Easy Christmas Fruitcake

So, is this the year you decide to make a fruitcake? This dense and dark British cake is a tradition and one of my favourite things at Christmastime. Fill it with your choice of fruits and nuts and no, I didn't forget the eggs. There are no eggs in this batter.

Ingredients:

8 cups dried fruit and nuts (here is what I used, but other suggestions are prunes, dried apricots, pecans, dates...)

  8 oz raisins

  8 oz mixed peel

  7 oz chopped soft figs

  6 oz chopped walnuts

  4 oz candied pineapple (plus more to garnish)

  3 oz dried cranberries

  2 oz glazed cherries (plus more to garnish)

  

2 1/3 cups orange juice

2 tsps rum extract

zest of 1 orange

2 tbsps molasses

2 cups flour

4 tsps baking powder 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

Glaze:

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp rum (optional)

Begin by mixing your choice of mixed fruit and nuts together in a large bowl. Add the orange juice and rum extract (or rum) and stir together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Add the orange zest and molasses. Now mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and allspice together and stir it into the fruit mixture. The batter will be thick and you'll have to stir well to fully combine everything. Line an 8 X 8" baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang. Spoon the batter in and decorate the top. I used pineapple and cherries, but you do you! You can see that the batter really fills the pan. That's ok!

Bake in a 320°F oven for 2 hours. A cake tester should come out clean. Turn off the heat and leave the fruitcake in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Cool on rack completely before removing from pan. (This can take a few hours)

While it's still warm, poke a few holes in it with a skewer or your cake tester. Some people like to brush it with rum or brandy but I prefer this glaze. Boil the sugar and water together in a small saucepan for 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 tbsp of rum. Then brush over the top of the cake.

Once the fruitcake is completely cooled use the parchment overhang to lift it out of the pan.

Then sit back and admire what you just baked!!

And only slice it when it is fully cooled.

I cut mine in half so it's like 2 loaves. I wrap each in wax paper and foil to keep them fresh and moist.

Christmas Fruitcake with Papaya

While regularly compared to a brick or doorstop, the traditional fruitcake has been around for hundreds (maybe thousands) of years. It must be doing something right! This one is chock full of fruit with just enough cake to hold it together nicely. And it's incredibly easy to make!

Ingredients:

2.2 lbs (1 kg) dried fruit and nuts

2 cups brewed tea

1/3 cup orange juice

5 or 6 drops angostura bitters (optional)

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1/2 cup apple jelly (for optional glaze)

1 tbsp water

So, the dried fruit and nuts is a mix that's really left up to you...what do you like and what's in your pantry? This time I used a small container of mixed citrus peel, chopped walnuts, sultana raisins, dried cranberries, glazed red cherries and for something a little different... dried papaya instead of my usual candied pineapple! Just use a cup or two of each ingredient until you have the required 2.2 lbs. of dried fruit and nuts.

Mix this with the tea, orange juice and angostura bitters then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and allspice together and add to the fruit mix. Stir until combined then pour (more like glop!) into a parchment lined 8 X 8" baking pan. It will be packed to the brim! Add more fruit on top if you like.

Then bake at 320°F for 2 hours or until a cake tester comes out clean. Turn off the oven and leave the cake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool the fruitcake completely in the pan on a rack.

While the cake is cooling you could choose to glaze it. Simple heat apple jelly with 1 tbsp of water until liquified then brush over the fruitcake. Rum or brandy could be brushed on it too.

Once you take the cake out of the pan you can glaze the sides.

It slices beautifully!

Look at all the fruit and especially the jewel-like chunks of papaya!

Yield: about 4 lbs