The Proverbial Fruitcake

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Fruitcake ... the gift that keeps on giving ..... you get it one year, pass it off the next, they pass it off to some the next .... etc. :LOL:

I generally hate the stuff .... but my grandmother had a way of making it yummy. She made hers early in October ... and drizzeled it every week with brandy ... then at Christmas she cut it into slices, smeared it with lots of butter, and ran it under the broiler to toast it.
 
OK, am not crazy about fruitcake but the other one of us is, as do other family members.

They are addicted to the version made by the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana, Texas.

Have been shipping them to family members for over twenty years and I must admit they have a lot of nuts and fruit in them (seems there isn't very much cake in those fruitcakes).

Still don't think much of them.

Used to send my father-in-law two, one in early December and one for Christmas.

The whole clan seems to love the stuff.

Just tossing it out for what it is worth.
 
Michael, that's basically what we do except we fry it in a pan. I also top it with a scoop of cherry cordial ice cream. Makes it a bit more tolerable! ;) :D
 
I make fruitcake every year, and now it's just the two of us for Christmas I sometimes wonder why I bother, but it's tradition, and we love the stuff. I couldn't imagine broiling or frying it though, Yuck!
 
I got this off the Kitchenaid forum. Just too lazy to get mine off my cookbook laptop:

Fruitcake

Fruit
You'll need a total of about 2 to 2 3/4 pounds dried fruit. Feel free to substitute if you don't like certain fruits

1 1/2 cups dried pineapple
1 1/2 cups sultanas or raisins
1 cup dried apricots cubes
1 1/2 cups dates
6 ounces candied cherries (reserve a few for decorating the tops of the cakes)
1/3 cup diced crystallized ginger (optional)
3/4 cup dark rum or brandy

Batter
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs
3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 tablespoons black cocoa OR 1 teaspoon burnt sugar
1/2 cup golden syrup or dark corn syrup
1/2 cup apple juice, cranberry juice or water
2 cups chopped, toasted nuts (almonds, pecans or walnuts)
rum, brandy, or vanilla syrup, for topping


The Fruit: Combine all of the fruit ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and soak overnight.

The Batter: Cream the butter until soft, then add the sugar, spices and baking powder. Beat in the eggs one at a time. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour and cocoa. Add about half of the flour mixture and all the syrup to the batter. Then add the remaining flour and the juice or water and mix well. Fold in the fruits, any remaining liquid, and the nuts.

Grease the bottom and sides of the pans or line them with parchment paper. This recipe makes enough for 7 mini-loaf pans; 16 loaves baked in mini-loaf sets; or two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Spoon the batter into the pans, filling them about 3/4 full.

Bake the cakes on the middle shelf of a preheated 300°F oven -- 65 minutes for the smallest loaves, 75 minutes for the medium loaves, and 2 hours, 15 minutes for the large loaves. The cakes are done when a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the oven, and brush them with rum or brandy. Let them cool, then remove them from the pans. Brush all surfaces with rum, brandy or vanilla syrup. (If you like just a hint of rum or brandy flavor, add 1 tablespoon of liquor to 3/4 cup vanilla syrup and brush this mixture on the cakes.)

Wrap the cakes in parchment paper, then in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and store them in a cool, dry place. Unwrap the cakes every week (for up to 5 weeks) and brush them with more syrup. By the fifth week the cakes will have absorbed as much liquid as they're able. They'll keep for several months this way, as long as they're tightly wrapped. The flavor improves and mellows over time.
 
Here is the old fruitcake joke:

Here's my favorite recipe for fruit cake.


You'll need the following: a cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large eggs, two cups of dried fruit, a teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a bottle of rum.
Sample the rum to check for quality.

Take a large bowl. Check the rum again. To be sure it is the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the KitchenAid mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.

Make sure the rum is still okay. Cry another tup. Turn off the mixer. Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterer pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the rum to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Who cares? Check the rum. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.

Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window, check the rum again and go to bed.
 
I read this fruitcake subject yesterday but the mere thought of the concoction made my stomach churn so couldn't answer at the time :cry:
One year I made some. I did a huge batch and then put it in either loaf pans of normal size or the little tiny loaf pans. I bought so much fruit and gum drops and candy like skor bars or heath bars and nuts that I thought it must be the biggest paperweight ever. It was tremendously good. VERY moist. Must have had 6 sticks of butter in there. Very full of good vibrations (if you know what I mean ;) ) and ever so tasty. Problem was, I really am not a sure a soul I gave them to appreciated them. A lot of work, a truckload of money and tons of effort into something that I think fell flat (on the poor unsuspecting person's foot probably :cry: )

I thought it was terrific. I generally like them, a slice at a time, and not very often.
 
