Fruit Cake

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Fruit cakes are everywhere come Christmas time back home. They are either sold by your co-workers or just about anyone you know and if you are lucky, you get to buy one that tastes really good. I tried to make my own fruit cake about 10 years ago and it was an utter failure. The cake came out okay but it dried up so badly since I was so scared of dousing it with enough brandy that in the end, I had to throw it out. Since then, I have not made any attempts to bake one since it seems like it is not such a big thing here in the US.

This year, I decided to give it another go. I have not had any cake bombs except for one or two in the span of 10 years so I think I'm experienced enough to pull this off. The recipe I'm using is from the Joy of Baking website and it really is good judging from the uncooked batter and the fact that I especially chose the fruits and nuts that went into the cake. I did bake the cake in a 9-inch round cake pan since the amount of batter with all the dried fruits and nuts looked like it was not going to fit in the suggested 8-inch pan. I also started a bit late since most fruit cake recipes require that you let it age for about a month but I'm willing to wait until after the holiday season is over as long as I end up with a wonderful, aromatic and moist fruit cake. It will be worth the wait.

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

My choice of dried fruits include: dates, apricots, currants, raisins, cranberries, sultanas, and plums. I also bought a fruit cake mix of candied peels. My choice of nuts is a bit simpler with just walnuts and Brazil nuts. I'm also soaking the cake with brandy and I have three more weeks to go. Once I've completed the aging process and I'm ready to slice into the cake, I'll update this post.