How To Make Fruitcake

It’s fruitcake time! Learn how to make fruitcake with Chef Mark.

Fruitcake Recipe:

Ingredients

9 oz. sweet butter
4 oz. brown sugar
4 oz. dark brown sugar
3 extra arge eggs
4 Tbsp. Armagnac or Brandy
Zest and juice of a naval orange
Zest of a Meyers lemon
8 oz. of whole raw almonds ground fine
9 oz. walnuts, pecans, filberts or almonds coarsely chopped
1 & ¼ lb. mixed dried fruit chopped into bite sized pieces and in the case of red and green candied cherries cut them in half. Dried Apricots, prunes and figs, citron or lemon and lime peel are all great to use.
1 lb. of various , currants, raisins, sultanas, dried cranberries and dried cherries.
2 cups AP Flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt.

Procedure

Method:
1. In mixer beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Pour in adds one at a time ensuring you beat well after each one. Scrape both occasionally.
2. Add Armagnac or Brandy and zest and juice of citrus fruits.
3. Remove from machine and take out the paddle and fold in the ground almonds all the chopped nuts and all the dried and candied fruit.
4. Separately in a bowl combine, salt, BP and flour sifting all. And then fold this into the mixture
5. With a 8 inch spring form pan, line the bottom with paper and also the sides with the paper allowing the paper to from a one inch collar above the height of the pan.
6. Spray or butter the sides and bottom well.
7. Then place entire batter in the tin and decorate the top with whole nuts if desired.
8. Bake in preheated 325oF oven for about an hour. If using convection oven set it at 300oF.
9. Reduce heat by 25oF after an hour.
10. Cake will take about another 1.25 to 1.5 hours to completely bake.
11. Remove from oven, and then you can insert a skewer of cake tester into the top of the cake in order to make numerous holes in which to pour the remaining brandy into. Soak with brandy every 3-4 days.
12. Wrap well in plastic wrap and foil. Keep in a cool place. Remove and reapply brandy when desired. Alternately place in a muslin cloth and lower into a ceramic crock. In this way you can soak the cloth with the brandy with having to re-wrap each time.
13. Serve it during the Winter Holiday Season ! ( But keep the kids away from it !)

Bon Appetit