It’s that time of the year again…I know you have seen this recipe before.  From me.  But bear with me.  I am figuring out this new blog format and trying to figure out how to make recipes printable. 

“Isn’t that a fruitcake?” asked husband.  “No, people don’t like fruitcake.  These are going to be Christmas Cakes.  BIG difference.  One is edible, one is not.” I tell him.  “Oh, so it’s a different recipe?” he asks.  “No, same recipe.  Different outcome.”

You all know what I mean don’t you?  You can call something one thing and it not be good at all.  Rename it and there you go!  Success!

Anyway, I do know a few people who LOVE fruitcake.  Good fruitcake.  Not bought fruitcake.  Me being one of those people.  OH! Excuse me, I meant Christmas Cake.  I LOVE Christmas Cake. Please do not assume you don’t like Christmas Cake (or fruitcake, if you insist on calling them this!) because you don’t like the store-bought variety. They are NOT one and the same. Bought Christmas cakes contain that awful candied cherry and citron mixture that not only is not tasty but hard as rocks sometimes. This recipe I am about to give you is easy as can be.

Christmas Cakes

Some call them fruitcakes, but people don’t like fruitcake so…Christmas Cakes it is!

• Author: Just Plain Susan
• Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 12 cups of dried fruit – I used apricots, dates, blueberries, cranberries, dark and golden raisins.
• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup brandy or Cognac

Cake ingredients

• Prepared fruit mixture
• 3 sticks unsalted butter at room temp
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1TBSP coarse salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups nuts – coarsely chopped (I used walnuts and pecans)
• 1 1/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup light brown, 1/2 cup white and 1/4 cup dark brown)
• 7 large eggs
• And for the glaze you will need apricot jam, brandy and water.

Instructions

1. Chop the large fruits into 1/4 inch pieces.
2. Put all the fruit in a non-reactive container (plastic or glass) and pour the honey and brandy over it, stirring to coat well. Cover and let sit for a day or up to two weeks, mixing occasionally.
3. Stir together the dry ingredients and then add the nuts and stir again. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer with your paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Transfer to a large bowl and using the folding method, add the flour/nut mixture and then the fruit mixture. Stir to evenly distribute the fruits.
5. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. These pans will be full – note you didnt use any leavening so they are going to be dense (read: YUMMY) cakes.
6. Cut parchment to fit around the pans and above the rim at least 2 1/2 inches. Tie with baker’s twine.
7. Place on pans on cookie sheet and bake for 2 hours to 2 1/4 hours. Or until cake tester comes out clean.
8. Transfer pans to wire rack to cool completely.
9. Turn out cakes, then flip back over so top is up.
10. Heat 1/4 cup apricot jam, 1/4 cup brandy and 1/4 cup water until jam is liquid. Brush on tops of cooled cakes. Wrap in parchment and store in refrigerator for up to six months.
11. If you live in a cold climate, and you have a cool spot in your house, they can be kept in a tin or plastic container and unrefrigerated. But since many times we have the air conditioning on in December as much as July, we keep ours refrigerated.

Notes

• As always look over this recipe and read completely before starting. If you have any questions or something doesn’t look right let me know. I read and reread my recipes but still miss some things.