The Ultimate Fruit Cake Recipe of 2013

BY MARIE FLANAGAN

Confession: I like fruit cake.

When I was a freckled kid in pigtails, I’d kneel on my chair at the kitchen table and watch my mom mix up the heaviest and most beloved cake in our house–the holiday fruit cake. Mixed with strange candied citron and fruit glace, and wrapped in a brandy-soaked cloth and wax paper, the large cake would sit in waiting until after we opened our gifts on Christmas Eve.

After all the gifts had been opened, my dad would mix up egg nog, and we’d celebrate the baby Jesus’s birthday with fruit cake and egg nog. This tradition has never wavered. Each and every year, we open gifts on Christmas Eve, eat fruit cake, and sip egg nog. This year, the fruit cake torch was passed on to me.

With my mom’s cake so perfectly ingrained in everyone’s memory, I decided to go in a slightly different direction with my fruit cake recipe. Inspired by Cold Spring Bakery’s fruit cake, this recipe substitutes the traditional candied fruit with rehydrated dried fruit like apples, apricots, and raisins. It’s a modified version of What’s Cooking America’s Regal Fruit Cake recipe.

A Fruit Cake for 2013
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 3 hour 20 min
Yields: 1 large fruitcake

• 1 1/2 cups yellow and purple raisins
• 1 cup chopped, dried apples
• 1 cup chopped, dried apricots
• ½ cup chopped, dried peaches
• 3/4 cup currants
• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup white grape juice (or cider)
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups firmly-packed light brown sugar
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon clove
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Brandy

1. Grease a 10-inch tube or round pan; line the pan with wax paper and grease very well.
2. In a large bowl, combine the dried fruit. Bring the grape juice to a boil, then pour the the grape juice over the dried fruit. Let stand 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
4. In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine. Gradually add brown sugar, stirring until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. In another large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and mace; gradually add to butter mixture. Add almond extract and fruit mixture; stir until well blended. Spoon into prepared pan.
6. Bake 3 hours and 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. A good check is to use an instant digital thermometer to test your fruitcake. The temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
7. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pan, peel paper liner from cake, and cook completely.
8. Wrap in a brandy-soaked cheesecloth; store in the refrigerator. Let the cake come to room temperature before serving.

 

This recipe yields a rich, moist, fruit-laden spice cake. It pairs perfectly with egg nog – heck, I wouldn’t eat it any other way.

And just in case you’re not up for making your own fruit cake, Cold Spring Bakery in Cold Spring, MN still has their famous fruit cakes available this season.

Cross posted from: The Ultimate Fruit Cake Recipe of 2013 - TC Taste - Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]

The Ultimate Holiday Cookie Swap Recipe

BY MARIE FLANAGAN

Holiday cookie swap parties bring together so many great aspects of the holidays, but mostly, they bring together a lot of homemade cookies. A good cookie swap depends on a couple handfuls of attendees for optimal cookie variety.

As you read through your swap invitation, the stars begin to align—until you get to the end of the invite, which instructs you to bring 10 dozen cookies to the event. Suddenly, your excitement turns to dread as you contemplate the task. FEAR NOT! I have the perfect holiday cookie exchange recipe! It’s an adapted version of the sugar cookie recipe that my husband’s mother sent to me. The cookies are festive, taste great, and are relatively simple to make. I use locally sourced butter, eggs, oil, and flour to make them even more “home” made.

The Ultimate Cookie Swap Almond Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. almond extract (can substitute with vanilla extract)
• 1 fresh vanilla bean
• 4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar

Makes 4-5 dozen

1. Cream together your sugars, butter, and oil.

2. Add the eggs one at a time.

3. Add the almond extract and fresh vanilla.

4. Let the mixture mix until it becomes slightly fluffy/whipped.

5. Mix together your dry ingredients.

6. Add the dry ingredients one cup at a time.

7. Mix well.

8. Chill the dough for at least one hour. It can also stay chilled overnight.

9. Place parchment paper over your cookie sheets to make cleanup easier.

10. Roll the dough into small balls (the size of a walnut) and place on your cookie sheet. I used one of those tbsp.-sized dough scoops to save time.

11. Gently flatten the dough balls with a glass dipped in sugar.

12. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (17 minutes if you’re using insulated cookie sheets) until slightly brown on the edges.

These cookies are light, crispy, and buttery with an unexpected almond twist. Colorful sugar adds just the right amount of festive decoration without any messy frosting, and they stack and transport with ease.

Cross posted from: The Ultimate Holiday Cookie Swap Recipe - Twin Cities Taste - December 2013 - Minnesota

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Twin Cities, Minnesota]