The Queen of Cakes & Winner Announced
By Kim Morgan • Nov 23rd, 2008 • Category: Desserts
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Fruitcakes have been around for centuries and for good reason. Before you laugh, make fun of, or anything else- read on as I am going to change your mind about the most misunderstood cake of all time.
Fruitcakes are soaked in liquors with fresh nuts, real fruits, and an assortment of flavors. It also enjoys quite a celebrated and lengthy history, I might add.
Here is some known information about the history of the fruitcake.
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This was most likely man’s first high energy snack food.
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Old reference goes back to Roman times, when they were made with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins with barley mist.
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Middle Ages brought about the addition of sweet ingredients and continued with the idea of preserving foods not available all year long.
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Pilgrims often carried these cakes with them to the Holy Lands as gifts.
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In Europe in the 1700’s this cake was baked to celebrate the end of harvests.
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In England’s 18th century, fruitcakes were thought to be too decadent so they were limited to being eaten at Christmas, Easter, weddings, christenings, and funerals.
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In America, the English brought this cake over for enjoying at Christmas and weddings and was dubbed “The Queen of Cakes”.
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1753 was the first recorded recipe authored by Eliza Smith.
How did it get misunderstand? Well like all things, eventually some misguided person had the brillant idea to mass produce these and cut corners. The result, a heavy-pastie-dried out-hard as a rock cake that either made it’s way into the trash or was re-gifted to some unsupspecting pour soul that got stuck with it.
But before we begin making fruitcakes, I want to thank you all for your kind comments and well wishes. You are all- the best and have made this so much fun for me, thank you-thank you. Know, the winner of the 100th post giveaway! Number 39, R. Robinson signed in as pawpawnan. I will send you an email for your address and your gift will be on it’s way.
Random Integer Generator
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39
Timestamp: 2008-11-23 12:52:31 UTC
First, make sure all your ingredients are room temperature and that you have prepared your pans for baking.
Then in a large bowl (really large bowl) stir your fruit and nuts so that they are evenly mixed. This takes some work as the ingredients are quite a lot in the bowl.
Next, add the flour as instructed and mix well till combined and all the fruit is coated with a dusting of the flour. When done, set aside and prepare to work on the cake batter.
As you add the eggs to the creamed sugar mixture, it will look seperated some. Don’t worry it will come together.
By the time all the ingredients for the cake have been added, you should have a light silk smooth batter that is a light yellow color. Mix this into the large bowl of fruit and nuts and fold the ingredients together till combined.
Spoon the ingredients into your prepared pans and smooth the tops so that they are even. Once this is done, it is time to decorate your fruit cakes.
Using your cherries, pecan halves and oranges have fun and decorate your fruitcakes!
Once they are all done put them in the oven and bake according to the size of the pans that you have. I had to guess and this is the result of what I made.
5- 1 lb mini loafs took 1 1/2 hours to bake
1-4″ 2 lb round took 2 hours to bake
1-6″ 2 1/2 lb round took 2 hours 15 minutes to bake
1-8″ 3 1/2 lb round took 2 1/2 hours to bake
I did increase my temperature by 50 degrees at the end to get a browner top. My rounds are at least 4″ high so were a nice size. Next year I will make all rounds as I like the way they turned out better.
As the cakes are ready, take them out of the oven and set on a rack to cool enough to handle. While they are cooling, carefully pour so that you do not have a run off -the bourbon over the top of the cake.
Using a sharp knife go around the inside edge of the pan, loosen the spring and remove the collar of the pan. Carefully remove the bottom and set the cake back on the rack to finish cooling. When cooled remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake.
Now we are ready for the liquoring of the fruitcakes. Lay plastic wrap to fit the fruitcake on a baking sheet. Cut a piece of cheesecloth big enough to wrap the cake and soak it in your bourbon. Squeeze out the excess and open it up, then lay it over the plastic wrap. Set your fruitcake in the center and wrap the cake in the cheesecloth.
Once this is done, wrap the plastic wrap around the fruitcake then wrap tightly in foil.
Now that you have made 12 pounds of fruitcake-what next? Well they must be taken care of and tended to for the next few weeks. They need to age so they develop in flavor and the fruit breaks done some. Every so often, once a week should be fine, I will unwrap them and gently brush over the top more bourbon. Being careful not to get any wet spots of bourbon. Wrap them up again as above and store in a cool place out of the light but not the refrigerator. Do this for 3-6 weeks before planning on enjoying.
If you take care of them they will last you for ages, and by that I mean -years. Once you have gone through the whole 4-6 week process perhaps every 6 months to a year you might want to brush them with more bourbon. If you plan on keeping them for over 3 -6 months, I suggest that you wrap them in a cotton muslin fabric which you can find at any fabric store.
