Bel's Traditional Authentic Tiramisu (TAT)

Bel's TAT is out of this world, one of a kind Tiramisu. Even a eleven child like Atticus can do it.

Ingredients

1. 500g Granarolo Mascarpone
2. 4 eggs
3. 2 box of Saree Lee Coffee Pound cake
4. milo or bitter cocoa power for dusting
5. coffee
6. Kahlua

Method
1.Make enough coffee to soak the pound cake.
2. Beat the yolks of the eggs together with half of the the sugar to obtain a pale,fluffy and creamy mixture.
3.Fold in the Mascarpone and whisk into a smooth cream.
4. Beat the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff and add the remaining sugar.
5. Using a wooden spoon, gradually and gently add to the mascarpone and egg yolk mixture, mixing form the bottom up.

Assemble the Tiramisu

1. Place the coffee pound cake in a container and start to wet them with the coffee.
2. Cover the cake with a layer of cream, spread even with a spatula and dust with bitter cocoa powder.
3. Arrange a second layer of cake. Cover with the remaining cream and spread even.
4. Dust with more bitter powder
5. Chill for 4 hours.


Only Mascarpone will do













Pot of coffee and Kahlua















Instead of lady finger biscuits, we use Sara Lee coffee pound cake.



















Sugar of course





















and eggs.











Separating the eggs yoke from the egg white under Bel's watching eye.

















Whisking the egg white and egg yolks. Always say two hand are better then one.










This is how the eggs white looks when we whisk them.






























Ariel was rope in to help add the Mascarpone to the egg yolk.













Meanwhile, Bel prepare the coffee and Kahlua mixture.



















Soaking the coffee pound cake with the coffee mixture.












Based of the Tiramisu.

This is the fruit cake that Bel and I baked for Uncle Kevin's birthday.










It consists of the fruit cake with the almond paste followed by royal icing.












We might have proof that Santa might be gay.

The Esses making fruitcake

Ariel: One day,in Novermber, my mummy, my brother, Atticus and me was making a fruit cake.

Atticus: It was not Christmas time, but it was near Chirstmas. My sister, Ariel, my mother and me made a fruit cake for Christmas.


How to make a fruit cake

1. Get a big metal cake making bowl.

2. Wash the bowl and dry it.



(My little brother was watching me drying the bowl)

3. You need the following:

Plain Flour


Butter




Eggs



Jams




A jar of fruits




These are the flavors for the cake but we are calling them magic potions.







4. We put the butter into the bowl and stirred the butter until it was nice and soft. Then we added in the magic potion.











5. We mixed the flour, baking powder, salts and other magic potion together.



Atticus: I added in the eggs and stirred and stirred. It was massy but quite fun because I always seperate the egg yolk from the egg white. I poked a hole in the egg and turned it around and let the egg white fell out instead of the egg yolk.















Ariel: I was shaking the flour into the fruit cake mixture.



















I took the fruit out of the jar and put it into the bowl. Atticus sprinkled the flour onto the fruit. After that, we added to the fruit cake mixture.

















Ariel :The most enjoyable part was licking the spoong after making the fruit cake.

How to make Mama Fess Fruit Cake

I married a Eurasian in Singapore in the late 1980's. It was an exciting journey and I remembered my first Christmas, I had to bake a traditional rich cake.

It seems that any Eursian worth her salt must be able to bake a fruitcake that her husband and children will die for.

At first, I followed a faithful recipe from a book but over the years, I have come up with my own.

Now, my children will know that Christmas is around the corner whenever I bake fruit cake.

But the preparation of the fruit takes about a year and after the cake is baked it has to be soaked in rum or other alcohol from about one month up to a year before you eat the cake.

Good food takes time.

This is the recipe that I followed seriously when I started making the fruit cake

This recipe first appeared in a TODAY article written by Pauline D Loh on 2nd December 2003.

CHTRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE

Dried Fruit Mixture:

1 kg golden raisins
750g dark raisins/currants
250g dates, chopped
250g prunes, chopped
300g glace cherries, halved
125g apricots, quartered
125g candied ginger, chopped
125g mixed peel
3 medium green apples, grated
200g chunky jam
3 tablespoons grated lemon rind
185 ml lemon juice
500 g soft brown sugar (or 1 cup honey)
330ml/1.5 cup good liqueur
(Cointreau/grand Marnier/Southern Comfort)

Method:
1. Place all dry ingredients in the largest mixing bowl or stockpot you can find.
2. Add the juice and liqueur and allow to steep for at least 24 hours.
3. Stir occasionally, making sure the sugar is evenly distributed and dissolved


Cake Mixture:

500g butter
10 eggs
750g plain flour
Dried fruit mixture (above)
160g blanched almonds
15 red glace cherries, halved












Method:
1. Preheat oven to 150 deg C. Line base and sides of two 20 cm square or round cake tins with double layers of baking parchment
2. Cream butter; beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in flour gradually
3. Add fruit mix to batter and mix well to avoid pockets of batter
4. Divide cake mixture between pans and smooth the surface.
5. Decorate top with blanched almonds and glace cherries
6. Bake in slow oven for FOUR hours until a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. It will not be dry. In the last hour or so of baking, place a piece of aluminum foil on top of cake surface so the almonds and cherries do not burn.


Maturing the cake:
1. Make sure the cake is completely cooled before you wrap it in tin foil to mature.
2. Place well-wrapped cake in the bottom of your refrigerator.
3. Drizzle with liqueur every few days or according to your spirit tolerance.











Now I have modified the above recipe into my own below.





How to make MAMAFESS FRUIT CAKE.

Right after Christmas, I will begin the process.



I will buy a bag of dried fruit(sultanas, currants,raisins,grace cherries,mixed peel). Usually I wil buy about 5 kg worth of fruit.
Sometime I will add walnut and other kinds of nuts.

Next, I will mix this bag of fruit with the following :

Spirit Mixture
1. Juice from three oranges and three lemons
2. 500 gm of molasses cane sugar (Billington's).
(This is the family secret to a great fruit cake. Do not use cane or brown sugar).

This unrefined Molasses sugar is a unique dark brown sugar. It has a richness and depth of flavour unmatched by any other sugar. It is unrefined sugar.

This means it is a natural product,which has been very simply produced with the aim of locking in rather than refining out the natural molasses of the sugar cane. It is this differences that gives unrefined sugar its superior flavour and natural colour.

3. One glass each of rum, brandy and whisky to soak the cake in .
Do not forget to pour a glass for yourself.

4. Zest of the orange and lemon from where you get the juice

Put all the fruit in a large cake mixing bowl and then pour over the spirit mixture. Once the fruits are blanded well with the spirit mixture, put all the fruits in large glass jar and seal well. I normally leave the fruit like this for over six months.
Allow children to lick clean the mixing bowl.


I always choose a day when I am free to make the cake with my children.



I need two sticks of butter,
500 gm of flour
(the actual amoung used depend on the my judgement).
ten eggs,vanilla essence, rose essence, almond essence, treacle, golden syrup, three different kind of jams, honey, all spice, ginger powder, nutmag powder, clove powder, baking soda and salt

1.Cream the butter.
2.Add the eggs one at a time beating well.
3.Make sure the mixture does not curdle, add a small amount of flour if it begins to do so.
4.Put the fruit in a large basin and sift half the dry ingredients (flour and spices) over the fruit.
5.Add the fruit mixture to the creamed butter mixture, breaking up lumps of fruit.
6.Sift in remaining dry ingredients with this until it is all used.
7. Add all the essence,liquid and jams.



I always feel like an artist at this stage as the amount I add in depend on my mood so every fruit cake I bake is unique.



Once the mixture is well mixed, pour into the prepared tin and shake the tin well to settle the mixture.

Give the tin one or two hard taps to break the air bubbles.

Cook in a slow oven for approximately four hours.

To prevent bruning, I normally cover the top with foil.

After four hours test to make sure it's cooked.
Poke a tootpick and see if it comes out clean.
Then remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin, covered with a clean cloth.

Remove from tin, wrap greaseproof paper and foil and seal in an airtight container.

Pour a small glass of rum over the cake every month until Christmas.

Cut fruit cake into small pieces and served.

Warning: You may get drunk from eating this fruit cake.

Drunken Fruit Cake

A great fruit cake recipe



You'll need the following: a cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large eggs, two cups of dried fruit, a teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a bottle of whisky.

Sample the whisky to check for quality.

Take a large bowl. Check the whisky again. To be sure it is the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.

Make sure the whisky is still okay. Cry another tup. Turn off the mixer. Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the whisky to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Who cares? Check the whisky. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon. Of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.

Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window, check the whisky again and go to bed

Basic Fruit Cake Recipe

Fruit cake recipe

2 cups chopped dried peaches or apricots

2 cups golden raisins

1 cup chopped dried pears

1 cup chopped dried pineapple

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

1 -3/4 cups bourbon or dark rum

3/4 cup fresh orange juice

2-/12 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup blanched, slivered almonds, toasted

12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

4 large eggs

2/3 cup heavy (or whipping) cream or buttermilk

1/4 cup honey

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dried fruits, apple and 1-1/4 cups of the bourbon. Heat the orange juice in a small saucepan over low heat until warmed through. Pour it over the fruits. Cover and let stand at room temperature, tossing frequently, until the liquid has been absorbed, about 2 hours or refrigerate over night.

2. Adjust an oven rack to the middle shelf and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter a 10-cup Bundt pan. Dust the pan with flour, shaking off any excess.

3. Sift 1 cup of the flour with the cloves, nutmeg, salt and baking soda into a small bowl. Set aside. Add the remaining 1-1/2 cups flour and the toasted almonds to the fruits, and toss thoroughly. Set aside.

4. With an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the butter and sugar in another large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one a time, beating well after each addition. Fold the batter into the fruit mixture, mixing well.

5. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth the top. Bake until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack.

6. Combine the honey and the remaining 1/2 cup bourbon in a small saucepan, and cook over low heat, stirring until the honey has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Brush 1/2 of the hot glaze over the top and sides of the cake. Gently turn the cake over, and brush on the remaining glaze. Let the cake cool thoroughly.

7. Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Let the cake mellow a couple of days at room temperature before serving.

Family Fruit Cake

Here's what a mum does with her family.
http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/recipes/view.cfm?id=499



In England the first Sunday in Advent is sometimes called Stir-up Sunday. There are only twenty-four days to Christmas, and the plum puddings and fruit cakes that need to ripen must be begun on this day. The whole family helps to cut up fruit and crack nuts while mother makes the basic dough. It becomes quite a ritual, and is one more way to draw the family together in mutual activity, sentiment, and affection.

The richness and spiciness of fruit cakes and plum puddings bring to mind the gifts of the Magi to the Christ Child — gold and frankincense and myrrh.

This is an typical fruit cake, made in the traditional manner. Make it ahead of time, and let the cake "age."


INGREDIENTS
· 1 cup shortening
· 2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
· 5 eggs, separated
· 1/2 cup molasses
· 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
· 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
· 1 Tablespoon allspice
· 1 teaspoon cloves
· 1 teaspoon nutmeg
· 1 teaspoon mace
· 1 cup dried currants
· 1 cup finely chopped candied orange peel
· 1-3/4 cups finely chopped candied cherries
· 1 cup finely chopped candied pineapple
· 2 2/3 cups finely chopped candied citron
· 2 2/3 cups seeded raisins
· 2 cups seedless raisins
· 2/3 cup grape juice
· 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
· 3 Tablespoons hot water


DIRECTIONS
Cream shortening; add brown sugar gradually. Beat egg yolks; add with molasses. Beat egg whites stiff; fold in. Sift 1 cup flour with spices; add. Mix remaining flour with fruit; add. Add grape juice. Dissolve baking soda in water; add. Mix well. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until done. Cool. Store in tightly covered container. Sprinkle with grape juice or brandy from time to time to moisten.
Recipe Source: Cook's Blessings, The by Demetria Taylor, Random House, New York, 1965

Dark rum Fruit cake

Dark Rum Nut Fruit Cake

Soaking the fruit and nuts overnight allows the cake's flavors to mingle. This cake tastes best if given a few weeks to mellow before it is topped with almond paste and iced.

6 cups diced, mixed candied peel
1 1/2 cups diced candied citron
1 1/2 cups halved red candied cherries
1 1/2 cups halved green candied cherries
4 cups currants
6 cups seedless dark raisins
2 cups blanched slivered almonds
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup dark rum
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups butter
2 1/2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
7 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
In large bowl, combine candied fruit, currants, raisins and nuts. Pour rum over mixture; stir to combine. Cover; let sit overnight.

Prepare four 9 by 5 loaf pans as desired by buttering and lining them with buttered parchment paper.

Drain any liquid from fruit/nut mixture, reserving liquid. Add 1/2 cup flour to mixture; stir to coat.

In separate large bowl, cream butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy; add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and reserved liquid from fruit.

In another bowl, sift together 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Add gradually to creamed mixture, stirring just to blend. Stir in floured fruit and nut mixture.

Turn mixture into prepared pans. Bake 3 to 3 1/2 hours in preheated 250 degree F oven or until a tester inserted in middle of each cake comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes in pans, then turn out on to racks. Carefully remove paper and cool completely.