LEFSElover said:
I read this fruitcake subject yesterday but the mere thought of the concoction made my stomach churn so couldn't answer at the time :cry:
One year I made some. I did a huge batch and then put it in either loaf pans of normal size or the little tiny loaf pans. I bought so much fruit and gum drops and candy like skor bars or heath bars and nuts that I thought it must be the biggest paperweight ever. It was tremendously good. VERY moist. Must have had 6 sticks of butter in there. Very full of good vibrations (if you know what I mean ;) ) and ever so tasty. Problem was, I really am not a sure a soul I gave them to appreciated them. A lot of work, a truckload of money and tons of effort into something that I think fell flat (on the poor unsuspecting person's foot probably :cry: )

I thought it was terrific. I generally like them, a slice at a time, and not very often.

It does not matter what they think. You know you made a great cake.

If they did not appreciate them/or you, it is their loss -- not yours.

I would have loved to get one of your cakes.
 
It does not matter what they think. You know you made a great cake.

If they did not appreciate them/or you, it is their loss -- not yours.

I would have loved to get one of your cakes.[/quote]

oh chocolatechef, that's the sweetest thing. thanks for making my day. it was their loss, it was breathtakingly a pleasant delight in the mouth, I must say. I wish I'd have known you then ;)
 
So here is another question - how long do they keep if stored properly? I made some of Emeril's Creole Fruitcakes (very good I might add - no plastic fruit and lots of BOOZE!) for Christmas of 2000. I very carefully doctored them with booze for about two weeks and they were wonderful. I read somewhere that you could roll them in powdered sugar, and then store them for years in a metal tin. So I did.

I have four mini loaves that have remained tucked up in the lowest part of my fridge all this time. I have checked on them several times over the years and there is not one hint of mold, they still smell good, and the booze soaked cheesecloth that is wrapped around them is still slightly damp. Are they safe to eat? Should I risk it? Any comments and thoughts?
 
kansasgirl, i just saw the show when emeril did his fruitcakes. they looked really good. he completely soaked them in booze, so even if they sucked, they might still be tasty.
 
kansasgirl said:
So here is another question - how long do they keep if stored properly? I made some of Emeril's Creole Fruitcakes (very good I might add - no plastic fruit and lots of BOOZE!) for Christmas of 2000. I very carefully doctored them with booze for about two weeks and they were wonderful. I read somewhere that you could roll them in powdered sugar, and then store them for years in a metal tin. So I did.

I have four mini loaves that have remained tucked up in the lowest part of my fridge all this time. I have checked on them several times over the years and there is not one hint of mold, they still smell good, and the booze soaked cheesecloth that is wrapped around them is still slightly damp. Are they safe to eat? Should I risk it? Any comments and thoughts?

kansasgirl. Alcohol is a great preservative, I would think the cakes are very much safe. Be careful and only taste a bit. Then try a little more the next day, and so on.
 
choclatechef said:
kansasgirl said:
So here is another question - how long do they keep if stored properly? I made some of Emeril's Creole Fruitcakes (very good I might add - no plastic fruit and lots of BOOZE!) for Christmas of 2000. I very carefully doctored them with booze for about two weeks and they were wonderful. I read somewhere that you could roll them in powdered sugar, and then store them for years in a metal tin. So I did.

I have four mini loaves that have remained tucked up in the lowest part of my fridge all this time. I have checked on them several times over the years and there is not one hint of mold, they still smell good, and the booze soaked cheesecloth that is wrapped around them is still slightly damp. Are they safe to eat? Should I risk it? Any comments and thoughts?

kansasgirl. Alcohol is a great preservative, I would think the cakes are very much safe. Be careful and only taste a bit. Then try a little more the next day, and so on.

Each day taste more than you did the day before. That way if it had gone bad then you will build up a tolerance to it, kind of like iocane powder (anyone?).
 
Build up a tolerance to bad fruitcake? HA! I think that I will just give it a whirl and hope that I don't end up in the ER for some kind of deadly fruitcake poisoning. I will continue to keep them though and maybe 5 years from now we can have another 'tasting'! :)
 
Sorry kansasgirl, I was just joking about building up a tolerance. In all seriousness though, with that much alcohol I would think it would keep for just about forever.
 
Oh I know GB - we're just playing around. I do think that fruitcakes, when soaked as liberally as mine, might keep for a very long time. Gonna taste test this year!
 
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