An actually acceptable fruit cake
Connie Smithberg
"holiday fruit cake". The doorstop heft (mostly because of stained and
candied so called fruit bits) as well as other unidentified ingredients.
My version of fruit cake is the basic pound cake with marachino
cherries and canned apricots. Once it's cooled, you wrap it in a clean
napkin and douse it with brandy, then wrap that up in foil or plastic wrap
and let it age for at least a week before enjoying.
Taken in small slices, it's just the thing for winding down after a cold
and busy day.
(yeah, I know the cherries are colored, but they're so GOOD! I use
canned 'cots because the dried ones are drenched in sulfides).
contrary
Kay Shapero
cont...@gotsky.com says...
to soak a lot longer... :)
A friend's dad's recipe for fruitcake:
http://www.kayshapero.net/fruitcake.htm
I've had some and it's pretty good.
--
Kay Shapero
address munged, email kay at following domain
http://www.kayshapero.net
MajorOz
> "Connie Smithberg" <contr...@gotsky.com> wrote:
> > Many many long decades ago I was disgusted by what's been passed off as
> >"holiday fruit cake". The doorstop heft (mostly because of stained and
> >candied so called fruit bits) as well as other unidentified ingredients.
>
> specific relatives). We've had a tinned "Mrs. O'Leary's" fruitcake that
> gets given to various family units for 20 or so years. It disappeared for
> several years when one recipient had personal upheavels going on, but then
> re-surfaced. The recipient and year are marked on the bottom of the tin,
> and by now it connects those of us who are still around with several
> departed ones. I got it last year, and it's going to my late wife's sister
> this Christmas. Dear Lady asked if anybody had tasted it, and I explained
> that the can had never been opened, and likely whoever did would need a
> HazMat team standing by.
> And so it goes...
>
> Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
> Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G
Ya wanna have the old fashioned fruit cake with rum and the goodies,
without all the ikky bits?
http://www.assumptionabbey.org/pages.asp?pagename=fruitcake
You will not be disappointed
cheers
oz, who mails out bunches of them each year (and eats one or
two.....or three......or.....)
Purple Kat
thats why????!!!!!!!!
I LOVE apricots.. but somehow the dried ones make me feel ill..
I can't handle sulfides in anything.
Thank You
Purple Kat
Desideria
Oz, we need to become closer friends.
I *love* fruitcake, booze and all!
Desideria
Nick Cramer
> [ . . . ]
> I *love* fruitcake, booze and all!
Alton Brown's Fruitcake [my notes in sq. brackets - Nick]
Ingredients [substitute as desired]
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup currants
� cup sun dried cranberries
� cup sun dried blueberries
� cup sun dried cherries
� cup dried apricots, chopped
Zest of one lemon, chopped coarsely
Zest of one orange, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
1 cup [or more, if needed] gold rum [I prefer dark]**
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 [or toasted, slivered almonds]
Brandy [I prefer dark rum]** for basting and/or spritzing
Procedure
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 325F.
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.
Note: Place a pot of water in the oven when baking for moistness.
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 [I prefer dark rum]** and allow to cool
completely before turning out from pan. When cake is completely cooled,
seal in a tight sealing, food safe container. [You might want to spritz it
on all sides before sealing. Also, tightly wrapping it in plastic wrap
before containerizing.]
Every 2 to 3 days, feel the cake and if dry, spritz with
brandy [I prefer dark rum]**.
The cake's flavor will enhance considerably over the next two
weeks. [Or years!]
Makes an excellent gift.
[Keeps indefinitely at room temp if tightly wrapped. Freezes well.]
* [Toast in dry skillet over medium-high heat until nuts are brown and
fragrant, stirring frequently. Or in a 400 F oven or microwave on high
power high power for 4 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool.]
--
Nick, KI6VAV. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their
families: https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ Thank a Veteran!
Support Our Troops: http://anymarine.com/ You are not forgotten.
Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~ USMC 1365061
Kay Shapero
purp...@optonline.net says...
takes some searching and they will be explicitly labeled as such. No
label, assume the worst.
Jette Goldie
Check with a good health food store - there *are* sulfide free dried
apricots available, but they're usually a tad more expensive than the
others.
--
Jette Goldie
jette....@gmail.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfette/
http://www.jette.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
http://wolfette.livejournal.com/
("reply to" is spamblocked - use the email addy in sig)
suzil
> Many many long decades ago I was disgusted by what's been passed off as
> "holiday fruit cake". The doorstop heft (mostly because of stained and
> candied so called fruit bits) as well as other unidentified ingredients.
This is my version of fruitcake -- I don't know how well it ages,
because it never lasts that long :-)
Pineapple-Macadamia Fruitcake
5 cups candied pineapple chunks
1 1/2 cups salted Macadamia nuts
1 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
5 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon pineapple extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease three 8 x 5-inch loaf pans. Line
with wax paper/parchment paper and grease the paper.
In a medium bowl, toss 4 cups of the pineapple, the nuts and coconut
with 1/4 cup flour until coated; set aside.
In a large mixer bowl at medium speed, beat sugar and butter or
margarine for 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time,
beating well after each addition. Beat in milk, pineapple flavoring
and vanilla extract. At low speed, beat in flour until well blended.
With a wooden spoon, stir in fruit-nut mixture. Spoon batter into pans
and top with remaining pineapple, pressing lightly into batter.
Bake for 1 1/4 hours, or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted
in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes.
Remove from pans, peel off wax paper and cool completely on wire
racks. Wrap in foil. Refrigerate at least 2 days before serving.
Store in refrigerator up to 1 month or in freezer up to 3 months.
Purple Kat
I keep asking for Fruitcake for the holiday - but I keep getting socks
and gift cards....
SIGH
Purple Kat
David
<purp...@optonline.net> typed:
Whoever gives you those is the fruitcake.
--
David
No email replies please.
You possess a mind not merely twisted, but actually sprained.
Wes Struebing
>
>
>Oz, we need to become closer friends.
>
>I *love* fruitcake, booze and all!
>
reason, she also loves fruitcake...
--
Wes Struebing
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America,
and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples,
promising liberty and justice for all.
Homepage: www.carpedementem.org
linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wesstruebing
MajorOz
If it were not for that big ugly you live with, mayhap we could :>)
When I was a mere tad of twelve or so, I was a "hired hand" in the
making of a form of Christmas cake. It may have been Plum Pudding --
I don't recall what they called it. The folks were from the UK, about
my parents' ages, childless, and seemed to be MUCH more sophisticated
and worldly than those in my dull life [ While snooping one time
during a paid gig cleaning their apartment, I discovered their nudist
magazines ].
Anyway......we made a concoction that was similar to many formulas for
fruit cake, except that this was much jucier -- more liquid. We did
it in September. After a week of sitting under cheesecloth, we added
a couple cups of some kind of booze, probably rum.
About a month later, we scraped all the green fuzzy stuff off the top
(top was about two feet across, in a HUGE crockery bowl) and added a
couple more cups of booze. Did this again in November.
The week before Christmas, we scrapped it all clean, added some more
booze, let it sit overnight, and then dumped it out inverted onto a
large tray. It sat in an honored position, lightly covered with
cheesecloth, drying just a bit, until Christmas eve, when we ate some
with eggnog.
My first taste of boozy food. I recall it was scrumpdillyitious, and
I ate a lot. Never seen or tasted anything like it since.
Anybody recognize the stuff ?
cheers
oz, with shopping left only for my honey
Barry Gold
It will be served at Newton's Day and again on New Years, if there's
any left. We only made 3 fruitcakes this time, one without brandy
for those who have a problem with alcohol -- alcoholism, allergies,
diabetes, although the sugar content is still too high for the last.
3 fruitcakes is roughly 15 pounds of cake, so you can see that it's in
a fair amount of demand. We keep it in the outside fridge until it's
time to serve. If it were inside, we would probably eat it all
ourselves.
--
Barry Gold, webmaster:
Conchord: http://www.conchord.org
Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc.: http://www.lasfsinc.org
Jette Goldie
yeah, fruitcake. Only, if it was growing green fuzz, it didn't have
enough booze in it ;-)
PhoenixWench
http://www.victoriana.com/christmas/plum-99.htm
--
PhoenixWench
Toleration is not the opposite of intolerance but the counterfeit of it.
Both are despotisms: the one assumes to itself the right of withholding
liberty of conscience, the other of granting it.
-- Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phoenixwench/
http://slywlf.livejournal.com/
http://phoenix-awaken.blogspot.com/
http://www.appletreemotelcatskills.com
MajorOz
May have been similar. I remember discussion of lighting / flaming,
but it wasn't done (at least when I was around).
cheers
oz, still nibbling on the abbey cake.........
Desideria
wrote:
I'd love to be introduced to Molli, in any fashion you wish. I seem to
recall her posting here a couple of times.