Makes four 9 x 5-inch cakes

French Fruit cake

French Fruitcake
3/4 cup candied orange peel
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 5/8 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons light cream
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Toss candied orange peel, walnuts and raisins with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar and honey. Beat in the egg, then the cream or milk, rum and vanilla extract.

Stir together the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour and the baking powder; beat into creamed mixture. Stir in the fruits and nuts. Turn the batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 10 minutes.

Lower the heat to 325 degrees F. Bake the cake for 45 minutes longer, or until it tests done with a wooden pick. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Yields one 9 x 5-inch loaf cake.

French Fruit Cake

Truly fruity
Fruitcakes here are kept traditional in taste and appearance
By Huang Lijie,Straits Time 2.12.2007







SUGAR, spice and all things nice - liquor-soaked fruit, to be exact. This list reads like a recipe for a sweet treat until the word 'fruitcake' is mentioned
















Then, memories of bad wedding cake and overly saccharine Christmas fruit loaves surface.













Despite the prominence of fruitcakes, the confection has a much maligned reputation as being a leaden Yuletide confection. Case in point - the annual Great Fruitcake Toss in Colorado in the United States where people compete to see who can hurl a fruitcake the farthest.










But fruitcake is steeped not just in alcohol but also in a tradition that goes all the way back to Europe in the 1700s.





Then, they were baked at the end of the harvest and kept for a year - the high concentration of sugar used to preserve the cake - before being eaten prior to the next harvest as an auspicious food.


Over time, it has become a gastronomic tradition more popularly associated with Christmas.

While one would expect local chefs to give fruitcakes a new twist the same way mooncakes here have been re-invented, the sugar-laced fruit creations sold here are largely traditional in taste and appearance.

Interesting facts about fruit

Some interesting information that I have obtained from the net.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/Fruitcake.htm



Timeline of fruit cake.

What are fruit cake?
Fruitcakes are holiday and wedding cakes which have a very heavy fruit content. They require special handling and baking to obtain successful results.

The name "fruitcake" can be traced back only as far as the Middle Ages. It is formed from a combination of the Latin fructus, and French frui or frug.

The oldest reference that can be found regarding a fruitcake dates back to Roman times. The recipe included pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash. Honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added during the Middle Ages. Crusaders and hunters were reported to have carried this type of cake to sustain themselves over long periods of time away from home.




1400s - The British began their love affair with fruitcake when dried fruits from the Mediterranean first arrived.

1700s - In Europe, a ceremonial type of fruitcake was baked at the end of the nut harvest and saved and eaten the next year to celebrate the beginning of the next harvest, hoping it will bring them another successful harvest. After the harvest, nuts were mixed and made into a fruitcake that was saved until the following year. At that time, previous year's fruitcakes were consumed in the hope that its symbolism would bring the blessing of another successful harvest

In the early 18th century, fruitcake (called plum cakes) was outlawed entirely throughout Continental Europe. These cakes were considered as "sinfully rich." By the end of the 18th century there were laws restricting the use of plum cake.



Between 1837 and 1901, fruitcake was extremely popular. A Victorian "Tea" would not have been complete without the addition of the fruitcake to the sweet and savory spread. Queen Victoria is said to have waited a year to eat a fruitcake she received for her birthday because she felt it showed restraint, moderation and good taste.

It was the custom in England for unmarried wedding guests to put a slice of the cake, traditionally a dark fruitcake, under their pillow at night so they will dream of the person they will marry.


Here is another interesting site about the histroy of fruit cake.




The History of Fruit Cake

By Arlene Wright-Correll

http://www.phancypages.com/newsletter/Znewsletter2346.htm


I have always loved fruit cake. Carl loves fruit cake. However, for some reason the fruit cake genes did not spill over into our 5 children. We could eat it all year round. There is a standard old joke about the oldest family heirloom being a fruit cake. Is there any food product anywhere that is more ridiculed and parodied during the holiday season than the poor old fruitcake?


Our late sister-in-law, Martha Wright-Enright made the most wonderful fruit cakes. She made them at the end of July. She baked them in 1 pound coffee tins and after they were baked she wrapped them in cheese cloth, put them back into the coffee tins and soaked them with brandy before putting the tops back onto the tins. She then stored them in the attic until Christmas time. They were the most glorious fruit cakes. Generally, fruitcake is a mixture of fruits and nuts with just enough batter to hold them together. When wrapped in cloth and foil, saturated with alcoholic liquors regularly, and kept in tightly closed tins, a fruitcake may be kept for months or even years.




