Some may say that the world is divided into two kinds of people: Those who like fruitcake, and those who do not. I disagree, and I think it is divided into two types of people: Those who have eaten good fruit cake, and those who have not.
In Great Britain, what we call “fruitcake” is often called “Christmas Pudding.” Across the pond, puddings include soft cakes like sticky toffee pudding and hardy cakes filled with sugared fruits and fortified with alcohol. The famous “figgy pudding” and other fruitcake puddings date back 400-500 years as medieval cooks in the British Isles tried to create a dish that had a shelf life of longer than two days. Perhaps that is why the old, stale, and extra dense dessert may have earned its unfortunate reputation. I was determined to change it. It was time to embark on “Operation Fruitcake” in an attempt to redeem this long-troubled holiday treat.
No longer would the fruitcake be relegated to the butt of so many jokes, or selected as the last prize at the dirty Santa exchange. I consulted as many different recipes as possible. I bought various preserved fruits, cherries (both the red and the green), nuts, and many other things to create a master fruitcake to share with my father, who LOVES all kinds of fruitcake. He would be the final judge in this fruitcake revival.
The ingredients are pretty expensive and I wanted to be sure I had good ideas to begin this effort. Luckily, I had a good resource in Mary Alice White, my friend and neighbor. I contacted Mary Alice for two reasons. One, she is an excellent cook and can always be trusted to give a “tried and true” recommendation. Second, I remembered years ago when my kids were little, we did the old-fashioned Christmas tour from the Old Capitol, the New Capitol, the Governor’s Mansion, and ended at Eudora Welty’s House in Belhaven. We rode the old trolley and each stop served a different Christmas treat for the visitors. I remember that my kids were so excited about all the treats and fun events as we made our last stop at Eudora Welty’s House. I stopped to visit with a neighbor and my children proceeded to eat an entire tray of Eudora Welty‘s special fruitcake cookies that were set out for the guests. The kids pronounced that these were the best cookies ever. I have always thought about those cookies and wanted Miss Welty’s recipe.
Mary Alice (Eudora Welty’s niece) could not pinpoint the exact recipe my children enjoyed but she shared a couple from their family archives. I think the end result was delicious and worthy of the time and effort. THIS fruitcake would be an added bonus to any holiday table.
When I was gathering all the ingredients and asking about the odd “candied” cherries, fruits, and mixed nuts, I started a conversation with several people in line at the grocery store. (Yes, I am one of those people who talks to everyone in line at the grocery store.) Nearly every person commented that their grandmother used to make fruitcake and they loved eating it growing up. These people cheered me on and encouraged me in my attempt to restore the dignity of this wonderful holiday treat. Start a new tradition and revive the legacy of good fruitcake. This Christmas, help me restore it to the proper place. Lovers of good fruitcake must unite. Together, let us save this cherished old-fashioned recipe and lift it up to new heights for a new generation.
I took the Welty family recipes, as well as several old recipes I found in cookbooks and on line, combined them into one and added a few embellishments of my own. Feel free to add or subtract any fruits or nuts of your choosing.
The fruitcake can be made several weeks before the holiday’s and is delicious toasted with a little butter on top.
Lisa’s Master Fruitcake Recipe
While I went with the “master” title, there is really not one way to make a delicious fruitcake. Please feel free to omit or substitute any of the fruit or nuts to your liking. My father felt like I should have added another container of the red and green candied cherries, but he has a sweet tooth.
2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sherry or bourbon, plus more for glazing
6 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
8 ounces candied pineapple and cherry mix
16 ounces of Old English fruit cake fruit mix
2 cups raisins, regular or white
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
3 cups pecans, lightly toasted, chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds
In a very large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the two sticks of softened butter with two cups of sugar, until well blended.
Add the eggs one at a time, stirring to incorporate between each addition. Add milk, sherry, and vanilla. Thoroughly mix together. In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, salt, spices, and flour. Slowly add flour mixture to the liquid mixture.
In a separate bowl, combine candied fruits, raisins, cranberries, and toss with about a half a cup of regular flour. This helps prevent the fruit from settling to the bottom of the cake.
Once the flour is completely mixed into the batter, alternate additions of the candied fruit and dried fruit mixture and the nuts. You may need to fold this in or carefully mix.
Line four regular sized loaf pans with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Distribute batter to the four pans and bake in a preheated 275° oven for about two hours or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (One recipe suggested adding a pan of water to the oven to keep the cakes from drying out. I did not do that but it is a great idea.)
Remove pans from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes and then remove fruitcakes and allow to cool completely on the wire rack. Once they are cool, wrap carefully and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.*
*We discovered this step later and felt it is important to add. Once cakes have been baked and while cooling, glaze with a mixture of equal parts of additional sherry, brandy, or bourbon, and corn syrup. This will ensure the cakes are moist but if you do not want your cake to be too boozy for your family, simply omit. You can do this step at your discretion.
Fruit and Nut Balls
This is a much-simplified version of the fruit cake, but delicious nevertheless.
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup whole, natural almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted
1 to 2 tablespoons honey
Powdered sugar
Put apricots in a small sauce pan and cover with water. Simmer for about five minutes to rehydrate. Drain.
Put fruit and almonds in a food processor and pulse until well blended. Add coconut and honey and mix thoroughly.
Shape mixture into small balls and roll in powdered sugar. Makes about 18 fruit balls.
Betty Crocker Old Fashioned Fruit Cake
This version by Betty Crocker had a lot of the similar ingredients and instructions.
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/4 cup molasses or dark corn syrup
1 cup orange juice
15 oz golden raisins (about 3 cups)
8 oz pitted dates, cut into halves (1-1/2 cups)
5 oz whole red or green candied cherries (3/4 cup)
5 oz candied pineapple, cut up (about 1 cup)
8 oz whole Brazil nuts or pecan halves (1-2/3 cup)
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line two loaf pans with parchment and grease well; set aside.
Prepare fruits and nuts and dust the dates and raisins with a tablespoon of flour (helps to keep them from sinking to the bottom while baking); set aside.
Combine flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, blend together sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, and molasses or corn syrup with an electric mixer until well combined.
Mix in dry ingredients alternately with orange juice, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in prepared fruits and nuts. Spread into loaf pans.
Bake at 275° for two and half to three hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool fruitcakes in pans for 10 minutes then turn out onto cooling racks; cool completely. Soak cheesecloths with wine or brandy, wrap around fruitcakes, then wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for three to four weeks. Cheesecloths may be resoaked from time to time if desired.
*Alternately cheesecloths may be soaked in orange juice then wrapped around fruitcakes and refrigerated.
Fruitcake Cookies
I never found the exact cookie recipe that my children devoured at the Eudora Welty House on that fateful holiday night, and I did not get to sample any of those cookies. But my children still assure me that they were delicious.
I found a fruitcake cookie recipe on one of the packages of special holiday fruit mix. This is a great way to have fruitcake in just one bite.
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening or butter
1 egg
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped dates
1 16 oz container Old English fruit and peel mix
Preheat oven to 400°. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well.
Reserve a little flour to toss with fruit then combine remaining flour with salt and baking soda and add the dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, into the creamed mixture.
Toss fruits with reserved flour. Fold in floured fruits and chopped pecans. Drop by spoonful onto a greased baking sheet about two inches apart. Bake eight to 10 minutes in a 400° oven. Store in an airtight container and enjoy.
Lisa can be contacted at LisaIreland2013@gmail.com.
