Each
person has their own list of 'must have' foods for Christmas. For me,
it is fruitcake (fruit cake); that wonderful combination of nuts and a variety of
dried and candied fruits with barely enough cake batter to hold it all
together. If you have ever made a British Fruitcake (Fruit Cake) you know that
what really sets this cake apart is how we repeatedly feed the cake,
over time, with alcohol (usually brandy, sometimes rum). This
gives the fruitcake a subtle brandy flavor and a lovely moist texture, and it
also allows the cake to be stored for ages and ages. Of course, the
step of repeatedly brushing alcohol on the cake means we have to make
it well in advance of Christmas. But is that so bad? With all the hustle and bustle of
the Christmas season, doing our baking several weeks in advance can
only be a good thing.
This recipe comes from Nigel Slater's 'The Kitchen Diaries' and it is by
far the best one I have ever made. It is jammed with raisins, currants,
dried cranberries, dried figs and prunes, dried apricots, and candied
fruit and peel (candied fruit is preserved fruit that has been
dipped several times in a concentrated sugar syrup). Nuts are also
included as is ground almonds. Do try to make your fruitcake about three to
four weeks before Christmas so you can brush on the alcohol several times
and allow the flavors to mingle and age. This cake can be frozen so it
might be a good idea to make two and then you can freeze one for later in
the year.
Finally, if you are an
avid fan of fruitcakes and want to make them during the rest of the
year, it might be a good idea to pick up extra candied fruit during
the holiday season as it is hard to find other times.
Fruitcake: Butter, or spray with a nonstick
vegetable spray, an 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan with a removable
bottom. Line the bottom of the pan with buttered parchment paper. Also
line the sides of the pan with a strip of buttered parchment paper
that extends about 2 inches above the pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160
degrees C).
In the bowl of your electric mixer, or
with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape
down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the brandy, juice and zest
of the orange, and zest of the lemon. Then fold in the ground almonds,
chopped nuts, and all the dried and candied fruits. In a separate
bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder and fold this
into the cake batter.
Scrape the batter
into the prepared pan and place the spring form pan on a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Reduce the oven temperature to
300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and continue to bake the cake for
another 1 hour 30 minutes or until a long skewer inserted into the
center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Remove the
cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. With a
skewer poke holes in the top surface of the cake and brush with a
little brandy. Wrap the cake thoroughly in plastic wrap and aluminum
foil and place in a cake tin or plastic bag. Brush the cake
periodically (once or twice a week) with brandy until Christmas. This
cake will keep several weeks or it can be frozen.
Serves about 14 to 16
people.
Source:
Slater, Nigel. The Kitchen Diaries. Fourth Estate. London.
2005.
Fruitcake:
1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (110 grams) dark
brown sugar
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons brandy plus
extra for brushing the cake
Juice and zest (outer
orange skin) of one orange
Zest (outer yellow skin)
of one lemon
3/4 cup (65 grams) ground
almonds
1 cup (100 grams)
hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, or almonds, chopped
1 1/2 pounds (680 grams)
of an assortment of dried fruits (dried apricots, figs, prunes, etc.),
candied and chopped mixed peel, and glac?cherries (chopped into bite
size pieces)
3/4 pound (340 grams) of
an assortment of raisins, sultanas, currants, dried cranberries and/or
cherries
2 cups (280 grams)
all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
s
Top
25 Recipes of 2008*
*Top 25
Recipes based on actual site traffic from January 1 to
December 31, 2008.
Machine
Translations are provided by an automated service and the accuracy of the
translations are not up to the standards of human translation. Machine
translations are provided for use by people with little or no English
skills. We recommend that people proficient in English use the English pages
rather then the machine translated pages.
Use of materials on Joyofbaking.com is
entirely at the risk of the user and Joyofbaking.com, Stephanie Jaworski or
Rick Jaworski
will not be responsible for any damages directly or indirectly resulting
from the use.
This
website and the contents are not endorsed or sponsored by the owner
of the "Joy of Cooking" series of books or its publisher Simon & Schuster,
Inc.
Content in any form may
not be copied or used without written permission of Stephanie Jaworski,
Joyofbaking.com. Students and non profit educators may use content without
permission with proper credit.
Page loading ... Please wait.
