Holiday Fruitcake With Dried Fruit Recipes

HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. Combine fruit and nuts. In another bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Pour over fruit and nuts; stir to coat. , Transfer to a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 2 hours. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in a cool place. Bring to room temperature before serving; slice with a serrated knife.

VEGAN FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare baking pan. Spray a 9 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper down the long side of the pan leaving a few inches to hang over either side.
• In a large electric/stand mixer combine the dry ingredients on low speed: flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and baking powder.
• Add the room temperature vegan butter to the bowl. Mix on medium-low speed for about a minute, until the mixture resembles sand.
• Add the vegan buttermilk, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium-high speed until combined.
• Fold in the raisins, cranberries, cherries, and chopped walnuts by turning to low speed, and incorporating throughout the batter.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Smooth over the top.
• Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.

FREE RANGE FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Combine the dried fruits, both zests, and the candied ginger in a plastic storage container. Add the rum, cover, and macerate overnight at room temperature.
• The next day, load up a coffee/spice grinder or spice mill with the cloves, allspice, and cinnamon and grind to a fine powder.
• Add the spices, along with the macerated fruit and its liquid to a large saucepan. Add the sugar, butter, apple juice, and ginger. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool for at least 15 minutes. (At this point, you can either complete the batter or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days, which is what I usually do.)
• Place oven racks in the center and bottom of the oven. Place a roasting pan on the bottom rack and fill halfway with warm water. Crank the oven to 325ºF.
• Put the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a sifter and sift onto the cooled fruit mixture in the saucepan, bringing the batter together as quickly as possible with a large wooden spoon. One at a time, stir in the eggs. Finally, fold in the pecans.
• Spoon the resulting goo into a 10-inch nonstick loaf pan and bake until the interior temperature hits 200°F, about 1 hour.
• Remove to a wire rack or trivet. Spritz the top with brandy and cool completely. Wrap the cake in a few layers of cheesecloth, spritz with more brandy, and stash in a tin or any other airtight, food-safe containment vessel.
• Every 2 to 3 days, feel the cake and, if dry, spritz with more brandy. The cake's flavor and texture will enhance considerably over the next 2 weeks. If you decide to give the cake as a gift, be sure to tell the recipient that they are very lucky indeed.

NO-CANDIED-FRUIT FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Add pecans, cherries, pineapple and dates; toss to coat. Beat eggs and orange juice; add to fruit mixture and mix well. Line two 9x5-in. loaf pans with foil and grease the foil. Pour fruit mixture into pans and press down. Bake at 300° for 1-3/4 to 2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans. Remove foil. Brush with corn syrup; cool completely.

HOLIDAY BOURBON FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• On the first day, combine the candied orange peel, candied citron, candied pineapple, red and green candied cherries, currants, raisins, walnuts, and almonds. Combine the orange juice and the 2/3 cup bourbon; pour over the fruit and nuts. Stir and then cover tightly. Let the fruit marinate in a cool place for 1 full day, or at least 20 hours.
• On the second day, line two 9x5 inch loaf pans with parchment paper or aluminum foil and grease the inside with cooking spray. Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ginger, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir with a whisk to blend.
• In a separate large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy using an electric mixer. Stir in the egg yolks until blended and then mix in the applesauce, the 1/2 cup bourbon, and vanilla until fluffy. Continue stirring, and add the the flour mixture gradually until well combined. Add the molasses and stir to combine. When the batter is thoroughly mixed, gently mix in the fruit and nut mixture with all of its juices.
• In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer until they can hold a stiff peak. Fold egg whites into the batter. Divide evenly between the prepared pans. Cover loosely with a towel and let the batter stand overnight in a cool, dry place.
• On the third day, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Place a large baking pan on the bottom shelf and pour boiling water into it until almost full. Place a baking sheet on the center shelf and place the fruit cakes on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 2 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Check the water level and refill if needed. Cover the cakes with a sheet of parchment paper, taking care not to let it touch the shelf. Continue to bake until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour more. Cool fruitcakes in the pans, set over a wire rack. Once cool, remove the cakes from the pans, and leave the parchment paper on. Sprinkle with more bourbon if desired and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in a tin or other sealed container overnight before serving.

PRESSURE COOKER THREE INGREDIENT HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Rinse Dried Fruit in water to remove any sugar coating (if necessary). Soak fruit in juice overnight.
• Mix Flour, Fruit and Juice together and pour into greased Push Pan.
• Add 1.5 cups of water to your Pressure Cooker cooking pot and place a trivet. Lower cake into the Pressure Cooker.
• Lock on lid and close Pressure Valve. Cook at High Pressure for 1 hour.
• When Beep is heard, allow a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release.

WORLD'S BEST FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• The Day Before Baking: Combine the dried fruit in a large mixing bowl. Add the dark rum, cover, and allow the mixture to soak at room temperature for a minimum of 12 hours, or ideally 24 hours prior to preparing the fruit cake batter.
• Prepare the Fruitcake: Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) with a rack in the center position. Set aside two 8x4-inch All Clad Pro-Release Bakeware Loaf Pans. If using these pans, you do not need to line or grease the pans prior to adding the batter. Equipment Note: This fruitcake can also be prepared using 9x5-inch loaf pans. If using other types of pans, lightly grease and line with parchment paper.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and light brown sugar together over medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating just until each egg is incorporated. The mixture will look slightly broken, that's ok.
• Over low speed, slowly add the flour mixture until just absorbed. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Add the lemon zest, orange zest, fresh orange juice, grated apple, slivered almonds, diced candied ginger, soaked dried fruit mixture (along with any liquid if it hasn't already been absorbed), and chocoate (if using). Stir mixture with a large spatula, scraping the edges and bottom of the bowl several times, until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated. It is a very thick, fruit heavy mixture.
• Transfer and divide the batter evenly among the loaf pans. Use an offset spatula to smooth the batter into an even layer. Set the loaf pans on the center rack, several inches apart from one another. Bake - rotating the pans halfway - for 75 to 90 minutes or until the batter is set and the tops are golden brown. The edges of the cake may also start to pull away slightly from the edges of the pan. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely before removing from the pans.
• Storing and Aging: Once the cake has cooled, carefully remove the cakes from the loaf pans and set upright. Soak two large pieces of cheesecloth in medium sherry or triple sec (*they should be lightly damp, not soaking wet when you wrap the cakes, so you may need to squeeze out any excess liquor). Wrap each cake tightly. Cover loafs with wax paper and foil before transferring to a large Ziploc bag. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 to 8 weeks (it can often last even longer). You can serve this cake right after it has cooled, but the flavors improve greatly with time (I recommend several days or up to a week, at minimum). Unwrap and re-soak the cheesecloth once a week.
• For Garnishing: If desired, you can top the fruitcake with a light apricot glaze and whole pecans before serving. Note: I don't recommend glazing the cake if you wish to continue to wrap and age the fruitcake. To Prepare the Glaze: Combine the apricot preserves and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a light simmer, stirring until the glaze is shiny and thin. If it is too thin for glazing, reduce to desired consistency. If it becomes too thick, add a teaspoon of water. Brush the tops of the fruitcakes with apricot glaze and garnish with whole pecans.
• Serving Notes: Slice fruit cake with a serrated knife. Serve on its own or spread with a small amount of salted butter.