Holiday Fruit Cake

[ChesterV]

Probably THE most wasted use of food on the planet during the holiday seasons. Everybody wants to MAKE fruitcakes for holidays, but hardly anyone EATS them. They've received the stigmata as being "the gift" that keeps on giving .........meaning that one person that receives it, regifts it to someone else, who regifts it to someone else, who regifts it to someone else, etc..... Or, they just refer to it as "the door stop", "the brick", or use it as some sort of decoration. Some places even have games called "Fruit Cake Toss", to see how far someone can throw a fruitcake.

Very few people in the world actually EAT fruit cake, as over the centuries it has become more of a holiday gag gift, than something edible. In some places, it's also considered the "white elephant" of gift giving....something you give to someone you don't like, but you don't want to be the "rude one" of the group for not giving someone a gift.

In my area of the USA, bringing a fruit cake to a party or group gathering is one thing......GIVING one as a gift is considered an act of prejudice against that person, I mean, you'd be better off just going up to them and slap them in the face.


Below are some tips if you want to make a fruit cake people will actually consider EATING....

 

[ChesterV]

One European "trick" in making fruitcake some people will actually eat is, soak it in alcohol, or use alcohol in the batter.

From my experience most people use Brandy or Bourbon in making fruitcakes, which is a bit harsh and doesn't really go that well with fruit. I would advise an alcohol that goes with fruit, more like a snapps or liqueur. I like Amaretto. It's fruity and nutty on it's own and gives a better taste to fruitcake than a harsh alcohol does.

****

Use fresh fruit instead of candied or dried fruit. Candied fruit can make the cake look "fake" or "plastic", as well as just plain unappealing. Dried fruit will just look like old fruit stuck in a loaf of cake, which can be just as unappealing. Using fresh fruits will look better, taste better, and keep more moisture in the batter while baking.

****

Don't use a shiny, clear glaze. Again, this will make the cake look fake and plastic. If you want to use a glaze, use a cream cheese glaze, fruit glaze, or white cream glaze. Hiding the fact that it is a fruit cake can help. I mean, once someone slices a piece off not realizing its fruit cake, they won't want to look bad and not take that piece. And why stand there holding cake unless you intend to eat it....so they may at least TRY it and may end up liking it. And if one person likes it, they will tell others.

****

Fruit cakes that are more cake than fruit have a better chance of being eaten, than one that looks like a bunch of fruit bits glued together by cake batter.

****

Don't use the standard fruits when making a fruit cake. Or at least add one or two that contain popular fruits in them. as popular fruits are more likely to be eaten than the standard ones.

Adding strawberries to a fruit cake might seem un-holiday like, but most people love strawberries and will usually accept other ingredients in something, as long as it contains strawberries. Blueberries also work well with this.

****

You might try more nuts than fruit. I am more partial to nuts than fruit myself. I love a cake that has tons of chopped nuts in it.

****

Don't use the standard loaf pan, fruitcake pan, or angel food pan. Use fancy shaped bundt pans to make your cake. A fancy shape will usually draw peoples attention to the cake, rather than people just seeing it and ignoring it as the "usual" fruit cake. Fancy shaped cakes have a tendency to be eaten over regular or standard shaped cakes.

****

My recipe for "Fruited Cake"
(its not really fruit cake, so I just call it Fruited Cake)

1 box of French Vanilla cake mix
1 can of fruit cocktail
1 teaspoon of Amaretto (flavoring or liqueur)
Real butter

Empty cake mix into mixing bowl. Add eggs (that are called for on the box), flavoring, and can of fruit cocktail, mix well.

Use real butter to butter baking pan, put it on a little thick.

Pour batter into pan and bake until golden brown on top.

This comes out a bit more "cakey" than standard fruit cake and isn't as heavy as it either.


You can also use pound cake mix, pancake mix, muffin mix, or even bisquit mix for this...depending on what kind of "cake" you want. Although with the bisquit mix, you will need to add a bit of milk to it, otherwise it could turn into a brick in the oven.

 

[ChesterV]

If you want to REALLY stand out in a crowd...........

Fruitcake Cheesecake

Use a Fruitcake recipe that makes 1 fruitcake loaf.
CUT THIS RECIPE IN HALF.
This will be used for the crust.
You might have to chop the fruit a bit more to be able to not be so lumpy in the batter.

CRUST
* 1 half batch of fruitcake batter

Lightly butter the bottom of a cheesecake springform pan.
Pour fruitcake batter on the bottom, spread it out evenly across the bottom of the pan.
Bake for about 10-15 minutes on oven settings for baking cheesecake.

You want to bake the fruitcake base firm, but not brown or all the way done. You just want it firm enough to not incorporate with the cheesecake when it bakes.

Take out of oven and let cool while you make cheesecake batter.


CHEESECAKE

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup eggnog
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a food processor combine cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and eggnog; process until smooth. Blend in eggs, rum and nutmeg. Pour mixture into cooled crust.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to 250 and bake for 45 minutes, or until center of cake is barely firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and immediately loosen cake from rim. Let cake cool completely before removing the rim.

