Who Loves fruit cake?

Me! Association, I guess. Memories of childhood when sweets were a rare treat and I got to help my grandmother make fruitcakes and Christmas cookies the weekend after Thanksgiving. The fruitcakes were wrapped in brandy-soaked cheesecloth and the cookies decorated and put away until Christmas Eve in Gramma's cold room in the cellar. During the day on Christmas Eve, she iced the fruitcake and decorated the tops with candied pineapple. Waiting from Thanksgiving weekend until Christmas Eve to eat them was torture!

I have a recipe around here somewhere for one made with mincemeat that's really good and very moist. Haven't made it for years...because the only one around here who'd think it's a treat is me.

And now that I think about it...there's half a (commercial...I didn't make it!) Stollen in my freezer from last Christmas!
 
Don't like the candied fruit either. We have a Sprout's store here that sells dried uncandied fruit. And yes it's expensive but at this stage of our life were worth the cost.

Soaked Fruit Mixture:
1¼ cups dark raisins
1¼ cups golden raisins
2 cups mixed unsweetened dried fruit, chopped (note: I like to use equal parts peaches and apricots
1 cup dried unsweetened black figs chopped
1 cup dried unsweetened tart cherries chopped
¾ cup dried unsweetened prunes chopped
¾ cup (6 oz) dark rum

Fruit Cake Ingredients:
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter softened
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs room temperature
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Granny Smith apple peeled and coarsely grated
¾ cup slivered almonds (or chopped pecans or walnuts) <--- I like chopped pecans

For Storage:
medium sherry or triple sec for soaking<--- I wet cheese cloth in triple sec to cover the cake to keep it moist. The cheese cloth should be damp not soggy. Re wet as needed to keep the exposed edges moist.

Instructions
The Day Before Baking: Combine the dried fruit in a large mixing bowl. Add the dark rum, cover, and allow the mixture to soak at room temperature for a minimum of 12 hours, or ideally 24 hours prior to preparing the fruit cake batter.
Prepare the Fruitcake: Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C) with a rack in the center position.
I use parchment paper cut to fill the inside of a 9X13 glass baking pan. I cut the paper oversize so I can make tabs to be able to lift the cake out for cutting.

1.In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside.

2.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and light brown sugar together over medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating just until each egg is incorporated.
3.Over low speed, slowly add the flour mixture until just absorbed.
Tip
I add the flour by folding it in then mix slowly until all the batter is combined. Reason= when I add the flour to the wet mix for some reason no matter the lowest setting the flour kicks out of the mixing bowl.

Time to pre heat the oven to 300 degrees.

4.Remove the bowl from the stand mixer. Add the lemon zest, orange zest, fresh orange juice, grated apple, slivered almonds, soaked dried fruit mixture (along with any liquid if it hasn’t already been absorbed)
5.Stir mixture with a large spatula, scraping the edges and bottom of the bowl several times, until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
6.Bake at 300 degrees for 75 to 90 minutes or until the batter is set and the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely before removing from the pan.
7.Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 to 8 weeks.
 
Just after my marriage, the wife, FIL & I went to see her aunt. We visited a few minutes then the aunt offered us a piece of fruit cake. My mother made what she called a fruit cake, raisins, chocolate chips & walnuts mixed with a dark cake batter. I had never eaten a real fruit cake. The aunt brought out the servings on a plate with fork. I took one bite, never in my life had I eaten a dessert that was as horrible as that.

I couldn't swallow, the aunt was sitting across from me, spitting it out would have been an insult. The only thing I could do was hold it in my mouth for the duration of the visit. 45 minutes later we left, the first thing I did was spit into a snow bank outside, my wife commented on how I was so quiet & didn't embarrass her or her dad. One of life's lessons was revealed to me about the humor of gifting a fruit cake at Xmas.
 
$50...that sounds extreme.
No?
I agree, @Robert59. I mean, it's true they're expensive to make, but offer her $35 and maybe she'll ultimately take $40.

Does this lady want you to pay in advance? If she does, write a Bill of Sale and have her sign it! I'm serious. Just tell her you've been taken advantage of before and the Bill of Sale is your insurance. Make sure her address and/or phone number's on it, and make sure they're real. It'd be wise to include "deliver by [certain] date", too, especially if she won't take less than 50 bucks.
 

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