Fruit cake?????
 

Fruit cake?????
Anyone ever make the darn things?
My mom did and they were killer.
I have no idea how she did it but this year I am going to try for the first time ever.

Any advice will be appreciated I cant afford to buy one from the place I used to get them.
I love fruit cake big time.
My motto there is no such thing as a bad fruit cake some are just better.:D

Worth

they take a long time. let them sit for months for the best flavor according to my mom.

[QUOTE=clkeiper;717664]they take a long time. let them sit for months for the best flavor according to my mom.[/QUOTE]

Goldie where I used to work in Alaska made them for me months in advance.
But she left one time and never came back.
She passed away, cancer.:(
God speed Goldie.:)

Worth

Aww, that's sad.

I get annoyed when people aren't willing to share a recipe... Because it is a secret family recipe.... And if they pass away no one then has it... had you known she was sick and If you had asked her she may have shared it but you never know.. might have been a secret...I wouldn't have my mom's to share if she hadn't put it in the school cookbook. Cuz I am never eating it or even making it...

I used to make fruit cakes and panettone every year for Rob, he loved both a lot. Didn't care for those leaden heavy fruit cakes much, but liked mine, LOL.

I went and dug out the old cookbooks to take pics of the recipes. I'm sure these are some of the originals considering the date of the books. It's a good starting point!

Fruitcake - you have my interest. It's my favorite.

[QUOTE=AlittleSalt;717695]Fruitcake - you have my interest. It's my favorite.[/QUOTE]

Me too and every country seems to have one. :yes:

Worth, if you have an Aldi close by check their dried fruit selection. I have used their their dried cherry/blueberry and cranberry mix and it was very nice which I have no idea if you can use dried but they aren't dry... if that makes sense. I have never seen candied there though... so I went looking no, you can't substitute dry for candied.
[url]https://www.cooksinfo.com/candied-fruit[/url] ... here is the page.....

You are here: Home / Fruit / Candied Fruit
Candied Fruit
There is a distinction between candied fruit, crystallized fruit (aka frosted fruit), and glazed fruit (aka glacé fruit)Candied fruit is fruit that has been candied. Crystallized fruit is fruit frosted with caster sugar. Glazed fruit is fruit that has been coated or shipped in a sugar syrup.
The term “candied fruit” is often used casually as a catch-all for all three.

The great candied fruits are figs, mandarin oranges, melons, pears, plums and pineapple. The French call these candied fruits the “fruits nobles”. The bulk of the industry, however, is candied cherries.

In making candied fruit, it is better to use fruit that is just ripe. Dried fruit can also be used. Starting from dried fruit takes 2/3 less time, but it does need to be rehydrated first. The candying process can take 6 to 14 days, or even several months. You put whole small fruits, or chopped larger fruits, into a sugar syrup, and gradually day by day increase the strength of the sugar syrup. The sugar syrup pulls the water out of the cells in the fruit, because sugar attracts water, and the water that leaves the cells gets replaced by the sugar. The process must be gradual or the fruit will shrivel and toughen.


Limes cannot be candied successfully at home; an enzyme in their rind will darken them and break them down. Commercially, though, it can be done, and both candied lime slices and candied lime peel (or zest) are available.

Candied fruit is sold in tubs and sealed boxes, mixed or as separate fruits.

Cooking Tips
When dicing candied fruit, scissors can be used for a change of pace. Or the fruit can also simply be purchased already diced.

Should you have fruit frosted in sugar (crystallized fruit) that you want to use in a recipe that calls for plain candied fruit, you could rinse the sugar off. It seems like a bite of a waste, however, and it may be better just to purchase plain candied fruit.

Substitutes
Other Candied Fruit. Not dried fruit. If you want or need to use dried fruit, look for a fruitcake recipe which calls for it. The recipe will likely have additional liquids or steps in it to compensate for the fruit being dried. Do not substitute maraschino cherries for candied cherries.

Literature & Lore
“Candied, Crystallized and Glacé Fruits. All three types of preserved fruits are based on the same basic method of preparation and the difference is in the finish. Candied fruits are dry and they are often given a crystalized or glacé finish. A crystallized finish is achieved by rolling the fruit in sugar and a glacé finish is produced by coating the preserved fruit in a fresh syrup which is then carefully dried……

The fruit is covered with a diluted hot syrup, which is gradually increased in sugar content on a daily basis until it becomes a heavy syrup. In this way, the fruit is slowly impregnated with sugar which acts as a preservative. It is recommended that glucose or dextrose is used in place of part of the sugar, particularly when preparing candied peel.



