{"id":2546,"date":"2021-11-12T14:31:07","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T19:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.agooddish.com\/?p=2546"},"modified":"2022-12-16T16:35:03","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T21:35:03","slug":"this-is-not-your-great-aunts-fruitcake-it-is-moist-delicious-and-makes-a-great-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.agooddish.com\/?p=2546","title":{"rendered":"This Is Not Your Great Aunt’s Fruitcake – It Is Moist, Delicious And Makes A Great Gift"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fruit and nut loaf cake<\/span>
White stoneware beaver platter<\/span>
by Hannah Niswonger<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fruitcake<\/a> gets a bad rap for legitimate reasons. It can be dry and full of bitter bits of unidentifiable fruit and rinds. People generally have very strong feelings about fruitcake\u2014either you love it or hate it. I was on the fence for years, thinking it looked attractive but not liking the dry, dense way it tasted. Then my friend Deborah introduced me to Sylvia\u2019s fruitcake<\/a>, a recipe Marian Burros<\/a> adapted from food writer, editor and recipe developer Sylvia Shur<\/a> and printed decades ago in The New York Times. It was full of soft, flavorful dried fruit and nuts, redolent with brandy and barely held together with a simple batter, more boozy fruit and nuts than cake. We made that fruitcake together for years right before Thanksgiving so it would have time to age and \u201cripen\u201d from repeated feedings with said brandy over the course of a month to six weeks, often varying the fruit or nuts, depending on what we had procured.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ginger and pineapple make good replacements<\/span>
for citron and green glac\u00e8 cherries<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The main ingredients are<\/span>
dried fruits and nuts<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With our kids grown and less time spent cooking in Deborah\u2019s big kitchen, we stopped baking together. But every year around Thanksgiving, my husband starts asking if Deborah is sending us a fruitcake. Eventually Deb moved to an apartment and, sadly, the fruitcakes never again materialized. This year, as I started to think ahead to the holidays earlier than usual, desperate for a dose of holiday cheer, visions of fruitcakes started to dance in my head and I dug out the old recipe. You might think \u201cwhy is she publishing a holiday recipe now?\u201d Fruitcake takes time to cure so 2 months is not too long ahead to make it but even a few weeks will do, if you get a late start. For a stronger flavor, soak the fruit in a little brandy (or your liquid of choice) before adding the batter. Please note that if you (or someone for whom you are making the cake) can\u2019t drink alcohol or you want to eat the cake for breakfast, apple, cranberry or orange juice is a decent substitution, although it won\u2019t work as a preservative. If you don\u2019t have any brandy or don\u2019t like it, use rum, sherry, port, or my favorite, bourbon.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pressed into a parchment lined loaf pan<\/span>
and ready to bake<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Fruitcake baked and cooling<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Baked fruitcakes dowsed and cheeseclothed<\/span>
Just need heavy duty foil wrap<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Burros used white flour and sugar in her recipe, as well as the traditional candied fruit (like citron<\/a> and green(?) and maraschino<\/a> cherries. No thanks. So I substituted whole wheat pastry flour (almond or gluten free flour flour works fine, too, since it is just a binder, not for rising) and date sugar<\/a> (dried, ground dates), added lemon and orange zest, and spices. I substituted lots of dried ginger chunks and pineapple forf the candied fruit while dried tart cherries and cranberries replaced the maraschinos. Use what you like and want to eat. Dried figs, blueberries, goji berries<\/a>, papaya, etc. could all work. Don\u2019t be daunted by the list of ingredients. It is a very simple process. I find the recipe makes two good sized loaves (or four smaller loaves) rather than the one originally described. All the better to share with friends!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sliced fruitcake on<\/span>
Patterned chicken plate by Hannah Niswonger<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SYLVIA\u2019S FRUITCAKE PLUS<\/span><\/p>\n