Fruit cake calories come to 139 for one 43 g piece and 324 per 100 g. Carbs supply 72% of those calories, and sugars make up 27.4 g of every 100 g, so this cake behaves more like candied fruit than sponge. The real swing factor is slice size, not the recipe.
139kcal
1 piece · 43 g, commercially prepared
3%protein
1.2 gProtein
26 gCarbs
3.9 gFat
How to burn off 139 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Commercially prepared · per 43 g
Calories
139 kcal
Protein
1.2 g
Carbohydrate
26 g
Fat
3.9 g
Saturated fat
0.5 g
Cholesterol
2 mg
Sodium
43 mg
Potassium
66 mg
Iron
0.9 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Fruit cake: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
1 piece (43 g)
139
1.2 g
26.5 g
3.9 g
43 mg
7%
1 oz (28 g)
91
0.8 g
17.2 g
2.5 g
28 mg
5%
100 g
324
2.9 g
61.6 g
9.1 g
101 mg
16%
3 × 1 piece (43 g)
418
3.7 g
130 mg
5 × 1 piece (43 g)
697
6.2 g
217 mg
One 43 g piece is a 139-calorie treat
The reference piece weighs 43 g and carries 139 calories, about 7% of the daily value. That is a modest number for a cake, mostly because fruit cake is dense and usually cut thin. A 1 oz (28 g) sliver drops to 91 calories, or 5% of the daily value.
The trouble is that holiday slices rarely stop at one. Two pieces (86 g) add up to 279 calories, three pieces (129 g) reach 418, and five pieces (215 g) hit 697. Sodium stays low even then, at 217 mg for five pieces, while protein only climbs to 6.2 g. The calories pile up fast; almost nothing else does.
So the number that matters is the knife, not the label. If you buy a whole loaf, weigh one slice once so you know what your usual cut looks like. A thick 100 g slice is 324 calories, more than double the reference piece, and it looks only a little bigger on the plate.
Nearly three quarters of the calories are carbs
Per 100 g, fruit cake has 61.6 g of carbs, 9.1 g of fat and just 2.9 g of protein. In calorie terms that splits into 72% carbs, 24% fat and 3% protein. Few baked goods lean this hard on carbohydrate.
The fruit explains it. Dried and candied fruit fill much of the batter, so there is less room for butter, and fat ends up lower than in most cakes while sugar ends up higher. Saturated fat is only 1 g per 100 g, and cholesterol is 5 mg. If fat is the number you track, fruit cake is one of the easier cakes to fit in.
Protein barely registers. One 43 g piece gives 1.2 g, which is 2% of the daily value, so a slice will not do much to keep you full on its own. Think of it as quick energy rather than a snack that carries you to the next meal.
Sugar is the row to watch, fiber is the bonus
Sugars reach 27.4 g per 100 g, close to half of the 61.6 g of total carbs. One 43 g piece carries 11.8 g of sugars, and a 1 oz (28 g) slice carries 7.7 g. If you keep an eye on sugar, this is the line that moves fastest when slices get thicker.
Fiber points the other way. Fruit cake has 3.7 g of fiber per 100 g, and one piece gives 1.6 g. Against a daily value of 28 g that is a small share, but it comes from the fruit and nuts, and it is more than a plain sweet usually brings.
Sodium is low at 101 mg per 100 g, or 43 mg per piece, just 2% of the daily value. Potassium sits at 153 mg per 100 g. Neither changes the overall picture: this is a sugar-driven food with a little fiber attached, and portion control does most of the work.
Fruit cake works best as a planned dessert
Because a piece is dense and sweet, it fits best where a dessert would already go. A 43 g piece after dinner costs 139 calories, which leaves room in most days. Having it with black coffee or unsweetened tea keeps the total where it is instead of stacking more sugar on top.
If you want a slice to hold you longer, put protein next to it: a glass of milk, plain yogurt or a few nuts. The cake itself brings only 2.9 g of protein per 100 g, so the partner has to do that job. Fruit cake also keeps well, which makes it easy to cut one slice and wrap the rest for later.
Store-bought versions vary. Brands such as Claxton, Entenmann's and Chuckanut Bay appear on this page, and their labels differ in fruit-to-batter balance and slice size. BodyPal can log a slice from a photo, which helps when your cut does not match the label serving.
How does fruit cake compare?
Here is how fruit cake stacks up against chocolate cake, carrot cake and coffee cake, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: Fruit cake is the lightest of the four at 324 calories per 100 g, against 345 for chocolate cake, 374 for carrot cake and 396 for coffee cake, and it has the least fat at 9.1 g. For the smallest calorie hit pick fruit cake; for more protein per bite pick coffee cake at 6.5 g per 100 g, but expect 257 calories a piece.
Most popular fruit cake brands in the United States
Ranked by popularity in the BodyPal database
# Productkcal / 100 g
1Britannia Fruit Cake55 g373 kcal
2Whole Foods Market Fruit Cake1/3 cake · 85 g388 kcal
3Welsh Hills Bakery Fruit Cake With Stem Ginger100 g329 kcal
4Claxton Regular Fruit Cake43 g349 kcal
5Claxton Old Fashion Fruit Cake1.5 oz · 43 g349 kcal
6Entenmann's Fruit Cake1/5 cake · 136 g382 kcal
7Chuckanut Bay Fruit Cake1.75 oz · 50 g380 kcal
Bakery labels run 329 to 388 calories per 100 g, a little richer than the 324 above, so a store slice lands higher for the same weight. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Fruit cake FAQs
How many calories are in a piece of fruit cake?
A 43 g piece has about 139 calories. A thin 1 oz slice is 91 calories, and 100 g comes to 324.
Is fruit cake good for weight loss?
It is dense at 324 calories per 100 g, with 61.6 g carbs including 27.4 g sugar. A 43 g piece at 139 calories fits a daily budget far more easily than a 100 g wedge.
Fruit cake or chocolate cake: which has fewer calories?
Fruit cake has 324 calories per 100 g and chocolate cake 345, a gap of about 21 calories per 100 g.
How much sugar is in fruit cake?
About 27.4 g of sugar per 100 g, so a 43 g piece has roughly 11.8 g. The same 100 g also brings 3.7 g fiber and 2.9 g protein.
How many calories are in 100 g of fruit cake?
100 g of fruit cake has 324 calories, about 16% of the daily value. That weight also brings 61.6 g of carbs, 27.4 g of sugars, 9.1 g of fat and 2.9 g of protein.
How many calories are in a thin 1 oz slice of fruit cake?
A 1 oz (28 g) slice of fruit cake has 91 calories. It carries 7.7 g of sugars and 2.5 g of fat, so a thin cut is the easiest way to enjoy it for less.
How many calories are in two slices of fruit cake?
Two 43 g pieces of fruit cake (86 g total) come to 279 calories. Three pieces reach 418 calories, so each extra slice adds about 139 calories to the day.
How does 100 g of fruit cake compare with 100 g of other cakes?
At 324 calories per 100 g, fruit cake is lighter than chocolate cake at 345, carrot cake at 374 and coffee cake at 396. It also has less fat than all three.
