"Cindy Hamilton" wrote in message
...

On Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 8:17:55 AM UTC-5, Ophelia wrote:
> "Cindy Hamilton" wrote in message
> ...
>
> On Friday, November 11, 2016 at 7:02:59 PM UTC-5, wrote:
> > On Fri, 11 Nov 2016 18:25:24 -0500, Dave Smith
> > > wrote:
> >
> > >On 2016-11-11 2:34 PM, wrote:
> > >> On Fri, 11 Nov 2016 13:23:54 -0500, Gary > wrote:
> > >
> > >>> I wonder if I can buy a store brand fruit cake, then pour some
> > >>> bourbon
> > >>> or brandy on it to age for a month or so? Would that work?
> > >>
> > >> Definitely would, make sure you pick up dark fruit cake though.
> > >>
> > >
> > >Sorry, but my experience is that most store bought dark fruit cake is
> > >so
> > >horrible that no amount of booze can resurrect it. I must have been
> > >lucky to have had a mother and grandmothers who made wonderful
> > >fruitcakes. When I talk about fruitcake with people my take is that
> > >most
> > >of those who hate it had had only store bought.
> >
> > That is not true at all, maybe you bought too cheaply, good dark fruit
> > cake can be had from bakeries at a price.
>
> Here's an article about Americans' relationship with fruitcake:
>
> <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/fruit-cake-hate-bad_n_2293216.html>
>
> The fruitcake that most of us have had has been mail-ordered from some
> giant bakery. It uses the cheapest ingredients. The best ones
> (besides the ones I've made myself) simply taste like a big blog
> of moist sugar.
>
> I haven't made fruitcake in years. I have a nice recipe for light
> fruitcake. I substitute dried fruit for all of the candied fruit,
> and soak the fruit in some booze to rehydrate it a bit before
> baking. It's delicious.
>
> Cindy Hamilton
>
> =======================
>
> it's a few years since I have made any too. I used to make full rich
> Christmas cakes when all the family was at home. If I do it at all now, I
> make a Dundee cake.
>
> http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/m...al-dundee-cake

As a non-Brit, I have little idea what Christmas Pudding, Dundee cake,
or fruitcake as wedding cake is like. Here's my fruitcake recipe.
Or, rather, the original that I got from a friend of mine, and then
the changes I make to it.

Gretchen's Fruitcake

1 cup raisins
0.5 cup citron, chopped
0.5 cup candied lemon peel, chopped
0.5 cup candied orange peel, chopped
0.5 cup candied pineapple, chopped
1 cup dried, shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.)
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
0.5 teaspoon salt
0.5 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs plus 1 yolk
0.5 cup brandy or rum
2 tablespoons sherry
3 tablespoons orange juice

The dry team:
Combine candied fruit and nuts.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Combine flour mixture with fruit mixture.
The wet team:
Cream butter and sugar.
Beat eggs and add to butter/sugar.
Add booze and orange juice to butter/sugar/eggs.
Add the wet team to the dry team and stir.
Fill some unspecified number of greased loaf pans.
Bake at 250 F for 1.5 hours or until the cake shrinks from the sides of the
pans. Let cool, de-pan, then wrap in brandy- or rum-soaked muslin, then
aluminum foil.

Cindy's Fruit Cake

As above, only with these substitutions:
No candied fruit. Instead:
0.5 cup dried cherries
0.5 cup dried, sweetened cranberries
0.5 cup chopped dried apricots
0.25 cup dried blueberries
(Or any other dried fruit that seems enticing)
Soak the dried fruit in a little hot booze to plump it.
Where brandy, sherry, and orange juice are specified, use bourbon, rum, or
any other congenial spirit of choice.
Use mini-loaf pans and fake the cooking time.

===================

I must say, I much prefer yours to Gretchen's! Thanks for the recipes.



--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk