Sunday, December 9, 2012

Fruitcake Weather Part 3

As I promised yesterday, it is time for the fun part. Sieve off the booze from the soaking fruit and use it to make a drink (or sieve it earlier and use it as the half cup of booze-not as fun but much more economical). Add the drained fruit along with about a cup of mixed candied fruit.


Pecans are the best nut to add but they make me itchy so I used sliced almonds instead. Toss in the whole bag-it's about a cup.


Give the beautiful mess a good mix...


 ...but don't forget to save one cherry to snack on before it touches the gooey part.


Pre-heat the oven while you clean up the mess.



Spray the heck out of three loaf pans and the mini muffin tins. One year I made fruitcake crumble by going easy on the spray-never again.



Fill the pans and poke any fruit under the batter. It dries out and gets crunchy in the oven if you don't. Next year, I think I am going to add less fruit. More cake, less fruit. This year's cakes are a bit too crunchy on top.



When a knife comes out clean, they are done. Let them cool a long time before trying to take them out of the pan or you'll be sorry.



 When they are cool, they need to be glazed. Every year I try something new. Last year's was too sticky so this year I added some currant jelly to thin it out. I used some corn syrup, more rum and a big spoonful of jelly mixed together over a low heat.



It was tart-and boozy. I am not loving it. Next year I will have to try something else.



I may not have made my best fruitcake this year but fruitcake is fruitcake and I love it. The bite sized versions are already gone.


 It will all be gone by New Year's.





3 comments:

  1. It looks beautiful.
    I never put a glaze on a fruitcake...our version very similar recipe but it got a sprinkle of brandy and a coating of marzipan on the top. Always looked like a bad toupe. Marzipan is my English Gramma's style.
    This is looking really pretty with the glaze.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have always wanted to try the marzipan version. It looks so yummy.

      Delete