Fruit cake?????

[TC_Manhattan]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

To each his own. I've always considered them doorstops. I would taste a small piece from time to time to see if improvements had been made, but, alas, my taste buds wouldn't find any improvements.

So, one day someone asked if I liked something called "Friendship" cake or "30 Day" cake. I don't like most things cake, but I tried it this time and "WOW". It was not hard as a brick and it tasted like it was fermented.

So, we got the recipe and made some and now we have it every fall and winter. I don't mean to hijack the thread, so if anyone is interested, I'll post the recipe.

I just can't get into the brick hard molasses dominated doorstops for sale all over the holidays seasons.

Ted, I would LOVE to have your recipe for this cake!
Please post it, or at least please send it to me as a PM.
Please....

[carolyn137]

The recipe my mother used for fruit cake came from my Grandmother Male and it was passed down by her ancestors when they came to the US from England.

I don't have a recipe to give,but in general,the batter was mixed,fruits and nuts added, steamed,then when cool wrapped in gauze, put in our then cool pantry,taken out about once a week, and basted with whiskey or whatever,it could also be Scotch, since my father plowed driveways near us in the winter and would be given a bottle of this or that as a Xmas present even though he didn't drink hard stuff.

It was made by Thanksgiving time to be ready for Xmas.

Carolyn,who also still has a wonderful box of Xmas that has a picture depicting folks bringing their fruit cakes on sleds to a hole in the ice and dumping them in.

That's Edward Gorey for you for those who know about him.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Edwa...&bih=815&dpr=1

And yes I have cards of several of his illustrations,I love them all.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by carolyn137

The recipe my mother used for fruit cake came from my Grandmother Male and it was passed down by her ancestors when they came to the US from England.

I don't have a recipe to give,but in general,the batter was mixed,fruits and nuts added, steamed,then when cool wrapped in gauze, put in our then cool pantry,taken out about once a week, and basted with whiskey or whatever,it could also be Scotch, since my father plowed driveways near us in the winter and would be given a bottle of this or that as a Xmas present even though he didn't drink hard stuff.

It was made by Thanksgiving time to be ready for Xmas.

Carolyn,who also still has a wonderful box of Xmas that has a picture depicting folks bringing their fruit cakes on sleds to a hole in the ice and dumping them in.

That's Edward Gorey for you for those who know about him.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Edwa...&bih=815&dpr=1

And yes I have cards of several of his illustrations,I love them all.

Wonderful story Carolyn.
My goal this year is to make all the things I love and cant by in the stores anymore for Christmas.
I will forgo the big meats and head right into the sweets.
Fruitcake.
Mincemeat pie top of the list.

[clkeiper]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Wonderful story Carolyn.
My goal this year is to make all the things I love and cant by in the stores anymore for Christmas.
I will forgo the big meats and head right into the sweets.
Fruitcake.
Mincemeat pie top of the list.

I had to laugh at this.... My family was accused of being neanderthals because we ate dessert first... of which we don't but I laughed anyway at the insult of an angry person...

[bower]

Here is my fruitcake recipe - adapted from grandmother's. I use refined olive oil instead of butter, and I use dried apricots instead of "peel" or "crystallized fruit" which IMO make the whole thing taste pretty bad.
I'm sure you'll make up your own recipe Worth, so this is another guideline for your invention.


Fruitcake


Combine:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves


Chop and use a little of the flour mixture to combine:
2 cups dried apricots
2 cups glace cherries
2 cups raisins
2 cups currants


In your largest bowl, cream:
1 cup pure olive oil (not evoo) or butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Then add: 1 pint of molasses


Stir in the flour mixture, then the fruit.
Spread it into a lined, greased cake pan
Bake for three hours at 300 F.


I do mine in a big rectangle pan, makes it easy to cut square chunks (and fits in envelopes)

[AlittleSalt]

Bower, that sounds good.

Just being curious - why use pure olive oil instead of butter? (I should tell you that I have not used olive oil much because of cost, so I don't much about it.) About EVOO, I had to look that one up a few years ago when people here were writing about it - it stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I thought it was a brand name like Coke or something like that.

[AlittleSalt]

The post above isn't why I clicked on this thread. Just Bower's fruitcake recipe sounds good.

The reason why I don't make fruitcakes is because I'm the last of my extended family that likes fruitcakes. I could buy one of those tiny loaf pans and scale down a recipe just for myself, but I don't really like cooking things just for me. (After proofreading - that sounds sad. I don't mean for it to.) Fruitcake is one of those foods you either like or you don't.

[bower]

Salt, the condition of high cholesterol and heart disease runs in my family. So when the doctor told me my cholesterol was up, many years ago, I just switched to olive oil for everything pretty much.


The evoo is green colored and contains a lot of 'good for you' stuff besides the oil, but it is also strong tasting and only suitable for savory things. The refined olive oil or "pure olive oil" is yellow and just tastes like an oil, so that is what I use for baking.

[Worth1]

First I am a cranberry hoarder and I freely admit it.
I have stacks of them in the freezer.

Next I cook for myself first and foremost.
Even if there is a pile of people I cook for myself.
My mother was that way and I take after her big time.
My favorite story she read to me as a wee thing is The Little Red Hen.
The one where she did all the work while the rest of the lazy critters sat around and did nothing.

This had a profound effect on me and to a large extent made me who I am today.
I used to cook for seven people and they ate what I made or starved.

I dont like beef soup.
Fine more for me.

Oh yeah fruitcake I would take one for myself and hide it.
Worth

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by bower

Salt, the condition of high cholesterol and heart disease runs in my family. So when the doctor told me my cholesterol was up, many years ago, I just switched to olive oil for everything pretty much.


The evoo is green colored and contains a lot of 'good for you' stuff besides the oil, but it is also strong tasting and only suitable for savory things. The refined olive oil or "pure olive oil" is yellow and just tastes like an oil, so that is what I use for baking.

Bower, thank you for the information. I have/had a slightly elevated cholesterol level. I take Fenofibric Acid 135mg once a day and it helps keep the cholesterol level down. Because of the nerve diseases - I have to have blood tests 3 times a year. The medicine is doing its job.

I understand why you use olive oil instead of butter.

[carolyn137]

(Mincemeat pie top of the list.)

One thousand cheers for mincemeat pie.

And yes,it was my Grandma Male who made THE best. Again a recipe handed down to her from England.

She used REAL suet in it as the English always did.

https://www.google.com/search?q=reci...&bih=815&dpr=1

lots of suet used in recipes listed in the above.


Carolyn

[ContainerTed]

Ted's recipe for 30 day (or Friendship) cake, instead of the regular Fruit Cake.

Ingredients:

1 packet of yeast or a pint jar of some friends starter, which is the leftover juice from the process.
2 cups of warm (not hot) water to activate the yeast if needed
4 cups regular sugar
1 large can (15 oz) of fruit cocktail
1 large can (15 oz) of diced peaches
1 large can (15 oz) crushed pineapple
1 8 oz can of jar of maraschino cherries
1 large can of any other fruit you choose
1 standard yellow cake mix - moist is recommended
2 cups dried raisins
1 or 2 cups of the nuts of your choice

Do not drain any of the canned fruit. Stir only with non-metallic instruments

Begin with two cups of the sugar, yeast, and the fruit cocktail and put them into a glass container. Combine and stir with a non metal instrument daily for the first week.

Add the peaches and another cup of sugar and stir daily for the next 7 days.

Add the Pineapple and another cup of sugar and stir daily for the next 7 days.

Add the maraschino cherries and any other fruit you choose, and stir daily for the next 7 days.

Now add the English Walnuts and any other fruits or nuts you choose and stir daily for the next 3 to 4 days.

Your "mix" should have taken on a distinctly "wine" aroma. If this happens, you are right on track.

Saving the liquid, and using a colander or non-metallic strainer of your choice, drain the entire mixture to separate the fruit from the juice.

Now, all the final ingredients are ready.

With one cup of the "juice" and two cups of the fruit, add them to one standard box of "Moist Yellow Cake Mix". Stir together to achieve a good mix and pour into a well greased Bunt cake pan and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 45 min to one hour or until a test toothpick or skewer shows it to be done (comes back dry). Cool and enjoy. It can be sliced or chunked and frozen for storage. Freezer time had been tested by me to be at least 12 months.

It is not that "brick" most folks have against "Fruit Cake". It is light and fruity and sweet and will please the most critical of appetites.

The extra liquid can be refrigerated (not frozen) for next year or used for additional cakes. We usually get about three cakes out of each recipe. If you use the liquid which most of us call a "starter", then all you have to add is the fruit and sugar. Refrigerated leftover liquid doesn't seem to kill the yeast.

You can adjust the amounts of the fruits added to this recipe. It's all about allowing the yeast to ferment the fruit and make alcohol with the sugar. The alcohol is boiled off during the baking, but the flavors remain.

Hope this works for you.

The taste should be fruity and sweet. If you are diabetic, then caution is strongly advised.

[dustdevil]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

To each his own. I've always considered them doorstops. I would taste a small piece from time to time to see if improvements had been made, but, alas, my taste buds wouldn't find any improvements.

So, one day someone asked if I liked something called "Friendship" cake or "30 Day" cake. I don't like most things cake, but I tried it this time and "WOW". It was not hard as a brick and it tasted like it was fermented.

So, we got the recipe and made some and now we have it every fall and winter. I don't mean to hijack the thread, so if anyone is interested, I'll post the recipe.

I just can't get into the brick hard molasses dominated doorstops for sale all over the holidays seasons.

When I was a wee lad, I used to eat at least five fruitcakes by myself at Christmas-time. The commercial ones came in very fancy tins for holiday gifts.
Glad to hear you are holding up. How is the Magnolia tree doing?

[Patihum]

Our absolute favorite for "homemade" fruit cake!


Kentucky Bourbon Cake/Whiskey Cake

Servings
24 servings
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
4 hours
Kosher Key
Dairy


Description

History and a traditional recipe for Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Cake from food historian Gil Marks. Bourbon spiced cake filled with dried fruit and nuts.

Ingredients

Fruit and Nut Ingredients

• 5 cups seedless dark raisins (24 ounces/680 grams)
• 1 cup candied pineapple or citron (5.25 ounces/150 grams)
• 2 cups good quality bourbon or Tennessee whiskey (do not use a blend) (16 ounces/450 grams)
• 4 cups coarsely chopped pecans (16 ounces/500 grams)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted (2 ounces/60 grams)

Batter Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour (17 ounces/480 grams)
• 2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (1 whole nutmeg) (or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon ground cloves)
• 1 tsp double-acting baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (65 to 67°F) (3 sticks/12 ounces/340 grams)
• 2 cups granulated sugar (14 ounces/400 grams)
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar (7.5 ounces/210 grams)
• 6 large egg yolks (7 tablespoons/4 ounces/115 grams)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp grated orange zest (optional)
• 6 large egg whites (¾ cup/6 ounces/180 grams)

Recipe Notes

You will also need: One 10-inch tube cake, two 9-inch rounds, or four 9- by 5-inch loaves, large mixing bowls, sifter, hand mixer, roasting pan or large baking pan,

Instructions

1. In a large bowl or jar, combine the raisins and pineapple. Add the bourbon, cover, and let soak for at least 8 hours or, for a more intense flavor, up to 48 hours.
2. Drain the fruit, reserving 1 cup bourbon. (You can imagine what cooks do with any leftover bourbon.) Place the fruit and pecans in a large bowl, add the ½ cup flour, and toss to coat and separate any clumps.
3. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Place a roasting pan or large baking pan on the lower rack of the oven and add 1-inch of boiling water. Preheat the oven to 275°F. Grease one 10- by 4-inch (16-cup) tube pan, two 9-inch springform pans or 8-inch (8-cup) tube pans, or four 1-pound coffee tins or 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pans, line the bottom and sides with parchment paper or greased pieces of brown paper bag, grease again, and dust with flour.
4. To make the batter: Sift together the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.
5. In a very large bowl, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
6. Increase the speed to medium, gradually add the sugars, and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
7. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Add the vanilla and, if using, zest.
8. Add the flour mixture in 3 stages alternately with the reserved 1 cup bourbon, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
9. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until stiff but not dry, 5 to 8 minutes.
10. Fold ¼ of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining whites.
11. Stir in the fruit and nut mixture.
12. Pour into the prepared pan, tapping to remove any air pockets, but do not pack down.
13. Bake, rotating the pan every 45 minutes or so, until a wooden tester inserted in the center comes out clean or the internal temperature registers 200 to 208°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 3½ to 4 hours for a 10-inch tube pan, 3 hours for springform pans, 2¼ hours for 8-inch tube pans, and about 2 hours for loaf pans. Place on a wire rack and let cool in the pan, at least 2 hours.
14. Remove the cake from the pan. The taste and texture improves as the cake ages. You can wrap the cake airtight and place in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
15. Or to age the cake, wrap it in a cloth or double layer of cheesecloth dampened with bourbon, place in an airtight container or wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil, and let stand in a cool, dry place for at least 2 weeks.

VARIATIONS

1. Chocolate Bourbon Cake: Omit the nutmeg. With the flour, sift 2 tablespoons non-alkalized (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder and with the vanilla add 5 ounces (140 grams) melted unsweetened chocolate. If desired, also add ¼ cup instant espresso powder or coffee powder.
2. Substitute 3 cups (16 ounces/455 grams) seedless golden raisins for the dark raisins and pineapple.
3. Pecan Fruitcake: Substitute 2 cups golden raisins (10 ounces/290 grams) for the dark raisins; increase the candied pineapple or citron to 2 cups (10.5 ounces/300 grams) – or use 2 cups coarsely chopped pitted dates (12 ounces/340 grams); and add 2 cups red candied cherries.

[Nan_PA_6b]

Ted, a friend of mine recently remarked that she wished she had her late mother-in-law's fruitcake recipe. The mother-in-law would set fruit out on the table for weeks, she said. I read your recipe and passed it on to her; she says it's exactly what she is looking for! You made someone's day.