Our spin on the classic German Fruit Cake “Obstkuchen Obsttorte”. It has a super soft cake base, is loaded with glazed berries and a secret ingredient stabilized whipped cream frosting!

German fruit cake with fruit glaze and stabilized whipped cream frosting

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My only complaint about this berry cake cake is that it dissapears fast! My children especially loved it.

German Fruit Cake

Up close view of German fruit cake recipe

What is Stabilized Whipped Cream?

Regular whipping cream has a reputation of not staying put over time, especially when piped. This can be due to under-beating the whipped cream, or purchasing the wrong cream. For whipped cream, make sure the package says HEAVY whipping cream as opposed to plain whipping cream. The HEAVY cream has a higher fat content (36% fat), whips faster and is more stable.

Adding the instant pudding powder stabilizes the whipped cream, adds great flavor and makes the frosting easy to pipe. It is similar in consistency to a buttercream but tastes lighter and is lower in fat than a buttercream. We used half of a 3.9 oz package of Godiva White Chocolate flavor but vanilla instant pudding mix would work as well for this fruit cake.

Ingredients for fruit cake and stabilized whipped cream recipe

Easiest Fruit Glaze:

The 2-ingredient fruit glaze is a nice touch on this cake. All you need is:

  • Seedless raspberry jam
  • Hot water

You can serve the fruit cake without the glaze, but it makes the cake more moist, preserves the fruit and makes the cake look like it came out of a fancy bakery. It makes your mouth water just looking at it.

Fruit glaze over German cake

Can I Add a Simple Syrup to Make it More Moist?

  • YES! The glaze from the berries adds moisture to the cake as it is sliced but if you prefer a moist cake, you can add this simple syrup. We double the ingredients when making a 2-layered cake.
  • Ingredients for Simple Syrup: 1/4 cup water, 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • How to Make Simple Syrup: Stir the ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Brush cooled cake, focusing on the outer edge and moving towards the center.

Moist German fruit cake slice on a plate

Watch How to Make German Fruit Cake!

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Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

German Fruit Cake Recipe

5 from 43 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Our spin on the classic German Fruit Cake "Obstkuchen Obsttorte". It has a super soft cake base, is loaded with glazed berries and a secret ingredient stabilized whipped cream frosting! | natashaskitchen.com
Our spin on the classic German Fruit Cake "Obstkuchen Obsttorte". It has a super soft cake base, is loaded with glazed berries and a secret ingredient stabilized whipped cream frosting!
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients 

Servings: 8 slices

For Sponge Cake:

For Fruit and Glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups mixed berries
  • 3 Tbsp seedless raspberry jam + 1 1/2 Tbsp hot water

For Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting:

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled
  • 4 Tbsp white chocolate instant pudding powder, (45 grams)
  • 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp milk, or to reach desired texture

Instructions

How to Make the Sponge Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350˚F and line the bottom of a 9" round cake pan (or springform pan). Chill a large mixing bowl in the freezer. A chilled mixing bowl will make it easier to beat the whipping cream.
  • Add 3 eggs to the bowl of your mixer and beat with whisk attachment on high speed 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and continue beating 8 min.* It should be whipped and form a thick ribbon when you pull up on the whisk.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder then sift it into the whipped eggs in thirds, folding between each addition. Fold in 1/2 tsp vanilla just until blended (do not overmix).
  • Bake at 350˚F for 25 min. Let cake rest 3 min in pan then run a thin spatula around the edges too release from the pan. Invert cake onto a wire rack, peel back parchment paper and let cool completely to room temperature.

How to Make Fruit Glaze:

  • In a measuring cup, combine 3 Tbsp raspberry jam with 1 1/2 Tbsp hot water and stir until completely smooth. If glaze seems lumpy, heat slightly to loosen it up.

How to Make Stabilized Whipped Cream:

  • In your chilled mixing bowl, add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and beat on high speed (1-2 min) just until stiff peaks form.
  • Add 4 Tbsp instant pudding and 3 Tbsp powdered sugar, adding them 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing with each addition. Beat on med/high speed until fully incorporated. If frosting seems too thick, add milk 1/2 Tbsp at a time (I added 2 Tbsp milk). Beat until the pudding mix is fully dissolved and frosting is smooth (2 min).

How to Assemble the Fruit Cake:

  • Transfer half of the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip (Wilton 2D) and set aside. Dollop and spread half of the frosting over the top of cake. 
  • Arrange fruit over the frosting, leaving a 1" border. Brush all of the glaze over berries then pipe the second half of frosting around the top border of the cake. Serve right away or refrigerate until serving.

Notes

*If using an electric hand mixer, beat 10 min on highest speed.