A good fruit cake recipe includes red domestic and imported French cherries, select almonds, crisp Georgia pecans, California walnuts and raisins, imported pineapple, and lemon and orange peel. Plus some sort of liquor or brandy.

The ratio of fruit and nuts to batter is fairly high, with just enough cake batter to hold it all together. This results in a very dense, heavy cake. Fruitcakes have traditionally been classified as either light or dark,

although it is not necessarily the color that counts.

The lighter ones are less rich than their darker cousins and have subtler flavors and aroma. They are made with granulated sugar, light corn syrup, almonds, golden raisins, pineapple and apricots. The darker cakes are considered by some bakers to be the top of the line. They are much bolder in flavor and appearance. These get their color from molasses, brown sugar, raisins, prunes, dates, cherries, pecans and walnuts. The more expensive fruit cakes have brandy or liquor in them.

It seems that fruit cakes materialize just in time for the Christmas Holidays. The oldest fruitcake company in the United States is the Collin Street Bakery, Corsicana Texas [1896]

While the practice of making cakes with dried fruits, honey and nuts may be traced back to ancient times, food historians generally agree that fruitcake (as we know it today) dates back to the Middle ages.




Fruit cake is a British specialty. English passed out slices of cake to poor women who sang Christmas carols in the street during the late 1700s. It is known that in England by the end of the 18th century there were laws restricting the use of plum cake (plum being the generic word for dried fruit at the time) to Christmas, Easter, weddings, christenings and funerals. The fruit cake as known today cannot date back much beyond the Middle Ages. It was only in the 13th century that dried fruits began to arrive in Britain, from Portugal and the east Mediterranean. Lightly fruited breads were probably more common than anything resembling the modern fruit cake during the Middle Ages. Early versions of the rich fruit cake, such as Scottish Black Bun dating from the Middle Ages, were luxuries for special occasions. Fruit cakes have been used for celebrations since at least the early 18th century when bride cakes and plum cakes, descended from enriched bread recipes, became cookery standards.



Fruit breads which include yeast are not to be confused with fruit cake which does not. The Victorians enjoyed their fruitcakes. Even today it remains a custom in England for unmarried wedding guests to put a slice of dark fruitcake under their pillow at night so they will dream of the person they will marry. It is said that Queen Victoria once waited a year to devour a birthday fruitcake because she felt it showed restraint.




Making a rich fruit cake in the 18th century was a major undertaking. The ingredients had to be carefully prepared. Fruit was washed, dried, and stoned (taking out the pits) if necessary; sugar, cut

from loaves, had to be pounded and sieved; butter washed in water and rinsed in rosewater. Eggs were beaten for a long time, half an hour being commonly directed. Yeast, or barm from fermenting beer, had to be coaxed to life. Finally, the cook had to cope with the temperamental wood-fired baking ovens of that time. No wonder these cakes acquired such mystique...





Fruit cakes are good to take camping and hiking. Pickled or aged fruitcakes, as their devotees (and there aren’t many) like to call them, have the legendary ability to last a long time. Crusaders were said to have packed cakes into their saddlebags and backpacks, before heading down the rocky road to the Holy Grail. Panforte, a thin chewy fruitcake originating in Italy more than a thousand years ago and taken on The Crusades, is still made today. The history of fruitcake is also closely related to the European nut harvests of the 1700s. After the harvest, accumulated nuts were mixed and made into a fruitcake that was saved until the following year. At that time, the fruitcake was consumed in the hope that its symbolism would bring the blessing of another successful harvest.
Immigrants from Germany, England, The Caribbean and other parts of the world brought their own style of fruitcakes to the United States and that’s why no one can agree on the definition of a fruitcake. The ones displayed in groceries are almost all Americanized versions of the classic.




The last time I was in Scotland, I came across a fruit cake type of cake called Dundee Cake and it was quite good.


Dundee Cake

Prep 35 minutes plus overnight to stand
Bake 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes

Some what more subtle than a holiday fruitcake, this popular Scottish teacake is topped with whole almonds and lightly flavored with orange.



2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup blanched whole almonds
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup golden raisins
2/3 cup dried currants
1/2 cup diced candied citron
1/2 cup diced candied orange or lemon peel
1/2 cup red candied cherries, chopped
1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks), softened
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur
1 Preheat oven to 300º F. Grease and flour 8-inch spring form pan.

2 In medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, salt, allspice, and cinnamon.

3 In food processor with knife blade attached, combine 1/3 cup almonds and 1/4 cup sugar. Process until almonds are finely ground. In medium bowl, mix ground-almond mixture, raisins, currants, citron, orange peel and cherries.