It is essential that the process of slowly increasing the concentration of sugar in the syrup is followed as this allows the water which is present in the fruit to diffuse out slowly as the sugar penetrates it. Unless the process is gradual the fruit will become shrivelled in appearance and tough in texture.”1

Language Notes
Candied fruit is occasionally also referred to as semi-dried, or semi-moist fruit.

Jones, Bridget, Ed. Home Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables. London: AFRC Institute of Food Research. 1989. 14th edition, revised. Page 130. ↩

Primary Sidebar

OTHER NAMES
AKA: Crystallized Fruit, Frosted Fruit, Fruit Cake Mix, Glacé Fruit, Glazed Fruit
Italian: Frutta candita
French: Fruits confits, Fruits nobles
German: Kandierte Früchte
Dutch: Gekonfijte vruchten
Spanish: Fruta confitada
Portuguese: Frutas em açucar


RANDOM QUOTE
‘When you flip anything, you really to you just have to have the courage of your convictions.’ — Julia Child (Source: The French Chef)

Fancy that there is an Aldi 4.5 Miles from where I'm at now.:lol:
Worth

To each his own. I've always considered them doorstops. I would taste a small piece from time to time to see if improvements had been made, but, alas, my taste buds wouldn't find any improvements.

So, one day someone asked if I liked something called "Friendship" cake or "30 Day" cake. I don't like most things cake, but I tried it this time and "WOW". It was not hard as a brick and it tasted like it was fermented.

So, we got the recipe and made some and now we have it every fall and winter. I don't mean to hijack the thread, so if anyone is interested, I'll post the recipe.

I just can't get into the brick hard molasses dominated doorstops for sale all over the holidays seasons.

Worth, depending on the kind of fruitcake you're interested in I'd be happy to share my grandma's icebox fruitcake recipe with you. There's no baking involved. She's the best woman I've known. She couldn't cook much but the icebox fruitcake and her coconut cake recipes are awesome!

Love fruitcake. Especially my mothers, and luckily, she is still with us. She was just telling me yesterday she is shopping for the ingredients. She also likes Aldi's. For me the best part of hers is the dried apricots she puts in it, and the nuts. The tartness of the dried apricots, and the nuts break up the sweetness of the rest of the candied fruit. It is a dense cake because it is mostly fruit and nuts. But a slice with a cup of tea or coffee is amazing.

You all that replied go ahead and post recipes as you please but I have no promise of making every one of them.:lol:
Sorry but I am feeling a little down in the dumps and battered right now.

Worth

Didn't make it to Aldi it would have been 10 miles out of my way and I wanted to get out of the sea of rush hour humanity and back to my country solitude as fast as I could.
Almost fell asleep driving home as it was.
HEB Plus has lots of dried fruit of all kinds anyway.:lol:

Worth

[QUOTE=ContainerTed;717738]To each his own. I've always considered them doorstops. I would taste a small piece from time to time to see if improvements had been made, but, alas, my taste buds wouldn't find any improvements.

So, one day someone asked if I liked something called "Friendship" cake or "30 Day" cake. I don't like most things cake, but I tried it this time and "WOW". It was not hard as a brick and it tasted like it was fermented.

So, we got the recipe and made some and now we have it every fall and winter. I don't mean to hijack the thread, so if anyone is interested, I'll post the recipe.

I just can't get into the brick hard molasses dominated doorstops for sale all over the holidays seasons.[/QUOTE]

Ted, I would LOVE to have your recipe for this cake!:love::yes:
Please post it, or at least please send it to me as a PM.
Please....:)

The recipe my mother used for fruit cake came from my Grandmother Male and it was passed down by her ancestors when they came to the US from England.

I don't have a recipe to give,but in general,the batter was mixed,fruits and nuts added, steamed,then when cool wrapped in gauze, put in our then cool pantry,taken out about once a week, and basted with whiskey or whatever,it could also be Scotch, since my father plowed driveways near us in the winter and would be given a bottle of this or that as a Xmas present even though he didn't drink hard stuff.

It was made by Thanksgiving time to be ready for Xmas.

Carolyn,who also still has a wonderful box of Xmas that has a picture depicting folks bringing their fruit cakes on sleds to a hole in the ice and dumping them in.

That's Edward Gorey for you for those who know about him.;):lol:

[url]https://www.google.com/search?q=Edward+Gorey&hl=en&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0xtnkvJ3eAhVIhOAKHfJ-DyAQ_AUICSgA&biw=1706&bih=815&dpr=1[/url]

And yes I have cards of several of his illustrations,I love them all.

