"Christmas means festive fare -- a blend of taste tempters, eye teasers, and hospitality extenders.Plan now to make every bit of your once-a-year food look festive with a sprig of holly, a flaming candle, or a plump red cherry." Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas, 1954
My
mother loved fruitcake. She wouldn’t appreciate today’s fruitcake jokes. In
fact, I think she probably wouldn’t understand them. And she was particular
about her fruitcake according to her preferences. She studied fruitcake recipes
for years, making notes and developing her own recipe. She wanted just enough
batter to hold the fruit together. She would slice the cake thinly, then hold
it up to the light and admire the stained glass effect.
Frankly,
I like fruitcake, but I’m not an avid fan of a lot of candied fruit, and I
bypass candied pineapple altogether. Make mine golden raisins, dates and nuts
with some fruitcake mix and candied cherries. So, when I decided to experiment
with a baked fruitcake, I didn’t use Mother’s recipe.
Instead,
I turned to Betty Crocker and selected a recipe called “Old-fashioned
Fruitcake” from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, 1969. Of this recipe, the editors say: “Traditional
but not-quite-so-rich version of fruitcake. Ideal for those who don’t really
love fruitcake but who feel it’s a ‘must’ for the holidays.” Hmmmm. I’m not
sure I’d say I don’t really love fruitcake, but I was looking for a
“not-quite-so-rich version, so I chose this one.
Since
we planned to go to the farm on Sunday (Dec. 4), I decided it would bring a bit
of old-fashioned cheer (and warmth) to the “dear old place” if I baked
fruitcake in the farm kitchen. I took time Saturday afternoon to measure the
dry ingredients into one container and the fruit and nuts into another. At the
farm, I mixed the fruitcake and then divided the batter into 18 cupcakes and
two 8x4 loaf pans. I baked the cupcakes for 45 minutes and the loaf pans for
two hours at 275.
Results:
The cupcakes stuck to the paper baking cups. I guess I should have applied some
shortening to the paper. And I think I over baked them just a little, but at
least I was on guard not to over bake the loaves. By evening Mike had figured
out how to break the cupcakes free of the paper, and he pronounced the
fruitcake very good. That he is pleased – well, that’s the important thing. And
because this fruitcake isn’t so rich, it makes a good snack or dessert.
We
seem to be in the midst of a cold spell so we didn’t stay long at the farm, but
I took the time to set up the Christmas tree. Mike went out to get it – out to
the barn, that is, where we store it. I’m sorry it has to be an artificial
tree, but it’s good that I can set it up early and not worry about it while
we’re away.
Back
at our valley “town house,” it was dusk when we took Nellie for her walk. I
especially love our evening walks at this time of year. I love to see Christmas
lights coming on over the hillside. KW
5 comments:
My recolletions of Mom's fruitcake are fond. I, too, liked it without much dough to hold it together. I have not been able to find any like that, and I miss it. I hope your Christmas season is filled with good memories and good new activities.
My mother's also was lots of fruit - little dough. She served it with what she called "hard sauce" - a mixture of softened butter and enough powdered sugar to make it "hard", no alcohol ever. She used some candied fruit from the market with raisins, nuts, & currants. Since I hate the candied fruit, especially the candied citrus peel, I changed the recipe to use my own dried fruit. I try to make at least one loaf each year just because & to honor the tradition.
Good on traditional holiday celebrations - phooey on the nonsense that is passed of on us today!
That's a bummer about the fruitcake sticking to the paper. I've never heard of applying shortening to the paper. Is this necessary because there was so little butter/oil in the batter?
Hmmmmm. Chuck's comment as well as Dr. Molly's have inspired me to try Mother's recipe.
I remember one year when Daddy insisted on soaking the cake with brandy. That didn't happen again, nor did Mother soak the fruit in alcohol.
We had 18 cupcakes and we ate the last two this morning. Mike found that if he broke the cake in the middle it would pull right off the paper. The two loaves are wrapped and stored in the shed. The parchment paper came right off as I had greased it well.
Fruitcake bakes at a low temperature -- 275 to 325 -- for a long time, which causes it to stick to the pan. Hence, the recommendation is to line the pans with greased brown paper or foil.
I have just put a hold on a library book, On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee. Maybe I'll learn something about food science!
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