Receipe Request: Pets de Soeurs and Fruit Cake BATTER.

M

marsha-tbay

Well-known member
I received this in my email today from someone and I thought 'finer kitchens' is the place to ask a question like this! smileys/smile.gif Anyone???? TIA, Marsha

Revisiting Fruit Cakes, Particularly the Batter.

I've never made FRUIT CAKES before and I have ONE HUGE question. THE BATTER!!!

I have this wonderful heirloom fruit cake recipe from Australia but the batter is poorly defined. She tried to approximate it but it's one of those things that cooks often do by feel. She was taught how to make it by her Mum.

The Batter (I say batter but is it really) for these cakes seems to more closely resemble a COOKIE DOUGH by the ingredient list. They are

made with brown sugar, butter, flour and Eggs, flavorings and sometimes baking powder. I would suppose they contain no Milk for better

preservation properties.

ANYONE who has experience with fruit cakes.. COULD YOU SEND ME THE BATTER for your favorite cake. I would prefer ones that are tested. No

need for the fruits or the nuts or the fillings, I just want the CAKE batter mixture. Please note if it is a LIGHT or DARK cake and if the

soak is done with RUM, BRANDY, Bourbon, etc.

 
Here's a good light cake from David Lebovitz--REC: Christmas Cake--we love it...

Christmas Cake


Recipe By: David Lebovitz
Serving Size: 20

Ingredients:

1 cup Dark Raisins, or light
3/4 cups candied ginger
1/2 lb. Dried Figs, or dates, quartered
1/2 lb. dried pineapple, cut into 1/2" pieces
grated zest of 2 oranges
1/4 cup Dark Rum, or Grand Marnier, pl
3/4 cups light brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups Walnuts, or pecans, toasted a
1 cup Pistachio Nuts

Directions:

1. Butter and flour two 9" x 5" loaf pans.

2. Toss the raisins, ginger, figs or dates, pineapple, and orange zest in the dark rum. Let stand 1 hour.

3. Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

4. Either by hand, or with an electric mixer, cream together the brown sugar, honey and butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.

5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, until incorporated. (if using an electric mixer, scrape the bowl during mixing. Mixture will look curdled-don't be alarmed!). In a separate bowl, whisk together the salt, baking powder and the flour.

6. Stir in half of the flour, then the milk and vanilla extract, then the remaining flour. Mix only until smooth.

7. Add the nuts and macerated fruits.

8. 7.Bake for 55 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and brush the tops with rum.

9. Let cool completely.

10. Soak a few pieces of cheesecloth in rum (or Grand Marnier) and swaddle each cake with the cheesecloth. Store in Zip lock bags, but leave the end slightly open. Every few days drizzle a bit more liquor to re-soak the cheesecloth.

11. Yield: "2 9-inch loaf cakes"

Notes:

NOTES : You can keep this fruitcake for months, dousing the cheesecloth with liquor every now and then.

 
Hi Marsha!! Here is my mom's old DARK recipe, certainly T&T.

1/2 lb. butter
1/2 lb. brown sugar
5 eggs
1/2 lb flour
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. grape juice (that was a surprise)
1/2 t. soda

then all the nuts and seasonings. She used to make it in October, didn't refrigerate it ever, and of course it was never eaten for 2 months. And we all lived to enjoy it year after year.

No booze, never for my mom.

 
Here's an addendum to his request. TIA, Marsha

Like I said before, I talked an Australian lady out of her family heirloom fruitcake recipe. It contains dried fruit instead of the candied fruits so common in most American fruitcakes.

Dried Papaya, mango, apricots, coconut chips, banana chips and pineapple along with Glace Ginger (other fruits my be added) NO RAISIN, or as she said, Sultanas, are used in this cake. The FRUITS are soaked in Gran Marnier, Orange, or similar liquors. The nuts are brazil nuts, pistacios, slivered almonds and macadamia nuts. ( I will probably use
Walnuts also) . I just need a good cake to wrap around it because her
cake is in her head and even if she wrote it down, it would probably be wrong.

These dried Fruit Cakes are common in Australia and come from British traditions. I will probably be doing this recipe this week. They require 2 to 3 months to rest and mellow.

 
No fruit cake recipe, but I have a recipe for Pets de Soeurs. Did she want that too?

 
We found a close cake to the Aussie's that he wanted and here's the recipe

Yummly has a ton of fruit cakes. Still haven't found one quite like the Aussie Cake I got but this one comes close.



Kopikala Fruitcake



1 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup dried pineapple (chopped)
1/2 cup dried mango (chopped)
1/2 cup dried papaya (chopped)
1/2 cup candied ginger (chopped)
1 cup flaked coconut (sweetened)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons spiced rum; or pineapple juice
6 tablespoons buttermilk
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter; room temperature 1 stick
1 tablespoons orange zest; finely grated
4 large eggs; room temperature

This is a Fresh Fruitcake. The buttermilk makes it unsuitable for aging

1.Toast macadamia nuts in a skillet over medium heat, stir or shake
constantly to avoid burning. Transfer to bowl and let cool completely. If
dried fruits and ginger are in larger pieces, chop into pieces no larger
than the nail of your little finger, approximately 1/4-inch dice. Transfer
to the bowl with the nuts, add coconut and stir to combine. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 275°. Butter loaf pans, or lightly spray with cooking
spray, then coat with flour and set aside.