[QUOTE=carolyn137;717826]The recipe my mother used for fruit cake came from my Grandmother Male and it was passed down by her ancestors when they came to the US from England.

I don't have a recipe to give,but in general,the batter was mixed,fruits and nuts added, steamed,then when cool wrapped in gauze, put in our then cool pantry,taken out about once a week, and basted with whiskey or whatever,it could also be Scotch, since my father plowed driveways near us in the winter and would be given a bottle of this or that as a Xmas present even though he didn't drink hard stuff.

It was made by Thanksgiving time to be ready for Xmas.

Carolyn,who also still has a wonderful box of Xmas that has a picture depicting folks bringing their fruit cakes on sleds to a hole in the ice and dumping them in.

That's Edward Gorey for you for those who know about him.;):lol:

[URL]https://www.google.com/search?q=Edward+Gorey&hl=en&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0xtnkvJ3eAhVIhOAKHfJ-DyAQ_AUICSgA&biw=1706&bih=815&dpr=1[/URL]

And yes I have cards of several of his illustrations,I love them all.[/QUOTE]

Wonderful story Carolyn.
My goal this year is to make all the things I love and cant by in the stores anymore for Christmas.
I will forgo the big meats and head right into the sweets.:))
Fruitcake.
Mincemeat pie top of the list.

[QUOTE=Worth1;717829]Wonderful story Carolyn.
My goal this year is to make all the things I love and cant by in the stores anymore for Christmas.
I will forgo the big meats and head right into the sweets.:))
Fruitcake.
Mincemeat pie top of the list.[/QUOTE]

I had to laugh at this.... My family was accused of being neanderthals because we ate dessert first... of which we don't but I laughed anyway at the insult of an angry person...

Here is my fruitcake recipe - adapted from grandmother's. I use refined olive oil instead of butter, and I use dried apricots instead of "peel" or "crystallized fruit" which IMO make the whole thing taste pretty bad.
I'm sure you'll make up your own recipe Worth, so this is another guideline for your invention.


Fruitcake


Combine:

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves


Chop and use a little of the flour mixture to combine:
2 cups dried apricots
2 cups glace cherries
2 cups raisins
2 cups currants


In your largest bowl, cream:
1 cup pure olive oil (not evoo) or butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Then add: 1 pint of molasses


Stir in the flour mixture, then the fruit.
Spread it into a lined, greased cake pan
Bake for three hours at 300 F.


I do mine in a big rectangle pan, makes it easy to cut square chunks (and fits in envelopes) :P

Bower, that sounds good.

Just being curious - why use pure olive oil instead of butter? (I should tell you that I have not used olive oil much because of cost, so I don't much about it.) About EVOO, I had to look that one up a few years ago when people here were writing about it - it stands for Extra Virgin Olive [COLOR=black]Oil. I thought it was a brand name like Coke or something like that. :lol:[/COLOR]

The post above isn't why I clicked on this thread. Just Bower's fruitcake recipe sounds good.

The reason why I don't make fruitcakes is because I'm the last of my extended family that likes fruitcakes. I could buy one of those tiny loaf pans and scale down a recipe just for myself, but I don't really like cooking things just for me. (After proofreading - that sounds sad. I don't mean for it to.) Fruitcake is one of those foods you either like or you don't.

Salt, the condition of high cholesterol and heart disease runs in my family. So when the doctor told me my cholesterol was up, many years ago, I just switched to olive oil for everything pretty much.


The evoo is green colored and contains a lot of 'good for you' stuff besides the oil, but it is also strong tasting and only suitable for savory things. The refined olive oil or "pure olive oil" is yellow and just tastes like an oil, so that is what I use for baking.

First I am a cranberry hoarder and I freely admit it.
I have stacks of them in the freezer. :))

Next I cook for myself first and foremost.
Even if there is a pile of people I cook for myself.
My mother was that way and I take after her big time.
My favorite story she read to me as a wee thing is The Little Red Hen.
The one where she did all the work while the rest of the lazy critters sat around and did nothing.

This had a profound effect on me and to a large extent made me who I am today.
I used to cook for seven people and they ate what I made or starved.

I dont like beef soup.
Fine more for me.:))

Oh yeah fruitcake I would take one for myself and hide it.:twisted:
Worth

[QUOTE=bower;717861]Salt, the condition of high cholesterol and heart disease runs in my family. So when the doctor told me my cholesterol was up, many years ago, I just switched to olive oil for everything pretty much.


