This Christmas gumdrop bundt cake is a great way to add a festive touch to your holiday table during this time of the year. For a fun, seasonal twist, try dusting the top with powdered sugar, drizzling it with a simple glaze, and topping it with a few extra gumdrops or even some edible gold dust for sparkle. You could also add a dusting of cinnamon or cloves for a cozy, spiced aroma that matches the Christmas season. This cake is delicious and visually stunning, perfect for impressing guests or adding a bit of holiday cheer to any gathering.

To store your Christmas gumdrop bundt cake, let it cool completely before storing it. Store the baked cake on the counter covered for up to 3 days for the best flavor and texture. If you need to store it longer, you can refrigerate it, but it may dry out faster. Freezing the gumdrop bundt cake isn’t advisable, as it can affect the texture of the gumdrops and raisins. For the freshest taste, enjoy it within the first few days of baking, or keep it refrigerated for up to a week, ensuring it’s well-covered to maintain its moisture.

I hope you love baking and sharing this festive Christmas gumdrop bundt cake as much as we do! If you try this recipe, I’d be thrilled to hear what you think—feel free to leave a rating and a comment below to share your thoughts. It’s always so wonderful to hear how your holiday treats turn out. As always, happy baking!