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| Fresh out of the oven... |
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| …and soaked in Cherry Brandy for two weeks. |
Why the two photos?
They show you the difference between a fruit cake without age and brandy and with age and brandy. Two things I think are important to your experience with eating fruit cake.
I relate fruit cake to sushi. You either like it or you don't. I know lots of people (especially my family) that swear they don't like sushi. WRONG. They don't like bad sushi. There is a difference.
I think the same can be said of fruit cake. Most people will turn their noses up because they have tried it before and found it to be undesirable, too sweet, too this or too that.
My Mom now loves sushi and now she loves fruit cake. I believe when trying something as unique as these two items are that you really need to give yourself several chances to say if it is liked or not. Of course, this is just my opinion, but I do feel that there are right and wrong ways of preparing lots of food dishes and sometimes we experience the bad before we get the experience of trying something at its best.
I asked a few friends why they don't like fruit cake and their was one fashionable answer and that was the fruit that was used. Many preferred dried fruit to the candied fruit. I personally don't have a preference and since this cake does not have any sugar added to it I used candied fruit. The sweetness from the cake comes from those sweet pieces of candied yumminess.
It worked perfectly!
My husband was one of those that said, YUCK, when I went to make the fruit cake and to his amazement when he tried the cake after a few weeks he smiled. He loved it! WHY? I have to assume it is because he was finally introduced to a fruit cake that tasted like it should: moist, flavorful, sweet and boozy.
I participate in a wonderful group of food bloggers that encourage and share homemade recipes each month, Twelve Loaves. Our theme this month was "boozy" breads. I had actually made this fruitcake, which is considered a quick bread, a few weeks before learning of the theme. To learn more about the group and to participate see below:
We would love to have you join our #TwelveLoaves group; it’s easy!
- Make sure that your Bread this month is inspired by this month’s theme of Bread and Booze. Knowing some participants might not imbibe, it is acceptable to submit an entry that uses a juice in your bread recipe in lieu of booze. Including either booze or juice in December is obligatory if you would like your link to be included!
- Have your #TwelveLoaves bread that you baked during December, 2012 posted on your blog by December 31, 2012.
- When you post your #TwelveLoaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the#TwelveLoaves challenge in your post and include links to the leaders: Creative Culinary, Lora atCake Duchess who has a beautiful Christmas yeast bread and Jamie with LifesaFeast who has also done a quick bread with orange and cranberry. I want them ALL!
- Make sure you include a link to the bread that you bake this month using the link tool at the bottom of this post.
- Feel free to promote the Twelve Loaves group by proudly displaying the Twelve Loaves badge in your Twelve Loaves post as well as in your sidebar!
Not mandatory but you can follow @TwelveLoaves and/or #TwelveLoaves or chat with your hostesses onTwitter: Barb @CreativCulinary, Lora @cakeduchess and Jamie @LifesaFeast.
C’mon – Join us and Get Your Bread On!!
I hope that you will feel inspired to participate as we head into the new year. Baking bread is fun and the term "bread" can be applied to lots of styles as you will learn if you follow our group.
I know that I will not be able to persuade everyone to love fruit cake but I do hope that you give it more than one chance in your lifetime because it does comes in different qualities and flavors.
This recipe is for a gluten free version and honestly I like it better than the non gluten versions that I have tried. It uses almond meal and fits great with the "nut and fruit" theme of all fruit cakes.
If you choose to not make this "boozy" you can use your favorite flavored extract.
Recipe: Boozy Fruit Cake
1 cup almond meal
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 cups chopped pecans
1.5 cups of chopped almonds
2.5 cups of candied fruit, I used: papaya, pineapple, raisins, cranberries
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and cut in half
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon of brandy
topping:
1/4-1/2 cup of cherry brandy
NOTE: When chopping the nuts keep in mind that the smaller you chop them, the easier the slices are to cut. I kept my almonds a bit large and noticed that each time I sliced it, I struggled to get clean pieces.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Combine all of the fruit and nuts into one large bowl. Mix.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine well.
Use a bread loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper pushed into the pan. This will help you to remove the fruitcake easier. Spray the ends of the pan if your parchment paper does not cover them.
Pour mixture into loaf pan. Using the back of a spoon gently push mixture down and the top is smooth.
Bake for 65 minutes. The fruit cake should be firm to the touch and puffed up slightly in the middle.
Let cool for 10 minutes and then remove to wire rack to cool.
Once fruit cake is cool, prepare it to be wrapped in plastic wrap. Before you fold the wrap around the fruit cake, slowly pour the cherry brandy over the top of the cake. Let it seep into the cake.
Wrap the cake several times so that it will not leak and store in your refrigerator. I like to let my cakes sit for at least two weeks, the longer the better.
They say fruit cakes prepared this way can last a long time…ours never stay around long enough to find out. LOL
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| Since we talked about Sushi, this is my cat, Sushi. She loves to help me when I take pictures. On this day she just watched my every move. She is a Maine Coon and I love her wacky personality. |
Authored by Sherron Watson