The evoo is green colored and contains a lot of 'good for you' stuff besides the oil, but it is also strong tasting and only suitable for savory things. The refined olive oil or "pure olive oil" is yellow and just tastes like an oil, so that is what I use for baking.[/QUOTE]

Bower, thank you for the information. I have/had a slightly elevated cholesterol level. I take Fenofibric Acid 135mg once a day and it helps keep the cholesterol level down. Because of the nerve diseases - I have to have blood tests 3 times a year. The medicine is doing its job.

I understand why you use olive oil instead of butter.

(Mincemeat pie top of the list.)

One thousand cheers for mincemeat pie.:D

And yes,it was my Grandma Male who made THE best. Again a recipe handed down to her from England.

She used REAL suet in it as the English always did.

[url]https://www.google.com/search?q=recipe+for+mincemeat+Pie+with+suet&hl=en&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi91ILRyp_eAhXyRd8KHeJ0CnQQ_AUICSgA&biw=1706&bih=815&dpr=1[/url]

lots of suet used in recipes listed in the above.


Carolyn

Ted's recipe for 30 day (or Friendship) cake, instead of the regular Fruit Cake.

Ingredients:

1 packet of yeast or a pint jar of some friends starter, which is the leftover juice from the process.
2 cups of warm (not hot) water to activate the yeast if needed
4 cups regular sugar
1 large can (15 oz) of fruit cocktail
1 large can (15 oz) of diced peaches
1 large can (15 oz) crushed pineapple
1 8 oz can of jar of maraschino cherries
1 large can of any other fruit you choose
1 standard yellow cake mix - moist is recommended
2 cups dried raisins
1 or 2 cups of the nuts of your choice

Do not drain any of the canned fruit. Stir only with non-metallic instruments

Begin with two cups of the sugar, yeast, and the fruit cocktail and put them into a glass container. Combine and stir with a non metal instrument daily for the first week.

Add the peaches and another cup of sugar and stir daily for the next 7 days.

Add the Pineapple and another cup of sugar and stir daily for the next 7 days.

Add the maraschino cherries and any other fruit you choose, and stir daily for the next 7 days.

Now add the English Walnuts and any other fruits or nuts you choose and stir daily for the next 3 to 4 days.

Your "mix" should have taken on a distinctly "wine" aroma. If this happens, you are right on track.

Saving the liquid, and using a colander or non-metallic strainer of your choice, drain the entire mixture to separate the fruit from the juice.

Now, all the final ingredients are ready.

With one cup of the "juice" and two cups of the fruit, add them to one standard box of "Moist Yellow Cake Mix". Stir together to achieve a good mix and pour into a well greased Bunt cake pan and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 45 min to one hour or until a test toothpick or skewer shows it to be done (comes back dry). Cool and enjoy. It can be sliced or chunked and frozen for storage. Freezer time had been tested by me to be at least 12 months.

It is not that "brick" most folks have against "Fruit Cake". It is light and fruity and sweet and will please the most critical of appetites.

The extra liquid can be refrigerated (not frozen) for next year or used for additional cakes. We usually get about three cakes out of each recipe. If you use the liquid which most of us call a "starter", then all you have to add is the fruit and sugar. [U] Refrigerated[/U] leftover liquid doesn't seem to kill the yeast.

You can adjust the amounts of the fruits added to this recipe. It's all about allowing the yeast to ferment the fruit and make alcohol with the sugar. The alcohol is boiled off during the baking, but the flavors remain.

Hope this works for you.

The taste should be fruity and sweet. If you are diabetic, then caution is strongly advised.

[QUOTE=ContainerTed;717738]To each his own. I've always considered them doorstops. I would taste a small piece from time to time to see if improvements had been made, but, alas, my taste buds wouldn't find any improvements.

So, one day someone asked if I liked something called "Friendship" cake or "30 Day" cake. I don't like most things cake, but I tried it this time and "WOW". It was not hard as a brick and it tasted like it was fermented.

So, we got the recipe and made some and now we have it every fall and winter. I don't mean to hijack the thread, so if anyone is interested, I'll post the recipe.

I just can't get into the brick hard molasses dominated doorstops for sale all over the holidays seasons.[/QUOTE]

When I was a wee lad, I used to eat at least five fruitcakes by myself at Christmas-time. The commercial ones came in very fancy tins for holiday gifts.
Glad to hear you are holding up. How is the Magnolia tree doing?

[B]Our absolute favorite for "homemade" fruit cake!
[/B]

[B]Kentucky Bourbon Cake/Whiskey Cake[/B]

Servings
24 servings
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
4 hours
Kosher Key
Dairy


[B]Description[/B]

History and a traditional recipe for Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Cake from food historian Gil Marks. Bourbon spiced cake filled with dried fruit and nuts.