You've got good taste in ladies, Wes...but then, she's got great taste
in MEN! :-)
Desideria
Desideria
<Maj...@centurytel.net> wrote:
>On Dec 14, 11:29�pm, Desideria <desideria1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >Ya wanna have the old fashioned fruit cake with rum and the goodies,
>> >without all the ikky bits?
>>
>> >http://www.assumptionabbey.org/pages.asp?pagename=fruitcake
>>
>> >You will not be disappointed
>>
>> >cheers
>>
>> >oz, who mails out bunches of them each year (and eats one or
>> >two.....or three......or.....)
>>
>> Oz, we need to become closer friends.
>>
>> I *love* fruitcake, booze and all!
>>
>> Desideria
>
>If it were not for that big ugly you live with, mayhap we could :>)
*snicker*
What makes you think I'm living with a big ugly, unless you mean one
of my cats? ;-)
Denny and I don't live together yet, though he's campaigning for it
and I'm weakening.
But then, wouldn't your honey object, unless we ALL became closer
friends?
>
>When I was a mere tad of twelve or so, I was a "hired hand" in the
>making of a form of Christmas cake. It may have been Plum Pudding --
>I don't recall what they called it. The folks were from the UK, about
>my parents' ages, childless, and seemed to be MUCH more sophisticated
>and worldly than those in my dull life [ While snooping one time
>during a paid gig cleaning their apartment, I discovered their nudist
>magazines ].
>
>Anyway......we made a concoction that was similar to many formulas for
>fruit cake, except that this was much jucier -- more liquid. We did
>it in September. After a week of sitting under cheesecloth, we added
>a couple cups of some kind of booze, probably rum.
>About a month later, we scraped all the green fuzzy stuff off the top
>(top was about two feet across, in a HUGE crockery bowl) and added a
>couple more cups of booze. Did this again in November.
>The week before Christmas, we scrapped it all clean, added some more
>booze, let it sit overnight, and then dumped it out inverted onto a
>large tray. It sat in an honored position, lightly covered with
>cheesecloth, drying just a bit, until Christmas eve, when we ate some
>with eggnog.
>
>My first taste of boozy food. I recall it was scrumpdillyitious, and
>I ate a lot. Never seen or tasted anything like it since.
>
>Anybody recognize the stuff ?
>
>cheers
>
>oz, with shopping left only for my honey
Desideria
Kay Shapero
> >A friend's dad's recipe for fruitcake:
> >http://www.kayshapero.net/fruitcake.htm
> >
> >I've had some and it's pretty good.
>
> It will be served at Newton's Day and again on New Years, if there's
> any left. We only made 3 fruitcakes this time, one without brandy
> for those who have a problem with alcohol -- alcoholism, allergies,
> diabetes, although the sugar content is still too high for the last.
> 3 fruitcakes is roughly 15 pounds of cake, so you can see that it's in
> a fair amount of demand. We keep it in the outside fridge until it's
> time to serve. If it were inside, we would probably eat it all
> ourselves.
I can understand that. :) A check of the recipe reveals that while
there's an awful lot of fruit in there, the only source of refined
sugars appears to be the sweetened condensed milk so it may be possible
to make a significantly less sugary version. I'll give it a try next
year.
0mn1vore
19:49:17 -0800, Connie Smithberg said:
> Many many long decades ago I was disgusted by what's been passed off as
> "holiday fruit cake". The doorstop heft (mostly because of stained and
> candied so called fruit bits) as well as other unidentified ingredients.
But I like doorstops! They're dense, rich, and full of calories. Perfect
for winter, when all your fat burns off from shivering. Think of the suet
bird-lovers leave out on their patios in the winter.
> My version of fruit cake is the basic pound cake with marachino
> cherries and canned apricots. Once it's cooled, you wrap it in a clean
> napkin and douse it with brandy, then wrap that up in foil or plastic wrap
> and let it age for at least a week before enjoying.
> Taken in small slices, it's just the thing for winding down after a cold
> and busy day.
Sounds good too. :-)
Also good because it's non-perishable [or less so, anyway]. Makes it even
better for winter, when it used to be really hard to find any kind of
fresh food at all.
But I wouldn't use a slice of fruitcake to make a smoked salmon and honey
sandwich. :-\ All wonderfully preserved, but still... [shudder]
> (yeah, I know the cherries are colored, but they're so GOOD! I use
> canned 'cots because the dried ones are drenched in sulfides).
> contrary
Likewise, ;-)
Patrick.
--
Email to; 0mn1-sneaking(a)sneakEmail,com
but fix the (a) and the comma first.
Fig Newton.
Cindy Wells
<snip>
> I can understand that. :) A check of the recipe reveals that while
> there's an awful lot of fruit in there, the only source of refined
> sugars appears to be the sweetened condensed milk so it may be possible
> to make a significantly less sugary version. I'll give it a try next
> year.
Total carbohydrates (thus the fruit) should matter more to the diabetic
individual. The workaround is to have a really small slice of any good cake.
Cindy Wells
(Fiber can be deleted from the carbohydrate count.)
David
typed:
>In <Wd6dneUXSa9aKLjW...@trueband.net> Sun, 13 Dec 2009
>19:49:17 -0800, Connie Smithberg said:
>
>> Many many long decades ago I was disgusted by what's been passed off as
>> "holiday fruit cake". The doorstop heft (mostly because of stained and
>> candied so called fruit bits) as well as other unidentified ingredients.
>
>But I like doorstops! They're dense, rich, and full of calories. Perfect
>for winter, when all your fat burns off from shivering. Think of the suet
>bird-lovers leave out on their patios in the winter.
>
>> My version of fruit cake is the basic pound cake with marachino
>> cherries and canned apricots. Once it's cooled, you wrap it in a clean
>> napkin and douse it with brandy, then wrap that up in foil or plastic wrap
>> and let it age for at least a week before enjoying.
>> Taken in small slices, it's just the thing for winding down after a cold
>> and busy day.
>
>Sounds good too. :-)
>
>Also good because it's non-perishable [or less so, anyway]. Makes it even
>better for winter, when it used to be really hard to find any kind of
>fresh food at all.
>
>But I wouldn't use a slice of fruitcake to make a smoked salmon and honey
>sandwich. :-\ All wonderfully preserved, but still... [shudder]
>
Some people are not very adventurous when it comes to food. ;-)}}}
--
David
No email replies please.
You will gain money by a speculation or lottery.
Wes Struebing
<blushes> *I* think so, dearheart! And I'd certainly reciprocate the
sentiments for you and Denny!
Wes Struebing
<deside...@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:59:58 -0800 (PST), MajorOz
><Maj...@centurytel.net> wrote:
>
>>On Dec 14, 11:29�pm, Desideria <desideria1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>> >Ya wanna have the old fashioned fruit cake with rum and the goodies,
>>> >without all the ikky bits?
>>>
>>> >http://www.assumptionabbey.org/pages.asp?pagename=fruitcake
>>>
>>> >You will not be disappointed
>>>
>>> >cheers
>>>
>>> >oz, who mails out bunches of them each year (and eats one or
>>> >two.....or three......or.....)
>>>
>>> Oz, we need to become closer friends.
>>>
>>> I *love* fruitcake, booze and all!
>>>
>>> Desideria
>>
>>If it were not for that big ugly you live with, mayhap we could :>)
>
>*snicker*
>
>What makes you think I'm living with a big ugly, unless you mean one
>of my cats? ;-)
>
>Denny and I don't live together yet, though he's campaigning for it
>and I'm weakening.
>
>But then, wouldn't your honey object, unless we ALL became closer
>friends?
>
Love, I know *I* would enjoy becoming "closer" friends. Denver to
Seattle (well close) is just too far.
Desideria
wrote:
>On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:13:52 -0800, Desideria
><deside...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>*snicker*
>>
>>What makes you think I'm living with a big ugly, unless you mean one
>>of my cats? ;-)
>>
>>Denny and I don't live together yet, though he's campaigning for it
>>and I'm weakening.
>>
>>But then, wouldn't your honey object, unless we ALL became closer
>>friends?
>>
>
>Love, I know *I* would enjoy becoming "closer" friends. Denver to
>Seattle (well close) is just too far.
Oh, I agree. You're one of our favorite folks, Wes.
Desideria
Barry Gold
>> >A friend's dad's recipe for fruitcake:
>> >http://www.kayshapero.net/fruitcake.htm
>> >
>> >I've had some and it's pretty good.
bg...@nyx.net says...
>> It will be served at Newton's Day and again on New Years, if there's
>> any left. We only made 3 fruitcakes this time, one without brandy
>> for those who have a problem with alcohol -- alcoholism, allergies,
>> diabetes, although the sugar content is still too high for the last.
>> 3 fruitcakes is roughly 15 pounds of cake, so you can see that it's in
>> a fair amount of demand. We keep it in the outside fridge until it's
>> time to serve. If it were inside, we would probably eat it all
>> ourselves.
