Fruitcake

After a much needed break…am back again, but I wonder where the long weekend disappeared???

When it comes to Christmas….the main “must eatable” stuff would be the “Christmas Fruitcake”.The amazing combination of loads of nuts and cherries in the spongy cake makes it all the more tempting. To ensure I don’t miss much of Christmas here…I baked a Fruitcake too.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour/Maida – 1 ¾ cup
Granulated Sugar – 1 Cup
Dark Brown Sugar – 3/4th Cup
Baking Soda – 1 tsp
Eggs – 5 ( medium )
All spices grounded – 1 tsp ( 2 Cloves, Cinnamon and 3 cardamon)
Pecans – ½ cup (small pieces)
Candied fruit – 1 ½ cup (This is nothing but preserved fruit that has been dipped in sugar syrup for long – this is similar to the Tutty Fruity that we get in India)
Cashewnuts – 1/4th cup
Raisins – 1/2 cup (I used California seedless raisins)
Vanilla Essence/Almond Essence - 3 tsp
Milk – ½ cup
Unsalted Butter – ½ cup/1 Stick
Rum – 1/4th cup (optional)

Method –

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter ,sugar (both)and eggs till fluffy. Sift Flour,Baking Soda & Spice powder(I jes grounded all the spices together to a fine powder) and add it to the mixture. Stir until well combined.
2.Being heavy, the candied fruits might settle down in the bottom of the cake……to avoid that sprinkle 1 tbsp of Flour onto it & toss well.
3.Add all other ingredients except for the candied fruits and nuts. Beat at low speed until blended;beat at high speed for 3mins ,scrapping the bowl occasionally.
4.Gently fold in the fruits & nuts.Stir well.
5.Scrape the mixture onto a well greased pan. Bake in a preheated 250F until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.It took close to 40mins for me.
6.Cool for few minutes before removing from the pan.



The authentic Fruitcake as far as I know does have some form of Alcohol. If using Rum(this is optional),mix the candied fruits along with it and leave it for about 3 hrs before using it. I also dusted powdered sugar on the top, this is again optional.You can also add more milk to get the batter like consistency.