The Fruitcake Topic

[TylerK]

I have a question about pans.

Usually I bake my Christmas fruitcakes in mini round cake pans so I can give them out as gifts to friends who appreciate a good fruitcake. I was thinking of switching it up a bit this year and use some small bundt pans to increase the decorative factor. They have some fairly fine fluting in them though and I was wondering how well the grooves would hold up with larger pieces of fruit in the cake, and then through the ageing/muslin wrapping process.

I generally make two different types of cake each year. One white fruitcake, filled with diced apricots, crystalized ginger and almonds. The second is a more standard dark fruitcake with dates, rasins, candied peel, candied pineapple, whole candied cherries, pecans, etc... Both cakes are fairly dense.

Am I going to end up with a mess in the end? If not, does anyone have any advice on how I might maximize my chances of the fine fluting remaining intact?

I gave the bundt pans a try, and they didn't turn out too bad. No sticking to the ridges of the pans, but the batter was a little thick, so I got a few small voids where nothing was in contact with the sides. The regular cylindrical cakes are gluten free ones I didn't want to take a chance with.

I'll be working on my light fruitcakes tomorrow night.

Edited November 11, 2013 by TylerK (log)

[caroled]

I have a question about pans.

Usually I bake my Christmas fruitcakes in mini round cake pans so I can give them out as gifts to friends who appreciate a good fruitcake. I was thinking of switching it up a bit this year and use some small bundt pans to increase the decorative factor. They have some fairly fine fluting in them though and I was wondering how well the grooves would hold up with larger pieces of fruit in the cake, and then through the ageing/muslin wrapping process.

I generally make two different types of cake each year. One white fruitcake, filled with diced apricots, crystalized ginger and almonds. The second is a more standard dark fruitcake with dates, rasins, candied peel, candied pineapple, whole candied cherries, pecans, etc... Both cakes are fairly dense.

Am I going to end up with a mess in the end? If not, does anyone have any advice on how I might maximize my chances of the fine fluting remaining intact?

I gave the bundt pans a try, and they didn't turn out too bad. No sticking to the ridges of the pans, but the batter was a little thick, so I got a few small voids where nothing was in contact with the sides. The regular cylindrical cakes are gluten free ones I didn't want to take a chance with.

I'll be working on my light fruitcakes tomorrow night.

Gorgeous!!!! I am so jealous of the lucky people in your life who will receive one of these. One question... what is the diameter/volume on the bundt type pans??? are they a miniature or full size?? I now see where you said smaller, but for how many serving, single or multi?

Edited November 11, 2013 by caroled (log)

[TylerK]

Thanks caroled. They are definitely not full sized. Each one can hold about 2 cups of batter, so not single serving either unless you can eat a lot of fruitcake.

[sarashrugs]

I've been looking at recipes and trying to figure out which to use. I want to make an old fashioned fruitcake wrap it in cheesecloth and lace it with brandy or rum or cognac between now and Christmas. Any fruitcake aficionados who would care to enlighten me on the essentials and finer points?

Edited September 16, 2014 by sarashrugs (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Emeril's is pretty good...

 

Large and small:

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/creole-christmas-fruit-cake-with-whiskey-sauce-recipe.html

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/mini-creole-christmas-fruitcakes-with-whiskey-sauce-recipe.html

[ChefPip]

I had this aunt and uncle who had a fruit cake they made each year.  She called it Applesauce Cake but it was just a lighter textured fruit cake. Then Uncle would pour a generous quantity of Mogan David Concord Grape Wine into it.  It then sit for a week or so sealed up in plastic wrap in a Metal container.  

 

Ironically when everyone else had those heavy dense fruit cakes that they couldn't give away,  that Applesauce concoction seemed to disappear first.  I had tried it on a few occasions and was impressed with it.

 

But something my Dad came up with was an all time favorite.  He would take left over fruit cake no one was interested in and chop it up rather fine.  Then he took a mixture of brown sugar, Dark Rum, a little butter and hot water and made a syrup to pour over the crumbled fruit cake. This went into a serving dish with vanilla ice cream scooped over it.    It's very similar to Date Nut Pudding.

 

It is ironic to me how comedians have lampooned Fruit Cake and invented words like "re-gifting"  to mean giving a gift you don't want to someone else.  But the same item can be re structured and served and you'll run out of it every time.. 

Edited September 16, 2014 by ChefPip (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Those weird neon-fruit studded canister cakes gave fruitcake a bad name.

