Bring on the Fruitcake!!

I don't understand why fruitcake has such a bad rap.. I love the stuff. Not so much the pale, dry, marzipan-wrapped ones topped with nasty green cherries, but I love dark, damp, fruit and nut laden fruitcake. Here are a few good recipes that don't need to be made months in advance:

Guinness Cake

(variation from “Mr. Guinness’s Cake” from Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax - one of my favorite cookbooks)

1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
4 large eggs
1 cup dark raisins
1 cup golden raisins
½ cup chopped candied orange peel, or the grated zest of 2 oranges, or about 1/3 cup chunky orange marmalade
½ cup chopped candied lemon peel, or the grated zest of 2 lemons
1 bottle Guinness stout, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Butter and lightly flour an 8” or 9” springform pan.

In a small bowl, combine 1 ¼ cups of the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and ginger until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the flour and beat on low just until combined.

In another bowl, combine all the dried fruit and toss with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Add to the batter along with 1/3 cup of Guinness, stirring by hand just until combined. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300° F and bake for another 15-30 minutes, until the edges shrink from the sides of the pan and a toothpick or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan and cool to room temperature.

Poke the surface of the cake all over with a fork or skewer, going about halfway through. Slowly pour about ¼ cup of Guinness over the surface of the cake, and allow it to soak in for about 10 minutes. Flip the cake over and do the same on the other side. Wrap the cake well in plastic wrap, then in foil, and set in a cool place for about 3 days, or up to 1 ½ weeks (the flavor will improve over time).

If you like, dust with icing sugar before serving.

Makes 1 cake.

Dark Fruitcake from Joy of Cooking (slightly varied! - this is the recipe we always made growing up)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
½ cup dark molasses
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
¾ cup brandy, rum, or grape or orange juice (or even red wine!)
2 ½ cups mixed dried or candied fruit of your choice (I use dried cranberries, dried cherries if I can afford them, figs, dark raisins, real candied orange peel if I have it, and finely chopped apricots if I’m in the mood)
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 ½ cup dates
1 ½ cup currants
1 ½ cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 300° F, and grease a bundt or tube pan really well; coat with flour and tap out the excess.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar for a few minutes, until light and creamy. Beat in the molasses and orange and lemon zest and juice.

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the brandy, rum or juice in 2 parts. Stir in the fruits and nuts and scrape into the pan.

Bake for 3 ½ hours. Joy instructs: “The cake may appear done at 2 ½ hours; simply ignore this.” If the cake is darkening too quickly on top, cover it loosely with foil for the last 30-60 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack, then invert onto a plate. Store well wrapped at room temperature.

To make Fruitcake Brownies, use any brownie recipe and add 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, 1/2 cup golden raisins and 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts - soak the fruit in brandy, rum or Cointreau first, if you like. Double these amounts for brownies baked in a 9"x13" pan. You may need to add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.