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Snowflake
12-14-2008, 09:24 AM
some one asked me for this recipe and I can't find the post, so here it is:

Extra-Rich Dark Fruitcake

2 Cups (1 pound) diced mixed candied fruits and peels
½ cup (4 ounces) each candied pineapple, citron and cherries
1 ½ cup seeded raisins
1 ½ cup seedless raisins
1 cups dried currants
½ cup each pitted dates, dried apricots, dried prunes (cut up)
1 cup good whiskey
1 cup dark molasses
1 ½ cups shelled filberts (Hazelnuts)
1 ½ cups coarsely chopped pecans
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup butter
¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
8 eggs
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice.

(You can substitute some of with raisins with Golden raisins if you like)

Combine mixed fruits and peels, pineapple, citron, cherries, raisins and currents in large bowl. Cut dates, apricots and prunes into small pieces; combine with candied fruits. Combine whiskey and molasses and pour over fruit mixture. Cover and let stand overnight.

In the morning cover shelled hazelnuts with water; bring to a boil and remove from heat. Drain, rinse in cold water and slice with sharp knife. Add to fruits with the pecans and walnuts.

Grease bottom and sides of Angel Food cake pan and 1 loaf pan. Line with several thickness of heavy brown wrapping paper and GREASE paper lining. ( Can use three 8 inch loaf pans or probably two 9 inch loaf pans.)

Work butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add 3 of the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate to the creamed mixture. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add about ½ of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Blend well. Add remaining 5 eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Gradually stir in remaining flour.
Add fruit mixture and blend. It may be necessary to mix with clean hands until well blended.

Pour Mixture into prepared pans, filling each ¾ full. Heat oven to 250 degrees F (very low) Place a pan of hot water on a lower rack of the oven. Bake small loaves about 1 ½ to 2 hours; large loaves about 3 hours. Cakes are done when toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pans 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and store in tightly covered container in a cool place. Makes about 5 pounds.

WHAT I USUSALLY DO:

After completely cool, I wrap in brandy soaked cheese cloth and then in saran wrap and foil. Place in a Christmas Tin. Re-soak the cheese cloth as needed depending how early you bake the cake.

Before serving, you can make a fruitcake glaze and decorate with green and red cherries to make flower on top or a glaze made with apple jelly is also good. Or no glaze at all.

I have also kept this cake in the refrigerator over a year and/or frozen it. I prefer to keep it chilled in my spare refrigerator. It gets better with age. I have also made it a year ahead of time. Just keep it cool and soak with brandy from time to time thru out the year.

Sometimes on a cold February night, a piece of this tastes good with ½ cup Fish House Punch. Fish House punch is so stout, ½ cup is all you can stand.

Snowflake
11-15-2012, 09:04 AM
Fruit Cake Tips
Don’t feel bound by a recipe
If recipe calls for Brandy & you don’t have it or like it, use wine, Whiskey or a fruit juice of your choice (grape/apple etc) Non Liquor cakes don’t store as long.
If recipe calls for citron, you don’t like, substitute another candied or dried fruit
If you don’t like raisins, use more chopped dates and fewer raisins.
If recipe calls for particular amounts of candied pineapple and cherries, the same weight of a fruit mix may be used. The important thing to remember is that the weight of fruit & nuts should be approx. the same as in the original recipe.
Within this boundary, you can make substitutions of your own choice.
More Tips:
Use Fresh ingredients. Make sure spices are Fresh
Soak fruit & Nuts at least overnight in liquors to soften,
Dredge fruit and dust with some flour so they won’t sink in batter, Shake off excess flour & use in recipe
Very important to grease & flour pans and used greased brown paper for liners. This keeps the cake from being dry.
Place a larger pan of warm water on rack below the baking cake. This prevents outside from getting too dark. This makes cake cook more evenly.
Never bake cake at high temp. Low and Slow. 250 degrees or what recipe calls for.
If cake is browning too fast, lay sheet of foil across the top.
Do not overbake or underbake. Use skewer to test. If it comes out clean, cake is done.
ALWAYS cool fruit cake completely in pan in cool dry place. Try to cool for 24 hours after baking. If you have time let it sit 2 or 3 days before cutting. Because the cake is so dense, if not cool completely, it will crumble and fall apart.
Brush some liquors of choice on top of hot cakes for good flavor. Can poke cake with skewer if desired
Fruitcakes taste better with age. This is called ‘ripening’ Liquor based cakes may be stored several months in advance in a cool place prior to serving.
Non liquor soaked cakes maybe kept in a cool place or refrig for short term storage or in freezer for long storage.
Be sure to ‘ripen’ fruitcakes about 4 weeks in refrig. Before freezing.
To store for a long period of time wrap cake in brandy or wine soaked cheesecloth. Then wrap in either plastic wrap or aluminum foil. (I also put this in a tin and freeze in my freezer. I prefer Brandy or whiskey over wine.
For very long storage, bury the liquor soaked cake in powdered sugar and place in tightly covered tin in cool place. Fruit cakes can be enjoyed as long as 25 years this way. Check liquor soaked caked periodically and rewrap in liquor soaked cloth. ( The longest I have kept a cake was 5 years).
Frost or glaze cakes at serving time, not before storage.
Slice cakes in a sawing motion with serrated knife.

Snowflake
11-15-2012, 09:07 AM
A little laugh about my fruitcake. I told my kids, that if we had a natural disaster etc, we could always eat fruitcake, with all the fruits and nuts etc in it, it might be healthy.

My son said 'heck yes' - if someone robbed us, we could hit them in the head with it or throw it!! LOL

Most people hate fruitcake. I only like a slice now and then. The dark is what my mother and grandmother made and I guess that is why I make it.