[heidih]

I linked our fruitcake topics earlier but the black fruit cake as discussed here is the one I used to make and really enjoy http://forums.egullet.org/topic/34244-black-cake-or-christmas-cake/

[andiesenji]

I'm waffling about making a couple of fruitcakes because I haven't made much candied peel yet this year.  I'm really picky about the stuff that goes into my cakes because I like to know the source.

 

I might make the old traditional (in my family) pork cake that was discussed so thoroughly several years ago. 

 

And of course I will make the fruited cocoa cake which was also a long established tradition in my family and which was often "dressed" with cherry brandy.

I can't do that because of my allergy to alcohol but I do remember from long ago that it was very tasty...

[Lisa Shock]

I really like Nicolas Lodge's recipes from The International School of Sugarcraft Book 1 , all of the four recipes are good, my favorite is the Glace Fruit Cake. -Almond flour gives a great flavor to the cake part. I substitute pecans for the brazil nuts, and add a handful each of golden and dark raisins. This cake keeps very well and does not need fortification with spirits. I made a test batch two months ago and just finished off the last piece recently, it was still moist and tasty. (IMO, this recipe is a lot closer to being a cookie than a cake in texture)

[lesliec]

I linked our fruitcake topics earlier but the black fruit cake as discussed here is the one I used to make and really enjoy http://forums.egullet.org/topic/34244-black-cake-or-christmas-cake/

 

Thanks for linking that, Heidi.  The recipe itself is published here.

 

I don't fancy my chances of finding Concord wine in this neck of the woods, but I guess any not-too-dry red wine might do the job.  And presumably one could get a black, as opposed to brown, cake with food colouring in the absence of the burnt West Indian stuff.

[Jaymes]

(IMO, this recipe is a lot closer to being a cookie than a cake in texture)

Speaking of fruitcake cookies, here's a link to my recipe, which I have been making for many years, always with great success.

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/13510-christmas-cookies/?p=160269#entry160269

[heidih]

Thanks for linking that, Heidi.  The recipe itself is published here.

 

I don't fancy my chances of finding Concord wine in this neck of the woods, but I guess any not-too-dry red wine might do the job.  And presumably one could get a black, as opposed to brown, cake with food colouring in the absence of the burnt West Indian stuff.

No - I did not mean to specify Laurie Colwin's recipe. You made me hunt down my recipe card (giant bump on the head now with ice-pack after crawling into the attic)

 

Grandmother's Fruitcake (from Panama)

 

In an attempt to reconstruct this cake from other people's memories I used the wedding cake batter from page 699 of the Culinary Arts Institute cookbook - no clue what version as book has disappeared

 

Soak fruits up to 2 months ahead: (all fruits candied)

1/2 lb. citron, 1/2 lb. orange peel, 1/2 lb. lemon peel, small jar maraschino cherries (!), 1/2 lb. currants, 1/2 lb. raisins covered in  mix of sweet port & rum. A week before use add a jar of mincemeat

 

Batter: You will use about half of the fruits

Cream 1 cup butter w/ 1/2 lb brown sugar and beat in a cup of dark honey and 6 eggs. Add aprox 3/4 tsp each ground cloves, cinnamon, allspice. Then 1 tsp each vanilla, rose water, and lemon extract.  Sift 2 cups cake flour w/ 1 tsp baking powder.

Add the fruit and pour into greased and floured pans.. 

 

Bake at 275 degrees about 3 to 3 and a half hours. When cool baste with the booze mixture from the fruit and wrap tightly in cling film. Continue to baste over time. 

 

Best enjoyed in very thin slices with strong black tea.

[lesliec]

Ow!  Sorry about your head ...

 

That sounds good too.  Why only half the fruit?  Or is one intended to double up the batter and make two?   This concept fails to distress me   

[heidih]

Leslie I don't remember - that is what I wrote in the 80's!  I think I was experimenting and wrote down my first successful attempt. Probably repeated with the balance of the fruit. I was worried about the proportion of batter as I was playing with the recipe and recall being shocked at the success of attempt #1 as was the beneficiary whose taste memory I was chasing.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

There's also my Aunt Rosalind's recipe, which was discussed over at The Nova Scotia Traditional Foods Thread.  And up a couple of posts is another winner.  Aunt Rosalind's cakes are wonderful - I made the first ones for this Christmas in August.

