Holiday Fruitcake
An important thing that makes one relationship better than another is the commonality. The more things individuals have in common, the deeper and stronger the connection becomes. David and I are fortunate to share most of our likes and dislikes. There are a few we don’t agree on and one of them is a popular dessert… Holiday Fruitcake 🎄🍰!
Our 1st Christmas was so exciting! Getting ready for the celebrations, we decorated, shopped, cooked 👩🍳👨🍳 and planned together. One day while we were out grocery shopping 🛒, I was surprised by something he didn’t like. As we got to the bakery section, I saw fruitcakes on a stand. As I was reaching for one to put in the shopping cart, I saw David making a funny face. I asked him what that was all about and he said that he never liked them. Although slightly disappointed (I really like this kind of cake), my brain 🧠 started to figure out a way to help make him enjoy a long time Holiday favorite of mine. Sure enough, the year after, I was giving my first fruitcake a try…
This is one of those recipes that cannot be rushed. If you want a deep, rich flavorful cake, time is the key ingredient – I learned that on my “1st attempt”. It’s essential to macerate the fruits and candied peels in rum, bourbon or brandy for 12 hours 🕖. If you don’t want to use alcohol, fruit juices such as orange or pineapple are great options – I use both, alcohol and fruit juices.
Before transferring the cake in the oven, I like to place a baking dish on the lower rack filled halfway with hot water and to make the transfer easier, I place it on a baking sheet. Why do that extra step? The water will create some moisture therefore preventing the top of the cake from cracking by expanding too quickly. It’s a method I also like to use when I make a sponge cake. If the cake is browning too fast, place a sheet of foil on top of it to prevent from burning.
Another important step after baking this delicious Holiday Fruitcake in the oven on low temperature for 3 hours is to nurture it for a few months. What I mean by that is after the cake is done, you either pour your chosen alcohol (stick to the same one… I use rum) over the baked cake and/or inject it in the cake. You don’t have to do it at all but I’m telling you, it gives an amazing flavor to this dessert 😋. Make sure to wrap it properly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil after each “booze treatment”.
When it comes to decorating, it’s a personal choice. Before it goes into the oven, I like to place glazed cherries 🍒 around the edge, alternating the colors. Then I place pecan halves in another circle inside the first one and finish off with more cherries in the center. Some of you might want to skip the fruit-nut topping and opt for either a buttercream frosting, bring a British flare to it by covering in marzipan and then royal icing, or simply using fondant… again, it’s your cake and your choice!
For this coming Christmas 🎄🎅, surprise your loved ones with this incredibly delicious homemade Holiday Fruitcake! If you think this is gonna be just like your grandma’s 👵 fruitcake… it’s definitely not!
Bon Appétit! 🍽
Check out these other delicious sweet Holiday recipes… 🎄😋
– Sucre à la Crème • Butter & Cream Fudge
– Panettone
– Black Forest Cake
– Oliebollen
– Spicy Holiday Chocolate Bark
– Pavlova
– Chocolate Rum Snowballs
and for even more dessert recipes 🍰🍩, click on this link… Recipe Category • Dessert
Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel 📽 by clicking on this link… Club Foody YouTube
Holiday Fruitcake
Hover to scale
Ingredients
FRUITS
- 1 cup dates such as Medjool, pitted and chopped
- 3/4 cup dried raisins
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup dried blueberries
- 1/4 cup dried apricots
- 2 cups mixed candied citrus peels see Recipe
- 1 cup mixed glazed cherries
- 1 tbsp. orange zest
- 2/3 cup dark rum such as Gosling
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice tips & tricks
- 1/3 cup pineapple juice
DOUGH
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. ground Himalayan sea salt
- 2 tsp. allspice
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened tips & tricks
- 4 large free-run eggs
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
TOPPING
- glazed cherries, as needed Footnote
- pecans halves, as needed
Directions
- In a medium bowl, add dates, raisins,cranberries, blueberries, apricots, citrus peels, glazed cherries and orange zest; stir very well.
- Pour in rum, orange juice and pineapple juice. Stir well,cover and macerate for 12 hours, stirring often.
- In a small skillet over medium heat, add pecans and toast them for 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to a bowl to cool. Repeat with the walnuts.
- Transfer them to a cutting board and chop them; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 250ºF/130ºC and line a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Spray the paper lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whisk until very well blended and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine brown sugar and butter; process until the mixture is creamed.
- Add one egg at a time and mix well between each addition.
- Add vanilla extract and mix before adding half the flour mixture; process on low speed until just blended.
- Add half the fruit mixture and half the chopped nuts; mix until blended, about 30 seconds.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and process again until just incorporated. Add the rest of the fruits including the juice and the remaining nuts. Process once again until everything is well mixed but don’t overdo it.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level it out using a spatula. Decorate the top of the cake to your liking.
- On the lower rack of the oven, place a pan filled halfway with hot water. Transfer the cake on the rack above and bake for 3 hours in the preheated oven or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- When cooking time is up, transfer it to a wire rack to cool off completely before taking the springform off and peeling off the paper.
- Place the cake on a couple pieces of plastic film and wrap it up nice and tight. Transfer the wrapped cake onto foil and wrap it tightly.
- Place it in a cake tin to protect it even more and store the fruitcake in a cool, dark place until ready to serve. If you’d like to increase the flavor even more before the Holidays, please read the blog.
Notes
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