Ep.34 - Our favourite HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE - CHRISTMAS CAKE recipe! Let’s be honest, who doesn’t LOVE a good FRUITCAKE?! Served as a crowd-pleasing end to a holiday meal or given away as homemade seasonal gifts, this tried-and-true Weekend at the Cottage recipe will show you how to make the BEST HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE EVER! For the most part, I usually find myself underwhelmed whenever I eat holiday fruitcake. The mass-produced versions never look appetizing especially when covered in nondescript icing that camouflages the odd, almost glow-in-the-dark neon fruit. Homemade fruitcakes are often no better with their dark, grainy-textured mix studded with forgettable fruit and on the rare occasion, jujubes! What I’d REALLY like is a holiday fruitcake that makes me go “Wow! This is incredibly delicious!” After all, ’tis the season for such indulgence, is it not?! Here is the result of my quest to make the best FRUITCAKE RECIPE ever. I used my mom’s recipe (from a Five Rose’s Flour cookbook) as the framework and took my friend Elizabeth Baird’s suggestion to find and use only the best ingredients. I spent quite a bit of time selecting an array of interesting ingredients, from specialty grocers and gourmet stores. I also played around with different spices and flavour enhancers, and finally re-worked the method of preparation and “curing” of the baked fruitcakes in spirits! I’m confident that you’ll have the same success when you go to make this delicious holiday treat at home. After four attempts I do believe I have it RIGHT! Here are some tips: 1) The clock is ticking! You’ll need two full days to prepare the fruit, make the recipe and then “cure” the loaves for 10 days in their brandy-soaked wraps. GET TO IT! 2) The recipe calls for both candied and dried fruit. Select your own favourite combinations, just make sure you gather equal quantities of both types. For the candied fruit look for “fruit glacé” – fruit preserved in syrup – and candied citron or citrus peel. 2) One of the above photos clearly shows the fruit I used but make special note of the dried orange peel. This one ingredient gets top marks for adding a lovely fragrance, texture and zest to the cake. I recommend using some. 3) Finely chop the dried ingredients. My initial use of a food processor left me with clumps of sticky sweets. Chopping by hand creates smaller fruit and nut morsels that distribute more evenly throughout the cake, offering a different taste with every bite. 4) Once you’ve chopped all your fruit give it a good stir, add the brandy, and stir again. Give the mixture a full 24-hours to soak up the brandy. It’s a bit boozy, but good. 5) The recipe calls for almonds and hazelnuts, and I suggest you toast your nuts separately. Once cooled, chop the hazelnuts by hand before adding them to the fruit and almond mix. Use almond extract instead of vanilla to enhance the flavours of this winning nut combination. 6) Toss the nuts and fruit in a small quantity of flour before adding the batter. I found this dusting keeps the fruit mixture suspended in the batter. 7) Bring the butter and eggs to room temperature before you begin. Also, take the time to thoroughly beat the butter with the sugars, eggs and flour mixture. A well-beaten batter creates more volume. 8) Using smaller loaf pans (5½” x 3″ x 2″) means you’ll have more to share! This recipe yields TWELVE mini loaves. 9) TIP! When wrapping the cakes in cheesecloth, fold the edges of the cheesecloth back onto itself. This will prevent the little strings along the edge of the cloth from sticking to the cakes. There you have it, a beloved seasonal favourite revamped into something so wonderfully delicious you’ll find it hard having just one slice. Try to make it last to at least Christmas day! An assortment of dried, preserved and candied fruit nestled with toasted nuts in a light spiced cake, soaked in brandy – this HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE is a joy to the world!!! For more great ideas and recipes please visit us at www.weekendatthecottage.com You can also find us as follows: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/weekendatthe... Twitter - https://twitter.com/WATCfood/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/weekendatth... Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/weekendcott...
