It is Fruitcake Weather!
I used to order at least one fruitcake a year, from Collins Street Bakery, in Texas, for my Mother, who loved fruitcake! One year, I decided to bake one, and suddenly gained an entirely new appreciation for the much maligned confection; not only does a good fruit cake involve an exhaustive list of ingredients, a great deal of prep work, a good four hour bake, but also a bit of nurturing after it is baked. However, that being said, there is something marvelous about sitting down to a nice slice of fruitcake with a very hot cup of coffee, a serenade of Christmas music, and a good book – my favorite, for this time of a year: A Christmas Memory, by Truman Capote, and read it aloud, to each other. I usually skip the last few paragraphs, as I prefer a happy ending.
I have not made a fruitcake, since my Mother passing away, until this year. I will be hosting a Bridesmaid Tea, for my niece, Hannah, who went to England this year, and is a bit of an anglophile, thus, in preparation for her High Tea, I have made a fruitcake, which was once the traditional British wedding cake.
Unlike other cakes, where the sooner out of the oven it is consumed, the better it is, fruitcake needs to be aged, at least two weeks, but longer is better. Mine will have about a month to develop its flavors.
The following recipe started with one from The Joy of Christmas, by Helen Feingold and Mary Lee Grisanti, I have made a few adaptions.
Ingredients:
8 cups of chopped mixed Candied Fruits
¾ cups of Raisins (I like half dark and half golden)
¾ cups of Currants
2 cups of Nuts (I use half walnuts and half pecans
1 cup of Brandy or Rum, traditionally – I have found using a mixture of orange
juice and vanilla will also give fine results.
1 cup of Butter
1 ½ cups of Dark Brown Sugar
6 Eggs
3 cups of Flour
1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
½ teaspoon of Salt
1 ½ teaspoons of Allspice
1 ½ teaspoons of Cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons of Ginger
1 ½ teaspoons of Nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoons of Cardamom
Directions:
Two days before you plan to bake, place the candied fruits, raisin, currants, and nuts in a large glass bowl, and add half of the brandy or rum. Let them marinate. You do not need to refrigerate the bowl, just cover it with plastic wrap or foil.
In another large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar, and add eggs, one at time, mixing well, after each egg. Add flour, salt, and baking soda, and mix incorporating the wet and dry ingredients, then add fruit and nuts.
Grease three loaf pans, or one angel food cake pan, and one loaf pan. Then line pans with brown paper, like a lunch bag, and grease the paper. Fill the pans with cake dough, and cover loosely with foil, giving room for the cake to rise.
In a shallow pan, add two cups of water, a cinnamon stick, and some nutmeg, put on the bottom shelf of the oven, to help keep the cake, with will bake in a 275 degree oven for 4 hours, moist. Remove foil and return to a 325 degree oven for another 30 minutes, to brown.
Let the cake cool completely, then put it on a piece of foil, and spritz it with liquor or with juice, cover it with the foil, and then put in a zip lock bag, and refrigerate, taking them out weekly for a spritz!
