There’s a long tradition of soaking Christmas fruitcake in alcohol (rum, bourbon, etc) to make it more palatable.
My solution was to find a better fruitcake recipe.
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Lubmesomefruitcake!
I’m the ONLY person in my family, including extended and by marriage, as far as I know, who legitimately likes fruitcacke (with the exception of my dear, departed mother, who only made it rarely, and never found “the” recipe).
I never have made one…
What’s your recipe, if you don’t mind sharing?
EDIT: PS: their joke, because I’m also the only one to legitimately LOVE eggnog, is a recycled old Jay Leno joke: eggnog is just ground up fruitcake that nobody ate last year.
Been wanting to do a good, made-from-scratch eggnog, too, but have not (yet)…
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I think so. I think it “oversoaks”, though, since it’s darned near drippy. But yeah, from what I’ve read, it’s definitely a soak cake.
The soak recipe is remarkably easy, too: add evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk to moo juice, mix; now ready to pour.
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We’ve been watching far too many episodes of nailed it! We decided to make a furby cake for my kids birthday.
It’s a limoncello cake with custard filing and buttercream frosting. The face and ears are modeling chocolate.
Believe it or not it’s not the worst looking cake I’ve made.
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That is frightening… I love it!
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I’m glad to share it. It’s my favorite recipe, both for the flavor, and the love represented by the various hands it had to pass through to make its way back to me.
This fruitcake recipe has an interesting history: Back in the early 1990’s, I originally got the recipe from my friend Avis (who later passed away). I lost my copy of the recipe, and thought it was lost forever. I only rediscovered it when my sister found a copy in my late Mother’s recipe cards.
Here are pics of my Mom’s cards:
and here is the typed out original version (with notes on how I changed the execution):
Brazil Nut Fruitcake
This recipe came from Avis van Swearingen, a caving friend of Mike’s. This is a copy from Mike’s Mom’s recipe cards. Just enough batter to hold the fruit and nuts together, and none of those fakey dried fruit chunks found in some fruitcake recipes. Mike recommends using the tiny cake pans.
3/4 C. Flour
3/4 C. Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 lb Brazil Nuts, peeled
1 lb Whole Dates
1 C. Drained Maraschino Cherries
3 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
Leave all fruit and nuts whole.
Grease & line with waxed paper 2 small or 8 mini fruit cake pans.
Mix first 4 ingredients. Place fruit & nuts in large bowl. Sift dry ingredients over them and mix until all are coated.
Beat eggs until foamy and add vanilla. Pour over fruits and mix well.
Bake at 300 degrees 1 1/2 hours (for small) or 45 minutes (for mini pans) or until done.
Cool in pan 15 min, pull off paper, cool on rack. Wrap and freeze.
Mike’s Mods:
- You can buy pre-peeled brazil nuts at Sprouts - great time saver
- 8 mini pans, not the six mentioned on the card
- Pack nuts and fruit tightly into pan
- Cut dates in 1/3rds at the start - packs better into pan and can search for missed pits that way
- Use oil and flour (or Bakers Joy) instead of waxed paper. Slip knife around pan edge before de-panning
- Slice thin to serve - it is quite rich
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Yours looks workable! I have an Italian fruitcake recipe from my late grandmother. I got scared when it started with “wash the sink well”. The recipe is so large the only thing she could mix it in was the sink! For instance, it includes 5 pounds of boiling honey.
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If your in the Arlington area the company that sold American Airlines nuts has 70,000 1.25 lb bags of first class nuts they are selling at wholesale costs.
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What a cool story!
Thank you!
Their web site (GreatNuts.com) is selling the bags for $12.95 ($25.50 for two, with shipping included). That’s a pretty good deal: about what one would pay for shelled, raw pecans.
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And in other news… tomorrow is national lasagna day…
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You misspelled perfect.
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I have heard the Collin Street Fruitcake takes alcohol soaking well.
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I thought I’d end this thread for the month with the homemade chili topping these chili dogs that I made tonight.
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My mom always made eggnog that everyone seemed to like, though it tasted nothing like the stuff in the dairy case. It had to have been 50% booze at least. Could track down if you’re interested in seeing it.
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I would be interested in seeing the recipe, if it’s not too much trouble.
Thank you!
Alton Brown has a great Eggnog recipe, it is aged for months and has an ABV of 20%
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I will try this eggnog recipe. Alton’s standing rib roast technique has been my go-to Christmas dinner recipe for over a decade.
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His turkey brine and roasting methods are great too! Done the smoked salmon in a cardboard box. Was delicious but a hot plate, wood chips and a cardboard box made me a little nervous. Had to put the rig on a far corner of my patio.
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