I seem to have been in a fruitcake frenzy this year. I had made three different kinds and was going to stop there. Then I read a recipe for "Golden Fruitcake" in Canal House Cooking, Volume No. 2 and I just had to try it. I'm so glad that I couldn't stop myself. This cake has a lively tart and tangy quality and is cooked more like a pudding than a cake. The result is a cake that is quite light while at the same time dense with fruit. I liked it very much and sent one of the cakes off to my friend Tina in Philadelphia for her family's visit the week after Christmas. I hope they like it as much as I do.
GOLDEN FRUITCAKE
- 1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, toasted
- 3/4 cup candied lemon peel, minced
- 3/4 cup candied orange peel minced
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup dried apricots, minced
- 1 cup candied ginger, minced
- 1 apple, peeled, cored and grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 1 cup orange liqueur
- 1/2 pound plus 3 tablespoons, unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground mace
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup dried fine white bread crumbs
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- Cognac or brandy
Combine the almonds, candied citrus peel, raisins, apricots, ginger, apple and orange liqueur in a bowl. Set aside. Let macerate at room temperature overnight.
Fruits and nuts in orange liqueur
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two fluted 4-cup tube pans with 2 tablespoons of the butter and set aside.* Sift or whisk the flour, baking soda, mace, salt and cloves together in another mixing bowl. Stir in the bread crumbs and set aside.
Beat 16 tablespoons of the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, gradually adding the sugar and beating until the butter is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then beat in the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the macerated fruit and liquid.
Divide the butter between the prepared pans. Grease 2 sheets of foil withe remaining 1 tablespoon butter then cover the tube pans with it. Set the tube pans into a deep roasting pan. Ad enough hot water to come one-third up the sides of he tube pans. Bake the fruitcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Unmold the warm cakes onto a rack. They are ready to serve. If you like them a little boozy, sprinkle them with a little Cognac each day for a week Wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Unwrap them each day to give them a little drink.
*I used loaf pans which worked just as well as tube pans. The cooking time remained the same.
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