Christmas Fruit Cake | Holiday Special Fruit Cake Recipe
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Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 9x5 inch cake
 
Ingredients
  • Tutti frutti (Candied mixed peel) – 100 gms
  • Candied green cherries – 100 gms
  • Dark raisins – 50 gms
  • Dark rum/brandy/sherry – 4 tbsp (optional)
  • Unsalted butter – 113 gms (½ cup), softened and at room temperature
  • Granulated white sugar – 100 gms (½ cup)
  • Eggs – 3, large, at room temperature
  • Pure vanilla extract – 1 tsp
  • All-purpose flour – 195 gms (1 & ½ cups)
  • Ground almond/almond meal/flour – 50 gms (½ cup)
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Salt – ¼ tsp
  • Lemon zest – 1 tsp (from 1 small lemon)
  • Milk – ¼ cup, at room temperature
Instructions
  1. For a nicely flavored fruit cake, soak all the tutti frutti, cherries and dark raisings in 3 tablespoons of dark rum and let them sit at room temperature for at least a day to up to 2 days covered with a clingwrap. Give a stir occasionally.
  2. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F keeping the rack at the center of the oven. Brush melted butter on all inner sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set is aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest to mix them thoroughly.
  4. Take another large bowl and add the softened butter and granulated sugar into it. Whisk them with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
  5. Next add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla extract and beat it in.
  6. Now it’s time to add the fruits – add the candied cherries, dark raisins and tutti frutti along with any left-over liquid in the bowl. Mix everything with the batter until well incorporated.
  7. Next add half of the flour and the milk and mix until just incorporated. Finally add the remaining flour mixture and mix thoroughly. The batter would be quite dense but make sure to uniformly mix all the ingredients.
  8. Finally transfer the prepared batter to the greased loaf pan and smoothen the top using a knife or offset spatula.
  9. Decorate the top of the cake with sliced or flaked almonds. Bake the fruit cake in preheated oven for about 60 - 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  10. Remove from oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. The top crust may seem little hard, but it will soften if you store it a day or two at room temperature before serving and it ensures that the flavors develop more deeply in the cake. Enjoy!
Notes
If you find the cake is browning too much, cover the top with a piece of aluminum foil.
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at http://www.flavorquotient.com/2018/12/christmas-fruit-cake/