3. In a mediumbowl, combine dry ingredients, flour through baking soda; set
aside.

4. In medium bowl, whisk together the rum or pineapple juice, buttermilk
and orange juice; set aside.

5. With an electric mixer, cream sugar, butter and orange zest in a large
bowl until fluffly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each
addition. Stir in ingredients alternately with buttermilk mixture in
several additions until just combined. Fold in fruit mixture.

6. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake for 50 minutes at 275°. Rotate
pans in oven, if necessary, then raise temperature to 350° and bake an
additional 30-40 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the
center comes out clean. Turn off oven and let cakes rest in cooling oven
for 10-15 minutes.

7. Remove from oven and generously brush with additional rum or pineapple
juice, if desired. Let cool in pans for 15-30 minutes. Remove from pans and
cool completely before wrapping tightly in foil. Store in refrigerator for
2 days before serving or freeze up to 3 months.

 
In thanks for helping with finding a recipe, Ron has shared this Cinnabon clone rcp.Pets De Soeurs

As far as the Cinnabon Clone Recipe. I'd be glad to share this artery clogging delicacy.

They're great for Holiday Brunches and they'll keep for days in sealed containers. Only addition is to brush the buns with a bit of butter prior to putting them in the oven.. Otherwise they can get a bit crusty on top.

These are totally decadent. For 4 years, my
wife's workmates requested that I make them for them. I was up on Saturday morning at 3AM baking CINNAMON BUNS for their annual Christmas
Party.

The trick is the INSTANT PUDDING in the dough. It gives them a special texture. It takes a HUGE table area to roll them out. I actually find
it easier to split the dough, spread the dough farther and make the buns a bit smaller. HAVE FUN. You'll probably gain 10 pounds. Don't skimp
on the CINNAMON.. Use MORE ! ! Nobody ever complained that the
cinnamon buns had too much cinnamon.

Careful not to overbake them.



Pets De Soeurs ( Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnabon Style)



----DOUGH----
1/2 cup warm water
2 pkg active dry yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 pkg instant vanilla pudding; 3 1/2 oz size
2 cup milk, for pudding
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs; beaten
1 teaspoon salt
8 cup all purpose flour
----FILLING----
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar plus a few tbsp
1/4 cup good quality cinnamon +more; the best you can find
----ICING----
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
3 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon milk

This recipe with 1 box of pudding normally makes 20 rolls. If using a bread
machine decrease all ingredients by half including the pudding. In a small
bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside. In
large bowl, make pudding mix according to package directions. Allow
pudding to set. Add butter, eggs, and salt; mix well. Add the yeast
mixture; blend. Gradually add flour and knead until smooth and elastic.
This dough is quite soft. It is important not to add extra flour to gain
the desirable sticky texture of these rolls. Place in very large greased
bowl. Cover and let rise until double (about 1 hour). Punch down and let
rise again (45 minutes).

On a lightly floured surface, roll out to a 1/4 inch thick rectangle, 21
inches in its smaller dimension. Note: you may wish to divide the dough in
halves and roll out two rectangles. You may have to partially roll it out,
then cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest before finishing Spread 1/2
cup melted butter over surface.

Mix cinnamon and sugar together,and spread evenly over surface, leaving a
1-inch margin along one of the long edges. Roll up tightly, starting from a
long side. Press together along the edge not covered with cinnamon sugar.
Slice at 1 1/4 inch intervals. Place on greased baking pan, 2 inches apart.
Cover and let rise until double again. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-17
minutes. Remove as soon as they turn light golden brown.

This is very important. These rolls burn very easily. If you suspect your
oven to be clibrated the least bit hot reduce the temperature to 325. DO
NOT OVER BAKE watch them carfully. The perfect roll will have a soft crust,
light brown with areas that may not have browned yet. Frost warm rolls
with cream cheese frosting.

To make frosting combine softened butter and cream cheese with sugar,
vanilla and milk. Spread generously on hot rolls. Serve. Your family will
love you. Your cardiovascular doctor will keel over in disgust. These rolls
freeze well and are often even better after reheating in a microwave. Due
to the quantity made by the recipe freezing is almost a must.

For freezing, eliminate the milk from the frosting (this makes very little
difference in the texture and it can still be used for the hot rolls). Wait
until the rolls are cool before frosting. Frost the cooled rolls, place on
a cookie sheet and put in a freezer. When the rolls are frozen, place in
sealed plastic bags and return to freezer. Reheat in a microwave oven on
medium for about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until the icing begins to melt and
the roll is hot inside.

 
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