Nutrition Per Serving

281kcal Calories38g Carbs3g Protein12g Fat7g Saturated Fat102mg Cholesterol142mg Sodium111mg Potassium1g Fiber27g Sugar540IU Vitamin A1.6mg Vitamin C50mg Calcium0.8mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
German Fruit Cake Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
281
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
12
g
18
%
Saturated Fat
 
7
g
44
%
Cholesterol
 
102
mg
34
%
Sodium
 
142
mg
6
%
Potassium
 
111
mg
3
%
Carbohydrates
 
38
g
13
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
27
g
30
%
Protein
 
3
g
6
%
Vitamin A
 
540
IU
11
%
Vitamin C
 
1.6
mg
2
%
Calcium
 
50
mg
5
%
Iron
 
0.8
mg
4
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: German
Keyword: fruit cake
Skill Level: Medium
Cost to Make: $$
Calories: 281

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for tools we used to make this cake.

German Recipes to Explore:

One of our favorite German recipes the German fruit cake

Q: Have you tried any German or European cakes? They are such a treat! This fruit cake and most European desserts are typically lower in sugar than American desserts and they will always excite your taste buds.

Our spin on the classic German Fruit Cake

Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

Read more posts by Natasha

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Comments

  • Jill
    October 23, 2022

    This was delicious!!!! My husband said it was his favorite cake now! Even better the next day 🙂 I had one question so I can make it better next time. For the cream, was it supposed to be chilled in the freezer with the mixing bowl?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      October 24, 2022

      Hello Jill, the heavy whipping cream has to be chilled when you use it.

      Reply

  • Tanya
    August 31, 2022

    Natasha, this is a great cake!
    I baked it yesterday for my husband’s birthday and he was happy!
    It’s very easy and irresponsible tasty. Thank you for another wonderful recipe.

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      August 31, 2022

      Happy Birthday to your husband! This is such a special cake to make for a birthday! I’m glad you both enjoyed it!

      Reply

  • Claudia
    May 8, 2022

    I made this for my mom for mothers day. She loved it. It was really good. That frosting held up really well and was so yummy. The only mistake I made was forgetting to remove the parchment paper!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 9, 2022

      Awesome, glad it was a hit, Claudia!

      Reply

  • Brezzlen Stretz
    May 1, 2022

    Hi again Mrs. Kravchuck! Mothers day is coming up and my mother LOVES German Chocolate Cake. So could you consider making a German Chocolate Cake video?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 1, 2022

      Hi there, thanks for your suggestion. I won’t be able to make a video of it before Mother’s Day but I’ll try to add that to our list.

      Reply

  • Maryna
    April 14, 2022

    Hi, Natasha! What would be a baking time if I would double the recipe and use rectangle baking form about 10 x 13?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      April 14, 2022

      Hi Maryna, I have not tried that but one of our readers shared this comment “Hi Natasha,I made it to double and comes beautiful on 9×13 pan!So delicious and not too sweet! Thank you for your recipe.” I hope that helps.

      Reply

  • Nadia
    February 11, 2022

    Can I use regular vanilla pudding mix instead of white chocolate pudding mix?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      February 11, 2022

      Hi Nadia, one of my readers tried this with vanilla pudding and loved it! I hope you love it too!

      Reply

  • Debby
    June 27, 2021

    I’ve made this recipe several times. Very easy and delicious. I’ve made it using strawberries and blueberries. Strawberries, blueberries and kiwi . Strawberries, blueberries and cherries. All fresh fruit. I tried to add a picture but I couldn’t find where to.

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      June 27, 2021

      Wow, that’s delicious! Thanks for your great feedback, you won’t be able to share photos here but feel free to share them on our Facebook page or group!

      Reply

  • Amy Wonder
    May 26, 2021

    Can I use a hand mixer for this?

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      May 26, 2021

      Hi Amy. If using an electric hand mixer, beat 10 min at the highest speed.

      Reply

  • Lindsey
    May 8, 2021

    Such a simple and easy recipe to follow! Every time I make it, it is a huge hit!!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      May 8, 2021

      That’s great, Lindsey! So happy to hear you’re enjoying my recipe!

      Reply

  • Samina
    December 31, 2020

    Hi Natasha,

    Can I use almond flour to make this cake?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      December 31, 2020

      Hi Samina, I haven’t tested that substitution with almond flour so I can’t say for sure.

      Reply

  • Shyri
    December 28, 2020

    This cake is so delicious and light! It’s very easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. The directions were so easy to follow and everyone loved it!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      December 28, 2020

      Hello Shyri, thank you for leaving a wonderful review for this recipe. I’m happy to know that everyone loved and enjoyed this cake!

      Reply

  • Ginny
    October 23, 2020

    Hello Natasha! Can I use cake flour? 1:1 ratio? Thanks much!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      October 23, 2020

      Hi Ginny, I haven’t tested that substitution so I’m not sure if it would be too soft of a crumb to hold up the cake well.

      Reply

  • Marissa
    September 24, 2020

    Hi there wondering if this can be made into a 2 layer cake?

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      September 24, 2020

      Hi Marissa, I have not tested that to advise. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that.

      Reply

  • Rebecca
    September 21, 2020

    I just made this for an Oktoberfest party. It was a huge hit!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      September 21, 2020

      Sounds awesome! Thanks for your great feedback, Rebecca.

      Reply

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