Fruit Cake

Believe it or not, this is my first time ever having a fruit cake. There was an Iron Chef episode on one night last week, and the secret ingredient was fruit cake. Alton Brown’s fruit cake to be exact. He made a ton of them and the chefs were doing crazy things with the fruit cake like wrapping it up in sushi. Ummmm…. ???? That doesn’t really sound good to me, but I’m willing to try anything.

I looked at what was all in a fruit cake and it was mostly dried fruit, rum, and spices. How can people not like that and since when did the fruit cake get a bad rep? The smell of the fruit cake almost made me feel like it was Christmas right now, and that’s probably from the ginger ginger and cinnamon.  I hope that I’ve inspired you to make a fruit cake for the Holidays and bring some to your next Holiday party. This fruit cake was really moist and it’s amazing how much dried fruit can plump back up after being macerated in rum all night long. Rum, dried fruit and spices, can’t go wrong with that.

Calories 277.7, Fat 8.1 g, Carbohydrates 42.1 g, Fiber 2.1 g, Protein 3.1 g

Servings 16 (if using bundt pan)

Points Plus: 7

Ingredients from Alton Brown

1 cup golden raisins
1 cup currants
1/2 cup sun dried cranberries
1/2 cup sun dried blueberries
1/2 cup sun dried cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
Zest of one lemon, chopped coarsely
Zest of one orange, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
1 cup gold rum
1 cup sugar
5 ounces unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
1 cup unfiltered apple juice
4 whole cloves, ground
6 allspice berries, ground
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/4 to 1/2 cup toasted pecans, broken
Brandy for basting and/or spritzing

Directions

Combine dried fruits, candied ginger and both zests. Add rum and macerate overnight, or microwave for 5 minutes to re-hydrate fruit.

Place fruit and liquid in a non-reactive pot with the sugar, butter, apple juice and spices. Bring mixture to a boil stirring often, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for at least 15 minutes. (Batter can be completed up to this point, then covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before completing cake.)

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients and sift into fruit mixture. Quickly bring batter together with a large wooden spoon, then stir in eggs one at a time until completely integrated, then fold in nuts. Spoon into a 10-inch non-stick loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Check for doneness by inserting toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, bake another 10 minutes, and check again.

Remove cake from oven and place on cooling rack or trivet. Baste or spritz top with brandy and allow to cool completely before turning out from pan.

When cake is completely cooled, seal in a tight sealing, food safe container. Every 2 to 3 days, feel the cake and if dry, spritz with brandy. The cake’s flavor will enhance considerably over the next two weeks. If you decide to give the cake as a gift, be sure to tell the recipient that they are very lucky indeed.