This is absolutely NOT a diet recipe, so be warned. This is rich and fattening. There’s a reason I only make one of these cakes a year.
I know what most people think about fruitcake, but I promise, this is one cake you’ll absolutely love. It also converts easily into a plain applesauce cake (see variations below).
If you’re doing a fruitcake, you’ll need to soak the fruit overnight first. You’ll need about five cups of fruit (yes, I said 5 CUPS). For the cake in the picture, I used 3 cups of green and red cherries and 2 cups of pineapple. Note that this is your typical candied-fruit that’s out this time of year.
Fruit Substitutions:
- Use the fruitcake mix if you like the bitter citrus peel that’s included there. We don’t like that, so I don’t use it.
- Use whatever dried fruits you like. You may have to add a little more juice for soaking it if you go this route.
Put the fruit in a large bowl and add about half a cup of orange or grape juice. For a less sweet flavor, use brandy instead. Let the fruit soak about 10 hours or overnight, covered.
Cake:
Your fruit should have soaked for a few hours now. Make sure there’s no leftover juice in the bowl. Add in 2 cups of walnuts and 2 cups of raisins. Take about half a cup of self rising flour and sprinkle over the fruit and nuts and mix well so that the fruit and nuts are coated well.
Peel and cook a bag of granny smith apples, but don’t add any sweetener. Cut the apples in chunks, but you don’t have to be careful about size. Between cooking and mixing, they’ll be pulverized anyway! Measure out 3 cups of apples into a separate bowl. If you don’t quite have that many, round it out with a little unsweetened appleasauce. (I usually do this step the day before!)
Add your spices to your apples and mix it all thoroughly. Set aside.
- 2 heaping tablespoons of cinnamon
- pinch of cloves
- half teaspoon of allspice
- quarter teaspoon of nutmeg
Now work on the cake batter itself. Soften two sticks of margarine and add those to your mixing bowl (I use a stand mixer — it’s easier). Add in two cups of packed dark brown sugar and begin creaming the mixture.
Add in four eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Add in about half your apple mixture.
You’ll gradually mix in 3 1/2 cups of self-rising flour. When you’ve mixed in about half the flour, add the rest of your apples, and then finish the flour. When the mixture is well mixed, pour it over the fruit and nut mixture and mix well.
Pour into a greased and floured tube pan. Note that you’ll need a LARGE tube pan, not a bundt pan. This cake is huge.
Drop the pan three or four times on the counter to “settle” the batter. It’s thick, and you want to be sure there are no air holes in there.
Bake on 325 degrees for one hour. Increase heat to 350 and bake another half hour. Check the cake — it’s done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Tip: You may have to bake the cake as long as 2 hours, so don’t get worried if it goes a bit long. A lot depends on how wet the fruit was going in.
Applesauce cake variation:
Make the cake the same way, but don’t include the 5 cups of dried or candied fruit. Instead, add your 2 cups of walnuts and 2 cups of raisins, and that’s it! Bake at the same temperatures as above.
The cake freezes well, which is a good thing. It’s so big and rich, it’s not something you’ll be able to eat up in a weekend. Everyone who’s tried it has like it, even avowed fruitcake haters!
I talked in my last post about searching for some direction for the blog. I’ve decided to stick with health-related topics here, since it fits in with the domain and the readership I’ve built. I’m considering starting another blog where I can branch out a bit and discuss things that don’t really fit here.
When that’s up, I’ll be sure to provide you the link.
