Heirloomfruitcake Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and honey. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, allspice and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture alternately with cream. Stir in raisins, dates, apricots and pecans. , Pack into two greased and floured 8x4-in. loaf pans. Place pans on middle rack of oven; place a shallow pan of hot water on lowest rack. , Bake at 300° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan. Loosen edges with a knife and remove from pan. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Place coconut, dates, and pecan pieces in a very large (7 quart or larger) bowl. With your hands break up chunks of dates & coconut, and stir those 3 ingredients together.
• Add the cherries, pineapple, and sweetened condensed milk. Stir thoroughly. (I wear non-powdered surgical gloves, and stir it with my hands because the mixture is very stiff.).
• Let set at room temperature while you prepare the pans. Spray 2 - 9"x5" loaf pans with Pam. Line the pans with waxed (or parchment) paper. (We cut parchment paper in 4 1/4"x 16 1/4" and 8"x 12 1/2" strips for this. You want the paper to come up past the sides of the pans after the mixture is packed into the pans. It seems like a lot of work, but it's well worth the effort!) Now spray the paper (after you've pressed it into the pans) with Pam.
• Stir the ingredients well again.Divide the ingredients equally between the 2 loaf pans.
• Pack VERY TIGHTLY and smoothly into the pans. (I wet my hands & press, pack down, & smooth top, using both hands. Wetting your hands keeps them from sticking to "batter".).
• Place the pans on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 300 degrees F for 1 hour, or until lightly browned. (If the cakes have baked for an hour, or look a little brown around the edges, take them out of the oven & lift edges of paper a little to see if sides look brown enough. If they're brown on sides, but not on top, you may broil the tops for a few minutes-watch carefully.).
• Remove cakes from oven and let cool for 10 minutes in the pans.
• Gently lift the edges of the paper a couple of times on each side - kind of a rocking motion. Turn pans upside down onto a paper-lined cookie sheet. Lift pans from the cakes. Remove paper from bottom of cakes IMMEDIATELY.
• Let cool completely. Place in a large container (don't wrap yet) and refrigerate overnight.
• Turn cake upside down to slice. After slicing, wrap in waxed (or parchment) paper, then in heavy duty aluminum foil.
• May be refrigerated up to 3 months or frozen up to 1 year.

Steps:

• Wash and dry the raisins and the currants. Wash, dry, pit, and chop the dates. Chop the raisins and the citrus peel. Slice the cherries. Blanch the almonds, and slice them lengthwise. Combine fruits and nuts in large bowl.
• Grease and line 3 standard Christmas cake pans (these round pans are at least 3 inches deep and come in a set of three sizes- 5, 7, and 9 inch across) with 4 layers of heavy waxed paper, or 3 layers of brown paper. Grease again. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
• Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices onto a piece of waxed paper. Remove 1 cup of this flour mixture, and combine with fruit and nuts. Mix until fruit is well coated.
• Cream the butter until fluffy. Add extracts. Gradually add sugar, mixing until creamy. Beat egg yolks until light and lemon-colored, and beat into the butter mixture. Stir in the molasses, and beat together well. Add half of the remaining flour mixture, and blend thoroughly.
• Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into batter. Stir in lightly the remaining flour mixture alternately with grape juice and coffee. Add floured fruit and nuts, blending in until fruit is well distributed.
• Turn batter into prepared cake tins, filling each about 2/3 full and spreading batter evenly. Bake in center of oven. Bake small cake 2 1/2 hours, medium cake 3 1/2 hours, and large cake 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Remove from oven and allow to stand 5 minutes, then turn out on wire rack to cool.

Steps:

• Finely chop candied fruits and pecans.
• Snip dates and raisins into small pieces with kitchen shears dipped in hot water occasionally to prevent stickiness.
• Combine fruit and nuts in a bowl, add 2 or 3 T flour and toss to mix well.
• Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon.
• Set aside.
• Cream butter until fluffy, then add brown sugar and gradually beat until light and fluffy.
• Beat in eggs two at a time, then stir in vanilla, lemon juice, and orange juice.
• Mix jelly and rum/juice until smooth.
• Add alternately to batter with dry ingredients.
• Pour batter over fruit and mix throughly, using a wooden spoon or your hands.
• Pour batter into 2 greased and lined loaf pans or 1 ten-inch tube pan.
• Bake at 275 F for 3 1/2 hours.
• Paint generously with grape juice/brandy and wrap in cheesecloth and foil, keeping refrigerated until Christmas time.
• Paint on more juice once or twice per week.

Steps:

• Grease and flour two 9x5-in. loaf pans. Line the bottoms with waxed paper; grease and flour the paper. Set aside., Combine the pecans, pineapple, peaches, raisins and 1/2 cup flour; set aside. , In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar; add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 1/2 cup peach nectar, honey and milk; beat well (mixture will appear curdled). Combine cinnamon, baking powder, salt, allspice and remaining flour; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Add pecan mixture; stir well., Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 325° for 1-1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. , With a skewer, poke holes in the loaves. Spoon remaining nectar over loaves. Let stand for 10 minutes; remove from pans to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in a cool place. Slice and bring to room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Generously grease (using solid vegetable shortening) and flour ten (1-pound) loaf pans. Place a pan of water on the lowest rack in the oven.
• In a large bowl, combine candied cherries, raisins, mixed candied fruits, nuts and 2 cups flour; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the vegetable oil, brown sugar, and eggs.
• In another large bowl, combine the 4 cups flour, baking powder, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. Add dry ingredients, alternately with orange juice, to the egg mixture, beating after each addition until well blended. Pour prepared batter over the candied fruit/nut mixture, mixing well. Pour into prepared loaf pans.
• Bake the fruitcakes approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Test for doneness by placing a metal/wooden skewer in center of cake. If it comes out clean, cake is done. Be careful not to over bake. Remove from oven and let the fruitcakes completely cool in the baking pans.

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, eggs and honey. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with cream. Beat in raisins, dates, apricots and pecans. Pack into two greased and floured 7-3/4-in. x 3-5/8-in. x 2-1/4-in. loaf pans. Place pans on middle rack of oven; place a shallow pan of hot water on lowest rack. Bake at 300 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan. Loosen edges with a knife and remove from pan. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10 inch tube pan. Line bottom of pan with greased parchment paper. Set aside.
• Chop fruit and nuts in a large mixing bowl. Add coconut and mix well with hands. Stir in flour, then sweetened condensed milk. Blend well.
• Pack firmly in prepared tube pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven. Run knife around edge of cake and remove rim of pan. When barely warm, remove tube bottom and paper from cake.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Beat together the butter, and sugars until creamy.
• Sift together salt, baking soda, cocoa, and flour. In a seperate container mix together the buttermilk and the vanilla.
• Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture.
• Bake in 3 (9 inch round or square) pans for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
• When cool, stack the cakes and frost with the icing of your choice.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottoms of three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottoms with waxed paper.
• Mix flour, soda, and salt in small bowl. Using electric mixer, cream butter in large bowl until light. Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in yolks, then melted chocolate. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer cakes to racks and cool 5 minutes. Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen. Unmold cakes onto paper towel-lined racks. Cool completely.
• Peel paper off cakes. Place 1 cake layer on platter. Slide waxed paper strips just under sides of cake. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over, Top with second cake layer. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining frosting decoratively over top and sides of cake. Remove waxed paper strips. Arrange walnuts around top edge and center of cake if desired. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome; store at room temperature.)