Why would you want to keep a fruitcake for that long? Because they are fabulous and getter better over time. Plus all you need is a little pinch of the Queen of Cakes along with and a hot cup of coffee to make the afternoon that much better.
Missy Whites Fruitcake
Adapted, James Villas-The Gift of Southern Cooking
1 pound butter, softened
3 cups sugar
14 large eggs
5 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups light rum or bourbon, plus more for soaking
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
2 teaspoons pure lemon extract
1 ½ pounds crystallized pineapple, coarsely chopped
1 ½ pounds crystallized cherries, coarsely chopped plus more for garnish
1 box golden raisins
1 box currants
2 ¼ pounds pecans, 1 ¾ chopped
For the top of the Fruitcakes-
1/2 to 1 pound of pecan halves
1 navel orange sliced in half then into slices
1/2 pound of crystallized cherries, halved
Preheat oven to 250 degrees and place a small pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven to provide moisture. Grease one 10 by 4 inch tube pan and two 8 by 4 ½ inch loaf pans and set aside.
Alternate pan version- Grease and paper one 8″, 6″, 4″ round springform pan and 5 small loaf pans.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer till light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating constantly. Sift together 3 cups of the flour and baking powder into the mixture and blend thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of the rum or bourbon and the 3 extracts and blend thoroughly. Mix the chopped fruit and pecans with the remaining 2 cups of flour in another large mixing bowl and fold them into the creamed mixture.
Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pans, arrange the reserved cherries in a decorative manner over the tops, and bake till a cake tester or knife blade inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 3 hours.
Pour the remaining ½ cup rum or bourbon over the tops of the cake and let them cool completely in the pans. Wrap each cake securely in cheesecloth soaked in rum or bourbon and store them in airtight containers at least 3 weeks before cutting.
Kept in the refrigerator and doused with liquor periodically these cakes keep forever. A little goes a long way so a little bite every now and then and you can get your Southern Fruitcake fix for years.
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Kim Morgan is the aspiring writer, photographer & passionate cook of ayankeeinasouthernkitchen.com; she is currently cooking Southern food, one stick of butter at a time.
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are you selling these?
if so, i am in…
just email me and i’ll paypal you or send a check
beautiful beyond words
I’ve loved fruitcake for years, but been afraid to try making it b/c it’s so expensive. I finally broke down and tried it a few years ago, using a recipe that Rose Levy Beranbaum had posted (I mean, it’s Rose!), and it was a disaster. The cake was dry and hard, the alcohol had soaked into the outer quarter-inch only, meaning that the outside layer was too boozy to eat while the inside got none of the love – it was an incredibly expensive disaster, and disheartening beyond all words. I would still love to be able to make my own fruitcake, but at this point I’m really gunshy.
What pretty cakes! They look terrific! I bet they would sell like hot breads…
Cheers,
Rosa
Hi
How much is a ‘box’ of rasins and currents?
Thanks
Anna
Kim, this is absolutely, absolutely beautiful. I am an avid fruit cake lover. Why do so many folks not like them? I would love to attempt these but if you are selling them…I’ll take two of the rounds!
Kim:
Thanks for such a great post! Your fruit cakes look gorgeous!
As my husband is an Aussie, we had a “traditional” Australian wedding cake made by his mother: fruit cake covered in a rolled fondant. I thought it was so tasty, but I cannot tell you how many of my (American) friends came up to me at the reception to whisper “Did you know your wedding cake is a FRUIT CAKE?!!”
the recipe looks like it yields a lot but that means i can give some away as gifts! i’ve got this bookmarked because it looks like one of the best fruit cake recipes so far! definitely making this before christmas
very excited about it. cheers x
So beautiful — and they sound tasty. The closest thing I’ve ever made to fruitcake was a walnut cake and I loved it. This recipe is quite tempting…thanks for the info on the baking times for different sizes…
i have never tried fruitcake…since all of the ones i have encountered have been in the mass produced category. these look wonderful…like a jewel box cake. lovely!
I loved your fruitcake! It looks deliciously moist…
Thanks for the “Queen of cakes” history!!
Your fruitcakes are lovely and the recipe sounds wonderful! I’m a fruitcake lover and baker. I’ve yet to discover the ‘keeper’ recipe, but I have a feeling this might be it.
Hi,
I LOVE a good fruitcake.
Just want to make sure your recipe is for 14 eggs.
Is that correct????
Thanks, Stacey
You read right, 14 eggs.
Requested by popular demand, I am going to sell my fruitcakes.
If you are interested send me an email.
My husband is crazy for fruitcake so I usually make a couple of them a year (his birthday and Christmas). Yours looks particularly delicious and I love those small round springform tins! Who are the lucky recipients of these cakes?
Hi, Kim –
This cake, like the macaroon cookies I heard about, seems an ambitious undertaking. Ask Richard if his mother made Grandma Tilton’s fruitcake. When my mother no longer felt up to making it, I decided to continue the tradition and made it for many years around Thanksgiving…so I’d have a good month to give it a weekly splash of brandy. (My mother made it quite clear that the brandy was my dad’s, not her mother’s. idea!) No longer make it…tired of Ted’s whining that “No one likes fruitcake.”
Happy Thanksgiving to you both…and your daughter.
Susan
This doesn’t even look like the fruitcake you see in the store, it looks so much better. I think this cake would win anybody over that has any reservations about fruitcake. it’s absolutely beautiful.
Really lovely. I’ve enjoyed many recipes of James Villas’, some from just this book. I think next year I must try this one. I have been wanting to do a fruit cake soaked.
Your pics are amazing. I can imagine how these would taste!
i’ve never understood why people cringe upon hearing the word fruitcake. although it can be bricklike and inedible, it’s usually delightful. yours definitely qualifies as delightful.
Beautiful, beautiful cakes. I tried making fruitcake years ago and didn’t like the results. This recipe has enticed me to try again. Thanks!
Wow, I just can’t believe I won–how very, very exciting!
Just when I thought things couldn’t GET any better than last week’s
caramel cake–they got better!! Thank you, Kim!
The fruitcakes looks fantastic, I’m adding the ingredients to my shopping list.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration!
Nancy (aka PawPawNan)
You have a real touch. I have never seen a fruitcake look so pretty. I love this kind of a snack with my coffee or tea. And, as always, I loved how you wrapped it. stunning!
Those look divine. I want to try a fruitcake now!
I love your history lesson and your cake is gorgeous! You have almost convinced me to try one. I know my aunt had a favorite fruitcake recipe and I think it included peanut butter chips. I need to dig up that recipe. Thanks for the holiday inspiration.
Your cakes are superior, really. I have a dark 9×13 soaking in rum right now and just itching to test it but I’ll be good. Thanks also for all the history – I didn’t know any of that.
These are just beautiful! I don’t think I can reasonably store twelve pounds of cake, but perhaps I can halve or quarter this recipe and make these! We order our fruit cake from Collins Street Bakery, but this is a really lovely sounding recipe to try instead. Thanks for sharing!
Love that is has so many fruit pieces, reminds me of german Christmas cakes. They look so very festive!
This looks amazing! I’ve never made a fruitcake and now that I have to use alternative flours (no wheat flour EVER again), it’s difficult to think of changing a recipe that calls for 5 cups of regular flour, but I just might have to play with this. You’ve inspired me to give it a shot with a mixture of GF flours. I’ve always liked fruitcake and never understood everyone’s aversion to it, but then again, my mom made good fruitcake when I was growing up. This is a perfect opportunity for adding a little mesquite flour, which is absolutely divine. Thanks, you’ve given me an idea!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Melissa
Kim, your fruitcakes look fabulous! I might reconsider my opinion about a fruitcake
Oh this looks fabulously scrumptious! I’ve never had one, only heard jokes about them, but this I am definitely going to make!Please go take a peek at my blog- You are one of my all time favorite sites to visit, so I just had to “Tag” you and let the world know!
Hi Kim – these are gorgeous. We will be baking on Saturday and I will post my recipe so you can compare. But it’s true, no one who’s ever eaten a homemade fruitcake made with quality ingredients could ever hate them! all the best – Lisa
Does anyone know how I can find out how much a ‘box’ of currents and raisins is in weight? Ours come in packets of different sizes.
Thanks
Anna
I love fruitcake, and I made some years ago that I kept alive for years. I had cobbled together a few old recipes though, so it’s nice to find this one!
I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to keep them in the fridge, mine seemed to do ok. They became velvety like good chocolate over time.
I’ve been following your blog and have enjoyed it greatly.
My mother used to make a wonderful fruitcake (she was from
Virginia) and the recipe is similar to the one you have here.
One difference is that she used Black Walnuts instead of
pecans. They have a strong distinctive flavor but in the
region where she was from they used them in all their baking.
Anyway, it might be a nice variation to try or perhaps a
combination of black walnts/pecans.
Anna – The box of golden raisin I used weighed 15oz (or 2 1/2 cups ). I’m not sure about the currents