Kay Shapero <k...@invalid.net> wrote:
>I can understand that. :) A check of the recipe reveals that while
>there's an awful lot of fruit in there, the only source of refined
>sugars appears to be the sweetened condensed milk so it may be possible
>to make a significantly less sugary version. I'll give it a try next
>year.
Two other sources of sugar:
. mincemeat
. applesauce
Still, if you use unsweetened applesauce, and evaporated milk (without
added sugar) plus enough splenda or other bulky sugar substitute, it
should work.
Basic problem with leaving the sugar out of _any_ cake or quick bread
is that the sugar accounts for a significant part of the lightness as
well as the sweetness. You can substitute other things for the sugar,
but they need to take about the same amount of room, and not be too
heavy or dry. (Frex, don't substitute flour or other starches...)
Some boxes of stevia extract have suggestions for things you can use
to replace the bulk of the sugar.
David
typed:
>On Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:11:24 -0800, Desideria
><deside...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:44:02 -0700, Wes Struebing <str...@comcast.net>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:29:40 -0800, Desideria
>>><deside...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>><snip>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Oz, we need to become closer friends.
>>>>
>>>>I *love* fruitcake, booze and all!
>>>>
>>>I'll have to introduce you more formally to Molli. For some unghodly
>>>reason, she also loves fruitcake...
>>>--
>>>
>>>Wes Struebing
>>>I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America,
>>>and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples,
>>>promising liberty and justice for all.
>>>Homepage: www.carpedementem.org
>>>linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/wesstruebing
>>
>>
>>I'd love to be introduced to Molli, in any fashion you wish. I seem to
>>recall her posting here a couple of times.
>>
>>You've got good taste in ladies, Wes...but then, she's got great taste
>>in MEN! :-)
>>
><blushes> *I* think so, dearheart! And I'd certainly reciprocate the
>sentiments for you and Denny!
All right, already! Sheesh! Get a room! ;-)}}}
--
David
No email replies please.
Courage is your greatest present need.
MajorOz
Just what I was thinking..........
cheers
oz........and a video camera :>)
Desideria
Only if you and your lady show up too, Oz. ;-)
Desideria
Desideria
wrote:
>On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:26:24 -0700, Wes Struebing <str...@comcast.net>
>typed:
>
>><blushes> *I* think so, dearheart! And I'd certainly reciprocate the
>>sentiments for you and Denny!
>
>All right, already! Sheesh! Get a room! ;-)}}}
We would--all of us--but the problem is the commute! That's what Wes
was saying... ;-)
Desideria
David
<deside...@gmail.com> typed:
So! Organise a move. Pick a town in between your current residences
and all move there.
--
David
No email replies please.
Expect a letter from a friend who will ask a favor of you.
Desideria
wrote:
>On Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:01:28 -0800, Desideria
><deside...@gmail.com> typed:
>
>>On Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:24:08 +1030, David <faro...@picknowl.com.au>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:26:24 -0700, Wes Struebing <str...@comcast.net>
>>>typed:
>>>
>>
>>>><blushes> *I* think so, dearheart! And I'd certainly reciprocate the
>>>>sentiments for you and Denny!
>>>
>>>All right, already! Sheesh! Get a room! ;-)}}}
>>
>>
>>We would--all of us--but the problem is the commute! That's what Wes
>>was saying... ;-)
>>
>So! Organise a move. Pick a town in between your current residences
>and all move there.
*snort*
We're fond of Wes, but we're not crazy. At the moment, Denny and I
both have jobs. Makes more sense to bring Wes and Molli *here*, if he
could find work in the neighborhood.
Desideria
Wes Struebing
Right. These virtual, err, meetups just aren't quite as satisfying.
And even a room halfway between is still a significant distance...;-)
Wes Struebing
I could wrap my mind around that!
Wes Struebing
Working on it, Hon. Working on it.
;-)
John W. Vinson
>> I LOVE apricots.. but somehow the dried ones make me feel ill..
>>
>> I can't handle sulfides in anything.
>>
>It is sometimes possible to find non-sulfured dried apricots, but it
>takes some searching and they will be explicitly labeled as such. No
>label, assume the worst.
Or get to know someone with access to fresh (farmers' market or direct from
the tree) apricots, and a dehydrator. Without the sulfite they'll turn brown
but they're much tastier - and safer if you have such reactions.
--
John the Wysard JVinson *at* Wysard Of Info *dot* com