"Fruity" Fruitcake
Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 5:27AM This is not your mother’s fruitcake. Rather than dark and spicy (good too!) this one is light, fruity and sumptuous all at the same time!;)
Fruit
- 6 cups diced dried fruit of your choice. (I used dried apricots, cherries, figs, dates and cranberries).
- Enough brandy to cover the fruit, or put it in a bag and vacuum seal the air out, so much less brandy is needed.
Let the fruit marinate in the brandy for 24 hours. Or 6 months. It’s all good.
Cake
- 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter
- 2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 3-3/4 cups flour (16 ounces - all purpose, unbleached)
- 1 cup (8 ounces) orange juice
- 2 cups (7-1/2 ounces) broken walnuts or pecans
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease three 8 x 4 loaf pans. Or use eight mini loaf pans.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, add the baking powder, salt and vanilla, mix. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the flour alternately with the orange juice.
Drain the fruit and stir in along with the nuts.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pans, they should be about three quarters full. Bake the cakes for about 60 minutes (45-50 minutes for mini loaves). They will be golden brown in color, and a toothpick inserted into the centers will come out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven, cool for 10 minutes, and remove from pans. Brush with brandy. When completely cooled, wrap well and let rest at least 24 hours, or up to a month, brushing with brandy weekly.
Reader Comments (6)
I will have to print this one out and put it away - I only make fruit cake for Christmas for some reason and this one sounds like one I want to try.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
Thanks CJ. I will definitely try this. I really don't care for the candied fruit but like the dried. Again thanks. Diane in CT
What could I use instead of brandy so that it is non-alcoholic? Thanks.
how about using a fruit juice or cider?
What brandy do you use? I don't have any on hand and if I buy it, I sure like to use one that's been "tried" in this recipe. TIA!
CJ...I see you amended your recipe to include altered baking time for mini loaves. Thanks.