A Tale of Two Fruitcakes

It can be the best of cakes, the worst of cakes, it makes the mouth water, it makes a good door stop...

All joking aside, I have a confession to make. I love fruitcake. There I finally said it.

Now, I know what you are thinking--EWWW! Right? Stop right there. I’m not talking about store bought fruitcake. I’m also not talking about the kind that contains fluorescent bits that kind of resemble fruit. Nope. I’m talking about homemade fruitcake. The kind made with dried fruit, real candied citrus and fed a healthy dose of booze. Mmm... I’m getting hungry just typing this.

Since I love it so, I make fruitcake every year. For several years, my go-to recipe has been the Swedish Fruitcake recipe from the New York Times Menu Cook Book (circa 1966.) It has a tiny bit of leavening, a good amount of fruit, the egg whites are whipped and folded in and it contains a healthy amount of butter. It’s a lighter-than-most cake and it’s tasty. This cake also has the bonus of only needed a few days of age on it, prior to eating. It can be aged much longer, but you can cut into it much sooner than traditional fruitcakes. You can also make it without alcohol, but why would you want to? I mean--really--why? If you must, it’ll still be good. I promise.

Lately, I’ve been craving tradition. Not my own, but other (older) traditions. So, I decided to make a traditional(ish) British-style Christmas cake on Stir-It-Up Sunday. Stir-It-Up Sunday is the last Sunday before Advent and is the day when the English traditionally “stir up” their cakes, puddings and mincemeat for Christmas.

For the Christmas cake, I modified Nigella Lawson’s Christmas cake recipe from How to be a Domestic Goddess. I never can leave a recipe alone. A word about this cake. I have made it, but it’s still aging. I have no idea how it’s going to taste. Good, I imagine. Still, I thought I should warn you.

As far as the fruit is concerned, feel free to substitute whatever type of dried fruit you like. Just keep the volume of fruit the same. Also, if you are unable to find candied citrus--use the good stuff please--here is a recipe to make it at home.

The booze is where I break from tradition. I like good ol’ Kentucky Bourbon for fruitcakes. There is something very Christmas-y to me about Bourbon. You can use Rum, Brandy, Sherry or Madeira, if you prefer. I’m sure Scotch would work too. Although, I’m not sure how I feel about peaty fruitcake. Anyway, use what you like or have on hand.

So, here are the two fruitcakes that I made this year. I’ll update this post after they’ve both been cut open.

Oh, and, my apologies to Mr. Dickens.

Swedish Fruitcake
Adapted from the New York Times Menu Cook Book

1 cup sultanas
½ cup dried currants
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup of candied citrus peel (any type)
½ cup Bourbon, plus additional ¼ cup
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Additional Bourbon for feeding

Soak the fruit in ½ cup Bourbon overnight.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Drain the fruit, if it hasn’t soaked up all the Bourbon. Toss the fruit with 1 cup of flour to coat.

Mix the remaining flour with the baking powder. Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar, mix until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Stir in the floured fruit and flour mixture. Mix well.

Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites until soft peaks form. 

Fold the egg whites into the batter.

Butter and flour a 9” tube pan. Line with parchment or wax paper. I used a spring-form tube pan, but a regular one will work fine. Pour the batter evenly unto the pan.

Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until a skewer comes out clean. Pour or brush ¼ cup Bourbon over the top of the cake and cover the pan with foil. Cool on a rack.

Once cooked, remove from pan. Wrap in plastic wrap and then in foil. Keep in the fridge or a cool, dry place. Let sit, at least, two days before cutting. If you’ll be aging it for longer, you can feed the fruitcake every week or two. To feed the cake, unwrap and brush 3-4 Tablespoons of Bourbon on the cake. Once it has soaked in, rewrap and stick the cake back in its resting place.

Serves 9-12

Christmas Cake
Adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess

3 cups sultanas
1 cup raisins
½ cup dried currants
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup candied citrus peel
½ cup Bourbon, plus additional ¼ cup
1 cup butter
¾ cup, plus 2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
zest of one orange
zest of one lemon
4 large eggs
2 Tablespoons marmalade
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon cinnamon*
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
⅛ teaspoon allspice
⅛ teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
Additional Bourbon for feeding

*You can substitute 1 teaspoon pie spice, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg for the spices.

Soak the dried fruit in ½ cup Bourbon overnight.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Grease a 9” cake pan. Line the bottom and the sides with a double thickness of parchment.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the orange and lemon zest. Mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the marmalade. Mix.

Stir the dry ingredients together, then mix in the fruit and dry ingredients. Alternating fruit and dry. Add the vanilla and combine thoroughly.

Scoop the batter into the pan and smooth it out as best you can. 

Marvel at how the oven is more entertaining than anything else in the house.

Bake 2 ½ to 3 hours or until a skewer comes out clean.

Once out of the oven, pour or brush ¼ cup of the Bourbon over the cake. Cover the pan with foil and allow the cake to cool on a rack.  Once cold, wrap in plastic wrap and foil. Store in the fridge or a cool dry place. Allow to age, at least, 3 weeks. Feed as instructed in the previous recipe.

Serves Many

UPDATE 2/3/2012: The last of the fruitcake was finished off last week. Oh, fruitcake. I will miss you and your bourbony goodness...The verdict? The Swedish version is still my favorite, hands down. Especially, if the cake will be eaten young. The Christmas cake was really good, but not until it had 8 weeks of age on it. Prior to then it was dry and the flavors hadn't melded quite yet. Once it past the 8 week mark, however, it was awesome. If I make it again, I'll make it before Halloween and add a few feedings.