Search for anything:

Golden Fruitcake

cakes, fruits, baking

1 1/2 cups diced dried peaches
1 1/2 cups diced dried apricots
1 cup diced dried pears
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup muscat or lexia raisins
3 tablespoons finely chopped candied orange peel
1 cup bourbon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground mace
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups roasted unsalted cashew nuts
2 cups shelled unsalted pistachio nuts
1 ripe but firm pear
1 cup unsalted butter; softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs; at room temperature
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut; optional

This cake is full of the rich flavours of dried fruit, spices and soft nuts and is heady with bourbon. It makes a wonderful gift, especially for people who swear they hate fruitcake. Dice the fruit to the size of raisins. The night before you plan to bake the cakes, combine chopped peaches, apricots, pears, golden raisins, muscat raisins and candied orange peel in a nonreactive bowl. Add bourbon and stir to coat fruit. Cover tightly and leave overnight, tossing occasionally to distribute alcohol. Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease 2 (9- x 5-inch) metal loaf pans and line with parchment paper so that it covers bottoms and 2 long sides, overhanging edges by 1 inch. Lightly grease paper and set pans aside. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, mace, ginger and cinnamon into a small bowl; set aside. In bowl of a food processor, finely grind 1 1/2 cups cashews; add to the sifted flour mixture. Coarsely chop the remaining 1/2 cup cashews with pistachios and set aside. Peel, core and coarsely grate fresh pear. Add to fruit-and-bourbon mixture. In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. (The mixture may seem to curdle at this point, but it will come together as dry ingredients are added.) Fold in flour and-ground-cashew mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of sour cream. Scrape down bowl often, making sure you reach the very bottom. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. If your bowl appears too small at this stage to accommodate batter, fruit and chopped nuts, transfer batter to a larger bowl. Fold in fruit and nuts, including coconut, if using, in several stages until evenly distributed. Scrape batter into the 2 prepared pans and smooth tops with a knife or rubber spatula. Set pans in the centre of oven and bake 1 3/4 hours, turning pans several times during baking so the cakes bake evenly. The tops of the finished cakes should be firm and slightly springy and a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of each cake should come out clean. On a rack, cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely before wrapping and storing. Cakes are best aged, refrigerated, 2 days before being cut and served. Well wrapped and chilled, they will last up to 2 1/2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving for the very best flavour. Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

Contributor: President's Choice Magazine - November, 1998

Yield: 2 loaves

---

Chinese Recipes - Indian Recipes - Italian Recipes - German Recipes

MENU