RECIPE: REC: FRUIT AND SPICE CAKE This is not your usual "Fruit Cake"

RECIPE:

misplaced-in-az

Well-known member
I made this yesterday and it is wonderful. It weighed a ton and I thought I was going to have a problem, but to the contrary it is great. These are rather lengthy directions, but not difficult.

FRUIT AND SPICE CAKE

Set oven to 300º Butter a 10" tube pan. Line bottom with piece of parchment paper, butter paper and dust with flour.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Lb. dried apricots, chopped

1/2 Lb. pitted dates, coarsely chopped

1/4 Lb. dried cranberries

3/4 Lb. golden raisins

1/4 Lb. unblanched almonds, chopped

1/4 Lb. walnuts, chopped

1/4 Lb. pecans, chopped

1/2 cup crystalized ginger, chopped

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 Lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 eggs

Zest of 2 oranges

Juice of one orange

Juice of one lemon

1/3 cup rum

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine apricots, dates, cranberries, raisins, almonds, walnuts, pecans, ginger and orange rind. Add 1/4 cup of the flour and toss to coat fruit and nuts. Set aside.

In another bowl, sift the 1 3/4 cups flour, salt, cinnamon,cloves and nutmeg. Set aside.

In another large bowl, or mixer bowl, cream butter. Add sugars and beat for two minutes, scraping down bowl several times. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange and lemon juices, followed by rum. With mixer at low speed, beat in flour mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened. With a wooden spoon, mix in fruit/nut mixture until no traces of flour show. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake 2 1/2 hours or until skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven, set on rack for 30 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut around outside rim of the cake to release it from pan. Lift out the cake on the center tube, turn cake upside down onto plate, remove the tube, then turn cake right side up onto rack to cool completely. To serve, cut into thick slices.

NOTES: It only took 1 hour and 45 minutes for my cake to bake, so check periodically after first hour. This cake will probably be even better, once it ages. I hand wrote this, but did not write down where I got it. I know there has been discussions about fruit cakes, but honest this is not the usual. It is much better. It seems like a lot of work, but if you prep. everything ahead, it goes together quickly.

Originally posted by Roni on Old Gourmet Forum.

 
This looks wonderful. Do you supposed I could leave out the ginger and either not

replace it, or what would I replace it with? I have everything to make this soon except the ginger and rum. I wonder, too, if a whiskey would work in place of rum?

 
This has been my fruitcake since Roni posted it on the old Gourmet Forum in '04

I think you could use a bit of ground ginger, or leave it out. And I think I have used bourbon, since I have it for the Louisana Pecan Cake.

There are several more fuitcakes on this thread.
Can't edit my post now, for some reason it is in text form.
I'm copying Misplaced for easier use, thanks!
Nan

http://www.finerkitchens.com/swap/forum/index.php?action=display&forumid=1&msgid=31581&msg=

 
I think you could leave out the ginger without any adverse affects.

Yes, you could use whiskey if you prefer, but of course it will change the flavor of the cake.

 
Thank you Nan. Like I said, I could not remember where I got this.

I must have hand written it for easier reading. I will go back and give her credit.

 
What the heck, I think I did? My original copy must have sank, think it was from Boston Globe?

 
since it call for 1/2 c of cr. ginger, I would up one of the other fruits or add something else

like 1/2 c dried pineapple. I don't like cr. ginger, so I was going to try this recipe with the pineapple as substitution with a bit of ground ginger added for flavor. And I like spiced rum in these kinds of cakes, so might use that instead too.

 
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