4 In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat remaining 3/4 cup sugar and butter until blended. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 5 minutes, or until light and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange liqueur. Reduce speed to low; beat in flour mixture until blended, scraping bowl (batter will be thick). Stir in fruit mixture.

5. Spoon batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Arrange remaining 1/3 cup almonds on top of batter. Bake 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cover pan loosely with foil after 1 hour to prevent top from over browning. Cool in pan on wire rack 20 minutes. With small knife, loosen cake from side of pan; remove pan side. Cool completely on wire rack. When cool, remove pan bottom and wrap cake in plastic wrap and then in foil. Let stand overnight before serving. Makes 20 servings.


Almost like Martha Wright-Enright’s Fruit cake



1 cup diced glazed candied orange peel

1 cup diced glazed candied lemon peel

2 cups diced citron

1 cup currants

2 cups seedless raisins, chopped

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup brandy

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground mace

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 6 Tbsp butter, room temperature

2 cups brown sugar

5 eggs, separated

1/2 cup sorghum molasses



Mix all the fruit in a large bowl and pour in the wine and brandy. Stir gently and set aside to marinate for a few hours.

Butter a 10-inch tube pan or two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans and line it (or them) with clean parchment paper. Butter the paper.

Sift the flour with the spices twice. Add the baking powder and salt and sift again.

Put the butter into a large mixing bowl and cream until satiny. Add sugar and, using an electric mixer, cream until light and fluffy. Beat the egg yolks slightly and then add them to the bowl. Mix the batter well before you start to add the flour-spice mixture. Stir the batter as you add the flour, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the flour is thoroughly incorporated, add the molasses and stir. Finally, stir in the fruit and any soaking liquid in the bowl.

Put the egg whites in a grease-free bowl and beat with a clean beater until they hold stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter thoroughly and then spoon the batter into the prepared pan ( or pans ). Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let the batter sit overnight in a cool place to mellow.

On the next day, heat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the fruitcake on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. After 1 1/2 hours, cover the pan with a piece of brown paper (do not use foil) or set the pan in a paper bag and return it to the oven.

When the cake has baked for 3 1/2 hours, remove it from the oven and listen closely for any quiet, bubbling noises. If you hear the cake, it needs more baking. Or test the cake with a toothpick or cake tester. If the toothpick or tester comes out of the center of the cake clean, the cake is ready to take from the oven. Put it on a wire rack to cool, still in the pan.

When the cake is completely cool, turn it out of the pan (pans), leaving the brown-paper lining on the cake. Wrap the cake with parchment, then aluminum foil, and pack the cake in a tin. Homemade fruitcakes need air, so punch a few holes in the lid of the tin or set the cover loosely on the tin.

Set the tin in a cool, undisturbed place, and every two or three weeks before Christmas, open the foil and sprinkle the cake with a liqueur glassful of brandy, wine, or whiskey. The liquor will keep the cake most and flavorful and help preserve it as well.



Fruitcake # 2
2 pounds pitted dates
1/2 pound green candied cherries
1/2 pound red candied cherries
1 pound candied pineapple (cut in pieces, if whole)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 pound English Walnuts, shelled
1 pound pecans, shelled
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Leave nuts and fruit as whole as possible.

Sift flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder over fruit and nuts. Mix well with hands.

Beat eggs and vanilla extract and pour over flour mixture. Blend well.

Line two bread pans with wax paper and butter well. Divide dough into the two pans and bake at 200 degrees F for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Put on rack to cool.

When cool, wrap tightly in foil or freezer paper.




Tiny Christmas Fruit Cakes

1/4 pound candied cherries, chopped

3 candied pineapple slices, chopped

2 1/4 cups chopped pecans

1 (6 ounce) can coconut

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

3 tablespoons butter (do not melt)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Cut or chop fruit and nuts. Add fruit, nuts and coconut to milk, butter and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Grease tiny muffin tins very well and fill three-fourths full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden on top. Remove carefully when cool.




Quick Mincemeat Fruitcake

2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 (28 ounce) jar ready-to-use mincemeat

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups candied mixed fruit

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line two 9 x 4-inch loaf pans with wax paper.

Sift the flour and baking soda together.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, mincemeat, condensed milk, fruit and nuts. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 2 hours or until center springs back and top is golden brown. Cool.

Turn cakes out onto a wire rack; remove wax paper


Happy Baking