Your Cake Is in the Mail : Fruitcake: Better Than Its Reputation

A lot of people (including this writer) are not enamored by any cake filled with candied fruit, despite the fact that it’s a traditional holiday dessert. There are some variations on the theme, however, that I’ve found acceptable.

Years ago, in Houston, a neighbor shared a recipe based on apples, dates, raisins and nuts. Candied red and green cherries are used solely as a garnish for Joann’s Fruitcake; they may easily be omitted or plucked off, if desired.

The recipe for Bourbon Cake was originally printed in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. This too is made predominantly with raisins and nuts. Although red candied cherries are incorporated into the batter, soaking them in bourbon adds to their palatability. Preparation may take almost every bowl in the kitchen, but the end result is worth all the cleaning up.

--JOAN DRAKE

JOANN’S FRUITCAKE

1 cup butter, softened

3 cups sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla

5 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

3 cups grated peeled Red Delicious apples

1 (8-ounce) package chopped dates

1 cup raisins

2 cups broken walnuts

2 cups broken pecans

Red and green candied cherries

Pecan halves

Cream butter with sugar in large bowl. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Blend into butter mixture. Add apples, dates, raisins, walnuts and pecans. Knead with hands until well blended and consistency of sticky pastry dough.

Arrange candied cherries and pecan halves in bottom of well-buttered bundt or angel food cake pan. Carefully add batter, packing down firmly.

Bake at 250 degrees 3 1/2 hours or until top of cake is dry and sides pull away from pan. Makes about 16 servings.

BOURBON CAKE

2 cups red candied cherries

1 1/2 cups raisins

2 cups bourbon

1 1/2 cups butter

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups dark brown sugar, packed

6 eggs, separated

5 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons freshly grated or ground nutmeg

4 cups pecan halves

Combine cherries, raisins and bourbon in bowl. Cover well and let stand overnight. Drain fruits and place in large bowl. Reserve bourbon.

Cream butter, granulated and brown sugars in bowl with electric mixer, continuing to beat until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, beating until well blended.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in large bowl. Use 1/2 cup to flour pecan halves in small bowl. Set both aside.

Beat egg whites in medium bowl until stiff, but not dry. Set aside.

Add flour mixture alternately with reserved bourbon to creamed butter mixture. Fold beaten egg whites into batter.

Pour batter over soaked fruits. Add floured pecan halves, folding mixture until blended. Turn batter into buttered 10-inch tube pan, lined with buttered parchment paper or buttered bundt pan.

Bake at 275 degrees 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until wood pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake on rack, then remove from pan. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Note: To store, fill open center created by tube pan with cheesecloth saturated with bourbon. Wrap in foil and place in tightly covered container for several weeks before cutting.