Christmas Fruitcake
The Fruitcake Tradition
Most everyone has at one time or another received a Christmas fruitcake as a gift around the holidays. The fruitcake has been a sign of friendship for years, and although it has been portrayed as a very unpopular dessert by the media, it is most likely a tradition that will stick around for years to come. There are many different recipes and ingredients that you can choose from. The types of fruit, nuts, and spices that you put into your fruitcake can be tailored to your specific tastes. There are hundreds of different recipes that you can choose from as well. From rich, dark fruitcake, no bake fruitcakes, sugarless fruitcakes, New Orleans, and Brazil Nut fruitcake, you are sure to find a new Christmas fruitcake recipe that you and your family will love.
One very good fruitcake recipe calls for 2 cups white granulated sugar, 4 eggs, 2 teaspoons natural gourmet vanilla, 2 cups all purpose baking flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 pounds pecan (halved), 1 pound candied cherries, 1 pound candied apricots, 1 pound pitted dates.
To begin, preheat your oven to 300 degrees, grease 2 loaf pans, and then line each of them with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the 4 eggs, the sugar and the vanilla until it is frothy. In another bowl, sift together the flour, and the baking powder, add it to the egg mixture, and mix well. Add the candied cherries, candied apricots, the pitted dates, and the halved pecans. Mix well and pour evenly into the prepared loaf pans. Bake for approximately 1 hour.
There are hundreds of variations to the Christmas fruitcake. Network TV shows, like Martha Stewart, or Rachel Ray, or Delia Smith, will all show you how to make their favorite fruitcake. Fruitcake is generally a mixture of fruits and nuts with just barely enough batter to hold them together, and many of the traditional fruitcakes have their candied fruits and nuts soaked in some sort of alcohol. They can be kept for several months or even up to a full year when stored properly in an air tight container.
There are many different occasions and holidays when you can gift a fruitcake. Wedding and Christmas fruitcakes are the most traditional, but the making and sharing of fruitcakes first started as a traditional offering for a good harvest back in the 16th century American colonies. Even if you aren’t fond of eating fruitcakes, they will always be a symbol of friendship during the holidays. |