Tu BiShvat Fruitcake

As I mentioned in my monthly newsletter (if you’re not subscribed then what are you waiting for? Just click here to get started), Tu Bishvat is coming soon. That’s why I'm sharing a fruitcake recipe to celebrate this lovely, fruity holiday.

During this holiday, we celebrate the New Year of the trees and consume loads and loads of fruits and vegetables that grow especially in the Holy Land--Israel. The almond trees bloom this time of year so dishes with almonds are also considered as Tu Bishvat festive foods.

The name of this holiday comes from the Hebrew date- Tu is 15 in Hebrew letters with numerical values. Shvat is the Hebrew month the holiday occurs in, so the name is actually the Jewish date of the holiday.

Another custom of this holiday is planting trees. This is a very nice tradition in my opinion as it connects us to nature and agriculture. As described in this blog post – "Tu B’Shevat is a time to celebrate the natural world by eating its bounty and planting trees."

Traditionally we eat dried fruits in Tu Bishvat and especially the 7 species mentioned in the Torah (shivat haminim) that Israel is blessed with- figs, dates, grapes, olives, wheat, barley and pomegranate. In Tu Bishvat, you want to eat new fruits or at least some of the 7 species.

Around Tu Bishvat, you can find dried fruit packages in every super market across Israel and instead of eating them as they are, I cut them and created a cake that will wow my family and honor the tradition!

This easy fruitcake is also quick to make and you only need a bowl and a spoon to make it. The cake is parve (dairy free) and can be vegan too if you change the eggs to ½ cup of applesauce.

The recipe yields 1 loaf and you can double the ingredients for a bigger cake.

If you are looking for other recipes for Tu Bishvat, check out Veena's glace mixed fruit bundt cake or my almond cookie recipe or my fruit sushi recipe. They are festive and yummy too!

Here is the recipe for this easy Tu Bishvat fruitcake: