Heirloomfruitcake Food

HEIRLOOM FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and honey. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, allspice and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture alternately with cream. Stir in raisins, dates, apricots and pecans. , Pack into two greased and floured 8x4-in. loaf pans. Place pans on middle rack of oven; place a shallow pan of hot water on lowest rack. , Bake at 300° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan. Loosen edges with a knife and remove from pan. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

THE BEST FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Combine the raisins, currants, apricots, figs, prunes, dates, walnuts, pecans, orange zest, lemon zest, candied ginger, pumpkin pie spice and cloves in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add 1 cup of the brandy, orange liqueur and molasses and stir to coat. Cover and set aside to macerate overnight. (Alternatively, cover the bowl and microwave 2 minutes, or until very hot. Leave covered and let sit until almost all the liquid has been absorbed into the fruit and nuts, about 2 hours.)
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Spray two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and line each with 2 pieces of parchment, one lengthwise and one crosswise, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each side. Spray the parchment with cooking spray.
• Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour over the soaked fruit mixture and toss to coat. Whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
• Cream the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium-low and beat in the flour mixture until the batter is blended and smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until all the fruit is coated in batter.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared pans, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans, the tops spring back slightly when pressed and a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons brandy. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 15 minutes. Carefully remove each cake from its pan using the parchment overhang and place on the rack to cool completely.
• To store, wrap each loaf tightly in plastic and then foil. The wrapped fruitcakes can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 3 months.

THE WORLD'S BEST FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Place coconut, dates, and pecan pieces in a very large (7 quart or larger) bowl. With your hands break up chunks of dates & coconut, and stir those 3 ingredients together.
• Add the cherries, pineapple, and sweetened condensed milk. Stir thoroughly. (I wear non-powdered surgical gloves, and stir it with my hands because the mixture is very stiff.).
• Let set at room temperature while you prepare the pans. Spray 2 - 9"x5" loaf pans with Pam. Line the pans with waxed (or parchment) paper. (We cut parchment paper in 4 1/4"x 16 1/4" and 8"x 12 1/2" strips for this. You want the paper to come up past the sides of the pans after the mixture is packed into the pans. It seems like a lot of work, but it's well worth the effort!) Now spray the paper (after you've pressed it into the pans) with Pam.
• Stir the ingredients well again.Divide the ingredients equally between the 2 loaf pans.
• Pack VERY TIGHTLY and smoothly into the pans. (I wet my hands & press, pack down, & smooth top, using both hands. Wetting your hands keeps them from sticking to "batter".).
• Place the pans on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 300 degrees F for 1 hour, or until lightly browned. (If the cakes have baked for an hour, or look a little brown around the edges, take them out of the oven & lift edges of paper a little to see if sides look brown enough. If they're brown on sides, but not on top, you may broil the tops for a few minutes-watch carefully.).
• Remove cakes from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pans.
• Gently lift the edges of the paper a couple of times on each side - kind of a rocking motion. Turn pans upside down onto a paper-lined cookie sheet. Lift pans from the cakes. Remove paper from bottom of cakes IMMEDIATELY.
• Let cool completely. Place in a large container (don't wrap yet) and refrigerate overnight.
• Turn cake upside down to slice. After slicing, wrap in waxed (or parchment) paper, then in heavy duty aluminum foil.
• May be refrigerated up to 3 months or frozen up to 1 year.

FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Grease and flour a tube pan.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, soda, spices, eggs, lemon rind, vanilla, 1/2 cup brandy, fruit, nuts, and melted butter or margarine. Mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
• Wrap cooled cake in foil. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons brandy over the cake everyday for 2 weeks.

HEIRLOOM FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Finely chop candied fruits and pecans.
• Snip dates and raisins into small pieces with kitchen shears dipped in hot water occasionally to prevent stickiness.
• Combine fruit and nuts in a bowl, add 2 or 3 T flour and toss to mix well.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon.
• Set aside.
• Cream butter until fluffy, then add brown sugar and gradually beat until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs two at a time, then stir in vanilla, lemon juice, and orange juice.
• Mix jelly and rum/juice until smooth.
• Add alternately to batter with dry ingredients.
• Pour batter over fruit and mix throughly, using a wooden spoon or your hands.
• Pour batter into 2 greased and lined loaf pans or 1 ten-inch tube pan.
• Bake at 275 F for 3 1/2 hours.
• Paint generously with grape juice/brandy and wrap in cheesecloth and foil, keeping refrigerated until Christmas time.
• Paint on more juice once or twice per week.

RICH FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• The night before, pour 75ml of the brandy over the fruit, cover and leave to sit, letting the fruit soak up the alcohol.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line a deep, 25cm square cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside, so that it comes about 2.5cm above the sides of the tin, and secure with string.
• Sift the flour, spices, cocoa powder and ½ tsp salt together. Mix a third of this mixture into the soaked fruit. Cream the butter, zests and sugar until light and fluffy, stir in the treacle, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in half the remaining flour mixture. Once mixed, fold in the fruit mixture followed by the remaining flour mixture.
• Spoon into the prepared tin, smoothing the top with a palette knife. Bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hrs 30 mins, checking the cake with 15 mins to go. When a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, it's ready.
• Leave to cool in the tin for 30 mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. To store, peel off the baking parchment, poke holes into the cake and feed with the remaining brandy. Wrap well in cling film. Will keep for three months.