Christmas Fruitcake

Christmas Of 2012 was memorable. This was the first Christmas we hosted after our wedding and it was so much fun!

One of the highlights turned out to be the Christmas Fruitcake that +Jose Pratheesh and I baked. Fruitcake is an often underrated and misunderstood dessert. As a kid I used to dread biting into a dry brown sponge littered with cheap nuts that took a lot of liquid to wash down. Well, after numerous recipes and research, here is my take on the Christmas Classic that was a hit with the family...

You will Need:

1 Cup Dried Fruits (Mix whatever your find Cranberries, Cherries, Mangoes, Apricots, Currants, Raisins etc)

¼ Cup Chopped Pecans

¼ Cup Chopped Walnuts

¼ Cup Dark Rum (Divided)

1 Cup Unsalted Butter

½ Cup Packed Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs

½ Cup Molasses

4 Tablespoons Milk

1 Cup Flour (All Purpose – ‘Maida’ in India)

¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda

½ Teaspoon Salt

½ Teaspoon Fine Ground Cinnamon

1 Cheesecloth

Baking Paper / Parchment Paper

A good song to hum

Here's What you do:

1. Chop the dried fruit to currant sized pieces and soak the in dark rum for at least 24hrs.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 – 340 F (165 –170 C)
3. Whisk together the dry ingredients (Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Cinnamon) in a bowl
4. Beat the butter and Sugar together in a separate big bowl until creamy
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time just until incorporated
6. Slowly mix the dry ingredients to the wet ones in two batches while adding a ¼ Cup of molasses and 2 tablespoons of milk after each addition.
7. Fold in the nuts and drained fruits
8. Grease a baking pan with butter and pour batter into it. Bake for 45-50 minutes depending on your oven. Check your cake for doneness after 40 minutes and increase time accordingly
9. Soak a Cheesecloth in dark rum and wring out the excess. Place it on a parchment paper / baking sheet and put the cooled cake on it.
10. Brush the sides and top of the cake with dark rum and wrap up the cake in the cloth. Wrap the baking sheet over the cloth.
11. Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place.
12.  Realize that the song you have been humming all along is stuck in your head for the next two days!
13. Age the cake for at least a week or two before serving

Did you Know?

This cake can be stored for many years. I have friends who swear that a fruitcake is not fit to be eaten until it is about 4 yrs old. You only have to replenish the cloth with alcohol once a month. This cake has a much shorter life if refrigerated or frozen

A fruit cake baked in 1878 is kept as an heirloom by a family (Morgan L. Ford) in Michigan.In 2003 it was sampled by Jay Leno on The Tonight Show (Source: Wikipedia)