Fruit Cake?

I confess - I like Fruit Cake.

Most of my family could live without it but it is part of my childhood memories. It the past few years I was using a box mix and I have been very happy with it but last year I couldn't find the mix so I bought the dried fruits to do it the old fashioned style and then time got away and I never did make fruit cake. This year I got an early start and it is done!

Have you ever heard about "Stir Up Sunday"? It is the last Sunday before Advent and is a traditional day to mix up your cake or pudding so it has time to mellow and all the flavors to blend before Christmas. It was fun to make our cake on a day when we knew lots of other people around the world were doing the same things.I will probably be making some more tiny loafs to give away later this month  -- but no promises. 😊

Emily has made this cake with me before but we usually leave out the almonds and alcohol but this year I showed her how we blanch and prepare the almonds and we got the dried fruits measured out into a bowl the night before and we tossed it all in a couple tablespoon (or more) of brandy. We assembled the cake on the following day. One of the biggest challenges with this kind of cake is the timing. You need to bake it at a low temperature for a longer period of time until done and that is about 2 hours for 2  loaf pan like we used this time or 3 hours for one big cake. Once the cake is cooled down we wrapped it tighter in its foil paper and then put the loaves in a plastic bag to mellow in a cooler part of the house.

Fruit cakes are a big tradition for so many people and everyone has their own story or their favorite recipe. Most of these recipes are really not about the cake part with fruit in it, it is all about the fruit being held together by the cake part.  Fruit cakes usually fall into two categories, light and dark and really, if you are preparing a dainty tray it looks fabulous with slices of both kinds.

This is a great recipe to do with a group and I would recommend using a box kit if you can find it. It is easy and actually winds up a little less expensive because you are not purchasing packages with more fruit than needed. Alternately I would spend some time well ahead of the event to talk to people about their experiences and preferences and then try and work in the participants favorite ingredients. The smells, flavors and textures of the fruits, nuts and spices are such a wonderful sensory treat. I would probably aim at more small loafs of cakes so it is easier to manipulate and cooks faster.
 Watch for allergies and people who might need a soft diet.

If you want my Mom's Light Fruit Cake recipe please check it out on the little Christmas Blog that I write for my family.