[JohnT]

There's also my Aunt Rosalind's recipe, which was discussed over at The Nova Scotia Traditional Foods Thread.  And up a couple of posts is another winner.  Aunt Rosalind's cakes are wonderful - I made the first ones for this Christmas in August.

The recipe you refer to has an oven temperature of 275°F (135°C). Is this for a standard oven? I use a bakers convection oven where I normally subtract around 20°C from a standard recipe temperature and was wondering if your recipe already had the compensation built in? I am also at sea level. John.

[David Ross]

I haven't made a fruitcake in a couple of years.  Not because I've lost my taste for fruitcake, but I've had five of them aging in the pantry and haven't had the need to replenish the stock.  This year I'll savor two of the older fruitcakes, (one of the devils got his photo taken this afternoon, and replenish them with newly baked cakes.  My best estimate is the older cakes are the young age of five. Five years is actually quite young for a fruitcake.  My Great Aunt Bertie Pink wouldn't serve a fruitcake under the age of ten.  And she didn't buy the booze for her fruitcake.  She would send her Brother, my Grandfather Ralph Pink, down to the liquor store.  A proper lady would never show her face in a liquor emporium.   

 

This fruitcake is based on a recipe from the Great Northern Railroad Company and served onboard their luxury streamliner the Empire Builder that travelled between Seattle and Chicago.  (You'll find the recipe earlier in this thread). I wrap the fruitcake in cheesecloth and store them in a covered container placed in the back of the pantry cupboard. I slog the cakes with booze, typically rum, spiced rum or bourbon, every few months.  I don't use specific dates or exact measurements when aging the cakes.  A few tablespoons of rum on this one, that last shot of Maker's Mark on that one. 

 

Trust me, if you don't care for fruitcake, I know you will not have favorable comments for these photos.  Those of us who list fruitcake at the top tiers of our food preferences fully understand that we're the butt of many jokes at Holiday parties.

 

A warm slice of fruitcake with a good dollop of hard sauce and a warmed brandy and Bob's your Uncle. 

 

 

[Deryn]

I have to say that I am glad to be back in (one of) the land(s) (Canada) that 'gets' fruitcake. Yours looks lovely, David - and I love that you keep them that long before eating them. I have had some last for several years myself, on the counter in a tin, but eventually they disappear into tummies - they have never survived 10 years, or even 5.

[Tri2Cook]

I like fruitcake in it's most boring form, straight from the grocery store with no booze or aging. I like a good homemade fruitcake even more... by a huge margin. I can't even imagine how good a fruitcake like that must be. I've never had the experience of eating a well-aged fruitcake.

[scubadoo97]

That does look good. I'll admit to liking fruit and other spiced cakes

[IowaDee]

I have yet to meet a fruitcake I didn't like, er, love!  In fact , as a certified crazy fruitcake lady, I'm considering creating an official Fruitcake Rescue Shelter.  Any and all abandoned, stray or feral fruitcakes will be accepted without question.  

 

For easy identification, each will have a chip, (chocolate, vanilla or butterscotch) inserted before placing it for adoption.

If, after the holiday season is over, and they are still homeless, they will be consumed in a humane manner.  Euthanasia will be

induced by calm rhythmic chewing followed by a quick and painless trip down my gullet.

 

Watch this apace for further information such as where to drop off your unwanted gifts.  Extra neon fruit is always welcome as well.

 

So remember don't subject your fruitcake to being an entry in a tossing competition or spending its golden years as a doorstop.

Give it lasting dignity by donating it to me.  

Thanks for your kind consideration and Happy Holidays to All

[Shelby]

I've greatly enjoyed reading this whole thread today.  I am not a fruitcake liker, but after reading and seeing.....maybe I'll try my hand at one this coming year.  I've never had the pleasure of trying a homemade one....only those icky store bought kinds (shudder).  

 

David, I'd love to see a picture of your aged cakes.

[Anna N]

I've greatly enjoyed reading this whole thread today.  I am not a fruitcake liker, but after reading and seeing.....maybe I'll try my hand at one this coming year.  I've never had the pleasure of trying a homemade one....only those icky store bought kinds (shudder).  

 

David, I'd love to see a picture of your aged cakes.

Shelby, there are fruit cakes and then there are fruit cakes. If you happen to be a fan of them even the icky store-bought ones can be resuscitated with sufficient Brandy/rum/scotch/Whatever to overcome their ickyness. I would welcome one into my home right this very minute.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I haven't made fruitcake since the 1970's but you have me wanting one.