Non Frightening Fruitcake
Instructions:
Fear not: ours is made with dried fruit, not unrecognizable glacéed fruit cubes. We use one-quart loaf pans, smaller than the 9 x5-inch variety; the fruit bakes more evenly without too much dough around it. Allow yourself at least a 2-week lag so you can ripen the cakes in the refrigerator. 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional for greasing the pans 11â„4 cups all-purpose fl our, plus additional for dusting the pans 11â„2 cups chopped candied orange peel (about 8 ounces) 1 cup chopped dried cranberries (about 6 ounces) 1 cup chopped dried California apricots (about 6 ounces) 1 cup chopped dried pineapple (about 6 ounces) 3 â„4 cup chopped dried cherries (about 4 ounces) 1â„2 cup whole wheat pastry fl our 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1â„2 teaspoon baking powder 1â„2 teaspoon salt 1â„4 teaspoon grated nutmeg 1â„8 teaspoon ground cloves 1â„4 cup walnut oil 1â„4 cup granulated sugar 1â„4 cup packed dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 large egg whites 12 pecan halves 6 tablespoons bourbon, whiskey, brandy, Cognac, or rum
Makes 2 fruitcake loaves
- Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 275°F. Lightly butter and fl our the insides of two 1-quart, 9 ïƒ—ï€ 4 ïƒ—ï€ 21â„2-inch loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, toss the candied orange peel, the dried cranberries, apricots, pineapple, cherries, and 1â„2 cup all-purpose fl our until well coated. Set aside.
- Mix the remaining 3â„4 cup fl our, the whole wheat pastry fl our, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a medium bowl until uniform; set aside as well.
- Using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the butter, walnut oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl until smooth and silky, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the molasses and vanilla, then beat in the egg whites one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Scrape down and remove the beaters. Fold in the fl our mixture with a rubber spatula just until moistened.
- Stir this batter into the dried fruit. Pour and scrape the batter evenly into the two loaf pans. Decorate the tops of the cakes with 6 pecan halves each.
- Bake until lightly browned and fi rm to the touch, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 1 hour and 40 minutes. (For what to do with the liquor, see below.)
- To cool: Set on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the pans onto a cutting board, remove them, reinvert the cakes onto the wire rack, and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
- To ripen and store: Drizzle 3 tablespoons liquor over each of two clean kitchen towels. Wrap one towel around each fruitcake, then seal tightly with plastic wrap. Place the loaves in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks or up to 2 months, provided you peel off the towels and replace them with more liquor-soaked towels every 3 weeks or so. If you want to freeze the cakes, do so after ripening them with the liquor. Wrap the loaves simply in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.