Fruitcake

[Aggie]

I want to defend the humble holiday fruitcake, which I think has an undeservedly bad reputation.  I make a point of eating a couple of slices whenever I encounter it...  it's good!

I've never given or received the stuff as a gift, and have encountered both home-made and store bought varieties.   Mom does a natural fruit cake recipe... without the candied fruits, and WITH a good soaking (or three) of rum. 

[The Meromorph]

I think the american problem with fruit cake is due to 'store bought' fruitcakes. I've tried one ot two of those, and the best I can say is they were edible.
Homemade fruit cake varies from good to wondeful. 

[Sibling Lambicus the Toluous]

When I was in the Boy Scouts, we used to sell fruit cakes every Christmas; I think those were more suitable as load-bearing elements in construction than as food.

I've had okay fruit cakes, but as far as seasonal deserts go, my favourite is mincemeat pie.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

When I was young, I had a fairly well-off aunt, who would send each Christmas, a fruit-cake.

It came in a lovely tin, and was delicious!

She sent that to our family for years and years.  Eventually, she retired, and her memory 'retired', too, and those lovely cakes ceased.

Many, many years later, in a fit of nostalgia, I purchased a thing from the supermarket called "fruit cake".  It was abysmal in the extreme!  It was NOT the delectable memory I cherished!  I (and if you knew my upbringing, you know this was an extreme response) threw it out ...

Next time I was home, I dug around in mom's stuff, until I located one of those tins (full of stuff, what else?).  But, there was a label affixed to the bottom, indicating the brand. (I forget, now-- been years, and my memory wants to retire, too! )

I then went on a search (pre-internet) of magazines and such, until I located a vendor of that brand-- and, by this time (late 70's or early 80's), they wanted around $50 per cake ... ! (as I recall) This was in 1980 dollars!

Needless to say, I did not order one ... and I REALLY appreciated aunt's generosity! (actually, she was not rich by any means-- "comfortable" at best--likely those cakes represented a serious expenditure on her part.  But that was her way-- very generous with anything she had.)

[Aggie]

I (and if you knew my upbringing, you know this was an extreme response) threw it out ...

Can agree with you on that one... throwing out food, even if it's close to inedible, is a tough one for me.  Hence my experience with many types of food poisoning.  Not finishing books is almost as hard.

[Sibling Chatty]

Almost any disgusting fruitcake can be recycled. (Not the ones with mostly citron--lemon peels, and fake spices--and nothing actually modly.)

To recycle quite nicely, soak the whole thing in rum or sherry. Repeatedly. Until it's sort of...mushy. Add sugar, brown preferably, but any will do. You'll have sweet alcoholic mush.

Now, make a coffeecake type quickbread, leave out some of the liquid (excepting any eggs or rising catalysts) and put half the batter in the pan, spread on it a layer of the mush and dot it liberally with butter, then cover with the rest of the batter.

You can also microwave the mushy stuff 'til warm and eat it on icecream.
=============

The best fruitcake I ever had was made with ONLY candied pineapple and cherries, lots of almonds, and soaked in Amaretto. My cousin used to make them for banquets and special events at the lodge where she worked. Bush I quail hunted there, and he loved that cake. He'd order several each Christmas, and they cost a small fortune.

Cousin stopped making them when the Dim Son got elected Governor. He wanted to order 100 of them, and refused to believe the Secret Service when they said she made them at home, and didn't have the space to make 100. He called her and made her mad, so she just stopped. She's saying she'll make some again if they impeach him.

Edit to add the inevitable...
http://www.collinstreet.com/pages/about_us

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Sounds yummy, Sib Chatty.

The fruitcakes of my childhood were either from California or New England.  I know that my Aunt lived in California for many years, and that seems most likely.

I do know she ordered them and did not go out and physically purchase any.  They were "gift-shipped" from the makers' location.

Unfortunately, all those childhood tins are long gone, now.  As is any memory of brand, etc.

But, they sure were worth savoring-- we would slice-by-slice spread it out until the end of January.

The ingredients, once when I was curious had a prominent "all natural" at the top, which I found remarkable at the time.  "How can candied fruit be "natural" I asked ... now I know better! ha!

I distinctly remember pecans, walnuts and other nutty-bits.  There were a variety of candied fruits, too-- cherries, oranges, green-mint things, other things I was to unsophisticated to identify.  The cake-part (what there was of it) was a rich mellow brown, and not all that sweet--a kind of sweet-bread, really. Nice contrast to the candied fruits.

The cakes were moist and dense, but not so dense that you couldn't easily cut it with a fork.  Definitely NOT dry or crumbly.

There may or may not have been brandy and/or rum in there -- we were a tee-totaler family (legacy of an alcoholic, absent great-grandfather) and wouldn't have recognized it anyway. 

I may have to research a really good cake again-- my mother might remember the brand, she has a head for those sorts of things.

[Bluenose]

Probably the best commercial fruit cakes I know of are the ones sold here by Lions Clubs.  These are very delicious.

However, I do not think you can really go past home made.  In my family we use a recipe from my great grandfather (who was a baker) and which has been in the family since the 1890s.  It is very yum indeed.

