Holiday Fruit Filled Pound Cake Food

HOLIDAY FRUIT-FILLED POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Heat brandy in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat until warm, then remove from heat and stir in dried fruit. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325°F with rack in middle. Invert bottom of springform pan and lock on side. Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess.
• Finely grind 3/4 cup almonds with 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor, then whisk together with flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
• Beat butter and remaining 3/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition (batter will appear curdled), then add vanilla, zest, and fruit with brandy and beat until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes.
• At low speed, mix in flour mixture until incorporated. Spoon batter into pan, smoothing it, and top with remaining 1/3 cup almonds.
• Bake until a long wooden pick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours. Run a thin metal spatula around side of cake, then cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt marmalade with liqueur in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring, then strain glaze through a sieve into a small bowl, discarding solids.
• Loosen side of cake with thin metal spatula again, then remove side of pan and loosen bottom of cake. Transfer cake from pan to rack and brush glaze over top of cake.
• Cool cake completely, about 3 hours.

FRUIT POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Cream shortening and sugar together.
• Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.
• Add flour, salt, mace. Mix again.
• Add vanilla and beat. Add remaining ingredients and mix very well.
• Bake in a greased loaf pan for 60 -80 minutes with the oven temp set at 350*.
• **NOTE: To make a basic pound cake, the use above recipe, OMITTING the fruit and follow directions for baking/preparing.**.

HOLIDAY POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Cream shortening and add the sugar slowly, beating in well.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add vanilla and add the sifted dry ingredients, mixing well.
• Stir in citron and nuts.
• Bake in 2 regular sized greased loaf pans at 325* for 1 hour.

FESTIVE FRUITCAKE I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Grease four 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans, and then line with brown paper or foil. Grease again.
• In a large container stir raisins, currants, candied fruit mix, candied cherries, maraschino cherries, dates, and 1 cup flour together until all the fruit is well coated with flour.
• Measure 2 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a medium bowl. Stir to mix.
• In a very large bowl, cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Beat in egg yolks three at a time. Stir in pineapple with juice and vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 parts alternately with fruit juice in 2 parts to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in walnuts.
• In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold egg whites into batter, and stir in fruit gently. Divide batter among pans. Smooth.
• Bake for about 3 hours until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean.

HOLIDAY FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• For the candied peels:
• For this recipe, the peels include not only the colored parts of the skin but the pith as well. Cut wedges through the skin of the citrus fruits, pull the skin off the fruit, and dice it into pieces about 3/8 inch thick-you will have about 2¼ cups of diced peel. (The flesh of the fruit can be used for juice or in salads.) You may also collect and use the peels left over from squeezing oranges or grapefruits in the morning.
• Put the diced fruit peel in a saucepan with 6 cups of cold water, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat for about 1 minute, then drain in a colander. Wash the pieces for a few seconds under cold tap water. Rinse the saucepan with cold water, return the diced fruit peel to the pan, and add another 6 cups of water. Repeat the boiling, draining, and washing procedure, and wash the saucepan again. This blanching process removes the bitterness from the peel. Finally, return the diced peel to the saucepan with the sugar and 1½ cups water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and boil gently for 15 to 20 minutes, until reduced to a very syrupy liquid.
• Add the dried apricots, dried pears, dried peaches, and raisins to the candied peels and syrup. Mix in the rum, Armagnac, or cognac. At this point, the mixture can be placed in a jar and kept, refrigerated, almost indefinitely.
• To make the cake:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the soft butter and sugar for 1 minute in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a flat beater. Add the eggs, and beat for 30 seconds. Add the orange juice, salt, and flour, and beat for 10 to 20 seconds, just enough to incorporate. Using a spatula, fold in the candied and dried fruits.
• Cut a strip of parchment paper long enough to fit the length of a 6-to-8-cup loaf pan and extend 1½ inches beyond it at either end. (This makes it easy to unmold the cake after baking.) Butter the paper and the mold, bottom and sides, and position the paper in the mold, buttered side up, pressing to make it adhere to the bottom and sides at either end. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth the top with a spatula.
• Place the loaf pan on a cookie sheet, and bake in the 350-degree oven for approximately 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees, and cook for another 60 to 70 minutes, until completely set inside.
• Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a rack. When cool, unmold, wrap in plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil, and keep either frozen or in the refrigerator, where it will keep for a couple of weeks.
• To serve:
• Cut into ½-inch slices, and serve. This cake is a nice accompaniment to cream custard but can be served alone or with fresh fruit and nuts.

HOLIDAY POUND CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Sift flour together with baking powder and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in cherries and 1/2 cup nuts. Sprinkle remaining nuts into a greased 10-in. fluted tube pan. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 325° for about 70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 5 minutes on wire rack before removing from pan. Cool thoroughly. Make a glaze with confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over cake. Garnish top with cherries and pecans if desired.