***you can butter up the sides of the cheesecake pan before you pour the batter in there, or if you like to use parchment paper, or waxed paper, you can do that. I personally don't use any kind of paper when baking. I am preferable to spray coatings.

 

[Shazia]

One European "trick" in making fruitcake some people will actually eat is, soak it in alcohol, or use alcohol in the batter.

From my experience most people use Brandy or Bourbon in making fruitcakes, which is a bit harsh and doesn't really go that well with fruit. I would advise an alcohol that goes with fruit, more like a snapps or liqueur. I like Amaretto. It's fruity and nutty on it's own and gives a better taste to fruitcake than a harsh alcohol does.

****

Use fresh fruit instead of candied or dried fruit. Candied fruit can make the cake look "fake" or "plastic", as well as just plain unappealing. Dried fruit will just look like old fruit stuck in a loaf of cake, which can be just as unappealing. Using fresh fruits will look better, taste better, and keep more moisture in the batter while baking.

****

Don't use a shiny, clear glaze. Again, this will make the cake look fake and plastic. If you want to use a glaze, use a cream cheese glaze, fruit glaze, or white cream glaze. Hiding the fact that it is a fruit cake can help. I mean, once someone slices a piece off not realizing its fruit cake, they won't want to look bad and not take that piece. And why stand there holding cake unless you intend to eat it....so they may at least TRY it and may end up liking it. And if one person likes it, they will tell others.

****

Fruit cakes that are more cake than fruit have a better chance of being eaten, than one that looks like a bunch of fruit bits glued together by cake batter.

****

Don't use the standard fruits when making a fruit cake. Or at least add one or two that contain popular fruits in them. as popular fruits are more likely to be eaten than the standard ones.

Adding strawberries to a fruit cake might seem un-holiday like, but most people love strawberries and will usually accept other ingredients in something, as long as it contains strawberries. Blueberries also work well with this.

****

You might try more nuts than fruit. I am more partial to nuts than fruit myself. I love a cake that has tons of chopped nuts in it.

****

Don't use the standard loaf pan, fruitcake pan, or angel food pan. Use fancy shaped bundt pans to make your cake. A fancy shape will usually draw peoples attention to the cake, rather than people just seeing it and ignoring it as the "usual" fruit cake. Fancy shaped cakes have a tendency to be eaten over regular or standard shaped cakes.

****

My recipe for "Fruited Cake"
(its not really fruit cake, so I just call it Fruited Cake)

1 box of French Vanilla cake mix
1 can of fruit cocktail
1 teaspoon of Amaretto (flavoring or liqueur)
Real butter

Empty cake mix into mixing bowl. Add eggs (that are called for on the box), flavoring, and can of fruit cocktail, mix well.

Use real butter to butter baking pan, put it on a little thick.

Pour batter into pan and bake until golden brown on top.

This comes out a bit more "cakey" than standard fruit cake and isn't as heavy as it either.


You can also use pound cake mix, pancake mix, muffin mix, or even bisquit mix for this...depending on what kind of "cake" you want. Although with the bisquit mix, you will need to add a bit of milk to it, otherwise it could turn into a brick in the oven.

These cakes are so perfect

 

[Becky]

@ChesterV you are making me hungry!

I never used to be a fan of fruitcake - it can be dry, crumbly, and bitter sometimes. When I make it I tend to make lighter recipes that are very moist. Should probably get started on the Christmas cake for this year - I can't believe it's mid-November already!

 

[ChesterV]

@ChesterV you are making me hungry!

I never used to be a fan of fruitcake - it can be dry, crumbly, and bitter sometimes. When I make it I tend to make lighter recipes that are very moist. Should probably get started on the Christmas cake for this year - I can't believe it's mid-November already!

Most fruitcakes I've had, have been hard, tough, and taste more like candied sugar flavored with cake flavoring. ICK

I had an Aunt who made a fruit cake once, and OMG! That was THE best fruitcake EVER! No one has ever made one like it since. I don't know what she did to it, but it was perfect!

 

[Becky]

Have you ever had a boiled fruit cake? They are so moist! It's an easier process too.

For anyone who hasn't heard of a boiled fruit cake, you boil the fruit, sugar, alcohol and butter before adding to the flour etc - the cake itself isn't boiled!

 

[ChesterV]

Have you ever had a boiled fruit cake? They are so moist! It's an easier process too.

For anyone who hasn't heard of a boiled fruit cake, you boil the fruit, sugar, alcohol and butter before adding to the flour etc - the cake itself isn't boiled!

I think somebody in my family did that once. They called it something else though.
They told us they didn't like the candied fruit cause it was hard, so they boiled them to re-hydrate them. Took all the flavor out of them, but it was ok.

 

[Becky]

Yeah that can be a problem - it's quicker but less flavoursome. That's actually a good thing for people who don't like strong-tasting fruit cake though

I really need to make my cake soon...