Although sometimes seen as chaotic and overpowering, fruit cake has the potential to be quite tasty. This dessert can feature any combination of fruit, nuts, and alcohol, making it easy to personalize to your individual taste. Check out this Drunken Fruit Cake recipe from Southern Grace Gourmet.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- Cherry brandy
- 6 ground allspice berries
- 4 ground whole cloves
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup currants
- 1 cup spiced rum
- 3/4 cup toasted pecans, broken
- 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
- 1/6 cup dried pineapple, chopped
- 1/6 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1/6 cup dried mangoes, chopped
- 6 ounces dried cranberries
- 5 ounces unsalted butter
- 5 ounces dried cherries
- 4 ounces dried blueberries
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. ginger
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 lemon zest, chopped
- 1 orange zest, chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix dried fruit, zests, and candied ginger.
- Pour in rum and let sit overnight.
- Transfer fruit and rum to saucepan. Mix in sugar, cider, spices, and butter.
- Heat saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly while heating mix to a boil.
- Let boil for 10 minutes, then remove heat and allow mix to cool fully.
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Chop pecans. Roast nuts until fragrant (5 to 10 minutes).
- Reduce heat to 325 ºF.
- Move fruit mixture to large bowl. Sift in dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Add eggs one at a time. Fold in roasted pecans.
- Transfer mix to a 10-inch loaf pan and bake until it passes toothpick test (about an hour).
- Allow cake to cool, then remove from pan.
- Baste with brandy and store in airtight container.
- Baste every two or three days for two weeks.
- Enjoy!
Photo via Flickr.