The Great Fruitcake Experience of 2008

Happy Birthday Fruitcake! I know, I know, it's not the holidays... there isn't even any snow on the ground here or Christmas carols being sung. So, why am I making a fruitcake then?? For my dad's birthday of course! From what I've observed fruitcake usually falls into one of two categories: you either love it or hate it. My dad, falls into the love it category and the rest of our family, including me, hates the stuff.

I've promised him a fruitcake for a while now, and I never got around to making it over the holidays so I thought I'd make it for his birthday. This is my first fruitcake ever, so I didn't know what to expect. I followed a recipe from Allrecipes.com for a boiled fruitcake. Basically you cook all the ingredients on the stovetop and then bake in pans. I started by soaking my dried fruits overnight in some spiced rum. They smelled really good! And, I have to say that the batter was DELICIOUS. I'm not sure what happened inside the oven that turned the scrumptious mildly-spiced batter into your typical fruitcake flavor, but it happened. I you like fruitcake, this isn't a problem of course!

I'm also not sure how I ended up with so much batter, but the recipe says to use an 8" round pan. I had batter for at least two of those, so I decided to use a pretty bundt pan that I stole borrowed from my mom. The pan is dark and heavy, and I think that might be the reason the cake got a little dry on the outside. I dropped back the temperature and cooking time, anticipating that might happen, but still ended up with a rather hard crust.

My dad said he really liked the cake. (Although he is my father and is probably biased. Thanks, dad if you're reading this!) He mentioned that it was a tad dry, but is getting moister as it sits. And, since there's no one else fighting to eat fruitcake at the house, he can let it sit for a good while! I baked the cake a week prior to his birthday. A couple of weeks would have been better I suppose. Also, I faithfully brushed a mixture of brandy and rum on the outside of the cake each day and then sealed it back up. I later jokingly asked my dad if he got a buzz from the cake due to the amount of alcohol I used. To which he replied "no, but that would explain why my tongue gets numb each time I eat a slice." Oh dear!

Boiled Fruitcake
Allrecipes.com

2 cups chopped dried mixed fruit 1 cup roughly chopped glace cherries 1/4 cup candied mixed citrus peel 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup butter 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon mixed spice 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 2/3 cups sifted self-rising flour 2 eggs

 

	Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Line one 8x3 inch round cake tin with parchment paper.
	In a medium saucepan, combine mixed fruit, cherries, citrus peel, walnuts, sugar, butter, milk, mixed spice, and baking soda. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
	Stir in flour and eggs. Pour into the prepared pan. Wrap outside of pan with brown paper or newspaper.
	Bake at 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) for 40 minutes, then reduce temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), and continue to baking cake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cake from oven, and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack, remove paper, and cool completely. Cake can be stored for up to 6 months wrapped in foil and in an airtight tin.

Comments

[Gigi]

i guess i too, fall into the love it category. the cake looks beautiful, i bet your dad was pleased.

[steph]

i'm with you, not a huge fan of fruitcake. but this looks beautiful, and i'm sure your dad loved that you made it for him! by the way, i have awarded your blog an E for Excellent ...http://awhiskandaspoon.wordpress.com/2008/04/10/brought-to-you-by-the-letter-e/