Sibling Bluenose

[The Meromorph]

Could you post the recipe?

[ivor]

Yes please!  I happen to like fruitcake.  I guess that makes me a cannabil.  So what!

[Bluenose]

This has been posted elsewhere in the Monastery, but I am not about to stand on ceremony, so here it goes again.



Both these recipes are over a hundred years old, the Christmas cake has been in my family since at least the 1890s and the pudding recipe was an old family recipe of a 90 year old (or so) Scottish lady who gave it to my grandmother in the 1930s.

Glad bake is a brand of non-stick baking or cooking paper sold in Oz.

I can vouch for the yumminess of these recipes!

Old Pop Long's Christmas Cake - 20 cm (7") Cake

8 oz White Sugar   
8 oz Butter   
10 oz Plain Flour   
1 lb Sultanas   
8 oz Currants   
2 oz Raisins   
4 oz Mixed Peel   
20 oz Glacè (or crystallised) Ginger   
2 oz Glacè Cherries   
2 oz Dried Dates
4 oz Mixed Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts, Brazils, Hazelnuts)
Pinch Salt
¼ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Mixed Spice
4 eggs (61g)
¼ cup Milk
¼ tsp Nutmeg
½ cup Rum (Bundaberg OP Rum is best)
Extra Rum

•   Clean fruit, chop nuts roughly and soak for at least 24 hours in the rum, in an air-tight container (eg Tupperware)
•   Grease and double line the cake tin with Glad Bake
•   Using electric beaters, cream the softened butter and sugar together until light and creamy
•   Add whole eggs, one at a time and then the milk
•   Add the fruit and stir well, then the sifted flour and dry ingredients.  Mix well.
•   Pour into prepared tin and bake at 140ºC for 2½ to 3 hours, until a cake tester (or skewer) inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.
•   Remove from oven and sprinkle liberally with extra rum.
•   Wrap in tea towel, still in tin, then several thicknesses of newspaper and leave until completely cold - 24 hours.
•   Remove from tin and wrap in foil and store in an airtight container (eg Tupperware) and keep for at least 2 weeks before cutting.


Christmas Pudding

8 oz Butter
8 oz Brown Sugar
4 eggs (61g)
8 oz Seeded Raisins
8 oz Currants
8 oz Sultanas
2 oz Blanched Almonds
4 oz Plain Flour
Glad Bake
Cotton string
4 oz Soft White Breadcrumbs
¼ Teaspoon Carb Soda
¼ Teaspoon Mixed Spice
Pinch Salt
3 Tablespoons Brandy (or more)
¼ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
2 oz Candied Peel
Extra butter to grease basin
Aluminium foil

Clean fruit, chop almonds & put with the brandy overnight.  Prepare a large pudding basin by greasing well with butter, cut a circle of Glad Bake and put in the bottom.
Cream the butter and sugar until light.  Beat the eggs lightly and add gradually to mixture, beating well after each addition.  Add prepared fruit, almonds, peel and brandy, stirring until evenly mixed.  Add breadcrumbs and sifted flour, salt, spice and nutmeg.  Mix thoroughly and pour into basin allowing a little space for rising.

Cover with two thicknesses of Glad Bake and then two of Aluminium foil, folding down over the sides of the bowl.  Tie securely under the rim of the pudding basin using cotton string, forming a handle over the top (this also helps keep the string in place) - see drawing below.  Place in a steamer and steam for 6 hours.  Can also be put directly in boiling water, but keep the water up to at least half way or more throughout cooking - but not over the top of the basin.
Steam a further two hours on the day of serving.  When ready to serve, heat 1/3 cup of brandy set alight and pour while burning over the pudding.  Serve with brandy custard and King Island cream.
Store in the refrigerator.

P.S.    Use traditional china or stoneware pudding basin available at most kitchen or hardware stores - size required would be about 8" or 20 cm across the top.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

It is most appropriate to re-post a FRUITCAKE recipe on a fruitcake thread! 

I do have one question, though.  Are the nuts raw? Salted? Roasted?

This is because it's not all that easy to obtain raw nuts around here, without taking out a 2nd mortgage...  (unless you purchase unshelled, but ONLY around December.  Not available other times.)

[Bluenose]

Well, we just buy the run-of-the-mill mixed nuts.  I think they are roasted, not sure about being salted.  Doubt it would matter much either way since there is a lot of flavour in all the remaining ingredients.

sibling Bluenose

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Well, we just buy the run-of-the-mill mixed nuts.  I think they are roasted, not sure about being salted.  Doubt it would matter much either way since there is a lot of flavour in all the remaining ingredients.

sibling Bluenose

Thank-you!  I am seriously considering making up a double-batch, and giving home-made fruitcake this year as Xmas presents.

[Bluenose]

Let me know what you think, if you do decide to try it!

BTW, buy Buderim ginger if you can get it, IMHO it is the best you can buy.

Also, the recipe says to clean the fruit, this is a ritual in my family where we go through the dried fruit to remove any stalks etc that might be in there.  I know a lot of people do not bother with this but we have always thought it important.

Sibling Bluenose