Fruit Cake - Your recipe

6 years ago

As a child I loved the fruit cake my great aunt sent from monks, I think Kentucky? I don't recall if it had booze in it because I was a child and didn't know that taste. Now as I am a great aunt I'd love to go back to that happy memory and bake my own. I did try one recipe that took a month basting with brandy but I did not like the boozy taste - though I do like brandy occasionally. I love the pecans in the fruit cake but think preserved citron is a made up ingredient only used for that cake - no redeeming nutritional value that I can tell. Do you have a recipe that is not for making weeks ahead, and does not contain those gummy artificial green and red cherries?

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ediej1209 AL Zn 7

6 years ago

This is not a "fruitcake" per se... It has only raisins and nuts, but is very dark and flavorful and is steamed in a tube pan rather than baked. It's actually my grandmother's recipe. My Mom would make several of these and ship them to family all over the country at Christmas. If you want, you can sprinkle a little bit of brandy on top for extra flavor, but she never did. She made hers with black walnuts, because my grandparents had several trees. Personally I prefer pecans, and one of my cousins like English walnuts in hers. She never put any kind of frosting or anything on this but I suppose you could put some kind of glaze on it. The cake does freeze well if you have leftovers.

Applesauce Cake

Place large roasting pan in oven and put 2" of hot water in it.

Preheat oven to 325°

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

3 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 cups raisins (can use a mix of regular and golden or even currents)

1 cup chopped nuts

***

Cream butter and sugar.

Sift dry ingredients together.

In separate bowl combine eggs and applesauce, add alternately with dry ingredients about 1/3 at a time mixing well after each addition.

When all is mixed, stir in raisins and nuts.

Pour into well-greased tube pan. Place pan carefully into roasting pan and cover all with foil. Let steam for 2-1/2 hours. Uncover and let brown for 15 minutes.

Her recipe doesn't give cooling instructions... I think she let it cool some sitting upright then ran a sharp thin knife around the outside and inner edges then turned upside down on a cooling rack.

I can tell you, the whole house smells amazing while this is baking!

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Comments (6)

cloudy_christine
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
This is the one I made for many years. Ideally it should be made early, many weeks before Christmas. If you're making it right now, go light on the brandy in the cheesecloth wrapping. Wrap up whatever isn't eaten during this holiday. In the brandy-soaked cheesecloth, it will just keep better and better. Kept in a tin in a cool place, it will last a very long time.

Fruitcake

1 3/4 cup chopped candied cherries

1 3/4 cup chopped candied pineapple

3 cups broken pecans

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 cups flour

6 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 lb. white raisins

6 Tb brandy

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 275 (--that's right, 275, not 375). Line a 10-inch

tube pan with foil.

Mix fruit and nuts and 1/4 cup brandy. (I let the fruit soak in rather

more brandy for some hours at least, usually overnight, and add the nuts

when mixing the rest.)

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating

well after each.

Sift flour with other dry ingredients; divide this in half.

Stir half the dry ingredients into the batter. Mix the other half with

the fruit and nuts. (If you upped the brandy just make sure the fruit

isn't swimming in extra liquid at this point.)

Add fruit to batter. (This takes a very large bowl or pan.)

Pour into baking pan.

Bake 3 hours and 45 minutes, with a pan of water on the bottom of the

oven. Cool five minutes. Remove from pan.

When cool, wrap in brandy-soaked cheesecloth and foil. Store several

weeks.
nancyofnc thanked cloudy_christine
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sushipup1
6 years ago
I love Alton Brown's Free-Range fruitcake. No candied fruits but it uses dries fruits instead. Wonderful.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/free-range-fruitcake-recipe-1926833
nancyofnc thanked sushipup1
elba1
6 years ago
I go through phases where I can keep up with these posts, and sometimes not. I've had some time recently to read through them, and now I want fruit cake - right now!!! LOL! I can't make it because my son is allergic to all nuts. The above recipes sound great. I almost called the grocery store to see if they had any, but decided to default to a glass of leftover wine and a Christmas cookie. Now I better brush my teeth to set the deal ha ha
nancyofnc thanked elba1
User
6 years ago
I haven't made this in years but here's my favorite - there are no yucky green or yellow dried fruits in it:

Saint
Nicholas Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups
chopped walnuts

1 cup
chopped dates

1 cup
candied cherries

1 ½ cups
sifted flour

1 tsp.
baking powder

½ tsp. salt

3 eggs

¾ cup sugar

6 oz.
chocolate chips

Brandy or Kirsch

Grease and
then line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper, grease paper. Sift together
flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs until
thick and frothy, gradually add sugar, blend in chocolate, fruits and nuts.
Mixing only until blended after each addition, add dry ingredients in thirds.
Place a shallow pan with 2 cups of water in bottom rack of oven while baking
cake on middle rack and bake at 300 for 1 hour and 45 minutes. When done cool
for 10 minutes. Remove pan and remove parchment paper. Brush with brandy or kirsch. Wrap
back up in waxed paper and put in an airtight container in frig. Take it out
and brush with brandy every day until day of serving.

Note: I
always make sure I have extra candied cherries to put on top of the loaf, I cut
them in half and cover the cake with them. Do it right when the cake is done so
that they stick better. Then paint it all over with the brandy.
nancyofnc thanked User
pkramer60
6 years ago
My fruit cake is from the Fanny Farmer cookbook. It has the option of adding brandy or rum or none at all. As for citron, I used some today for my cannoli cheese cake.

https://www.food.com/recipe/the-fanny-farmer-dark-fruitcake-341149
nancyofnc thanked pkramer60

Fruit Cake - Your recipe

ediej1209 AL Zn 7

Comments (6)

cloudy_christine

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