[B]Ingredients[/B]

[B]Fruit and Nut Ingredients[/B]

[LIST][*] 5 cups seedless dark raisins (24 ounces/680 grams)[*] 1 cup candied pineapple or citron (5.25 ounces/150 grams)[*] 2 cups good quality bourbon or Tennessee whiskey (do not use a blend) (16 ounces/450 grams)[*] 4 cups coarsely chopped pecans (16 ounces/500 grams)[*] 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted (2 ounces/60 grams)[/LIST]
[B]Batter Ingredients[/B]

[LIST][*] 4 cups all-purpose flour (17 ounces/480 grams)[*] 2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (1 whole nutmeg) (or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon ground cloves)[*] 1 tsp double-acting baking powder[*] 1/4 tsp salt[*] 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (65 to 67°F) (3 sticks/12 ounces/340 grams)[*] 2 cups granulated sugar (14 ounces/400 grams)[*] 1 cup packed light brown sugar (7.5 ounces/210 grams)[*] 6 large egg yolks (7 tablespoons/4 ounces/115 grams)[*] 2 tsp vanilla extract[*] 6 tbsp grated orange zest (optional)[*] 6 large egg whites (¾ cup/6 ounces/180 grams)[/LIST]

[B]Recipe Notes[/B]

You will also need: One 10-inch tube cake, two 9-inch rounds, or four 9- by 5-inch loaves, large mixing bowls, sifter, hand mixer, roasting pan or large baking pan,

[B]Instructions[/B]

[LIST=1][*]In a large bowl or jar, combine the raisins and pineapple. Add the bourbon, cover, and let soak for at least 8 hours or, for a more intense flavor, up to 48 hours.[*]Drain the fruit, reserving 1 cup bourbon. (You can imagine what cooks do with any leftover bourbon.) Place the fruit and pecans in a large bowl, add the ½ cup flour, and toss to coat and separate any clumps.[*]Position a rack in the center of the oven. Place a roasting pan or large baking pan on the lower rack of the oven and add 1-inch of boiling water. Preheat the oven to 275°F. Grease one 10- by 4-inch (16-cup) tube pan, two 9-inch springform pans or 8-inch (8-cup) tube pans, or four 1-pound coffee tins or 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pans, line the bottom and sides with parchment paper or greased pieces of brown paper bag, grease again, and dust with flour.[*]To make the batter: Sift together the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt.[*]In a very large bowl, beat the butter on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.[*]Increase the speed to medium, gradually add the sugars, and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.[*]Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Add the vanilla and, if using, zest.[*]Add the flour mixture in 3 stages alternately with the reserved 1 cup bourbon, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.[*]In a large bowl, beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until stiff but not dry, 5 to 8 minutes.[*]Fold ¼ of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining whites.[*]Stir in the fruit and nut mixture.[*]Pour into the prepared pan, tapping to remove any air pockets, but do not pack down.[*]Bake, rotating the pan every 45 minutes or so, until a wooden tester inserted in the center comes out clean or the internal temperature registers 200 to 208°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 3½ to 4 hours for a 10-inch tube pan, 3 hours for springform pans, 2¼ hours for 8-inch tube pans, and about 2 hours for loaf pans. Place on a wire rack and let cool in the pan, at least 2 hours.[*]Remove the cake from the pan. The taste and texture improves as the cake ages. You can wrap the cake airtight and place in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.[*]Or to age the cake, wrap it in a cloth or double layer of cheesecloth dampened with bourbon, place in an airtight container or wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil, and let stand in a cool, dry place for at least 2 weeks.[/LIST]
[B]VARIATIONS[/B]

[LIST=1][*][B]Chocolate Bourbon Cake:[/B] Omit the nutmeg. With the flour, sift 2 tablespoons non-alkalized (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder and with the vanilla add 5 ounces (140 grams) melted unsweetened chocolate. If desired, also add ¼ cup instant espresso powder or coffee powder.[*]Substitute 3 cups (16 ounces/455 grams) seedless golden raisins for the dark raisins and pineapple.[*][B]Pecan Fruitcake:[/B] Substitute 2 cups golden raisins (10 ounces/290 grams) for the dark raisins; increase the candied pineapple or citron to 2 cups (10.5 ounces/300 grams) – or use 2 cups coarsely chopped pitted dates (12 ounces/340 grams); and add 2 cups red candied cherries.[/LIST]

Ted, a friend of mine recently remarked that she wished she had her late mother-in-law's fruitcake recipe. The mother-in-law would set fruit out on the table for weeks, she said. I read your recipe and passed it on to her; she says it's exactly what she is looking for! You made someone's day.