Quick Fruitcake Food

QUICK AND EASY BRITISH FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 6-inch round cake pan.
• Place flour in a bowl. Rub butter into the flour until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add mixed fruit, 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, and mixed spice. Stir to combine. Add milk and egg and mix until batter is soft and easy to drop.
• Drop batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle light brown sugar on top and pat down with the back of a spoon.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

QUICK FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Butter cake pans, and line with wax paper. Butter the wax paper.
• Sift the flour with the baking soda.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, mincemeat, condensed milk, fruit, and nuts. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pans.
• Bake for 2 hours, or until center springs back and top is golden brown. Cool. Turn cakes out onto wire rack; remove wax paper.

EASY FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Grease and line the base of two 20cm springform cake tins with baking parchment.
• Stir together the oil and sugar, add the eggs, flour, baking powder, spices and juices, and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until pourable and reasonably runny. Gently fold in the fruit, then divide the batter evenly between the tins. Bake for 20-25 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean, then leave to cool.
• When cool, remove from the tins and sandwich the cakes together with jam. Sieve some icing sugar on top to serve.

QUICK AND EASY FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the over to 350F (180C). Butter an 8x8 baking dish.
• In a big bowl whisk together the eggs and the sugar just until it all comes together, about 30 seconds, no more.
• Add the flour (and baking powder if using) and wisk together just until the flour disappears and there are no more lumps, about 45 seconds, no more. The batter will be quite thick and there won't be a lot of it.
• Spread the fruit over the bottom of the dish and spread the batter over. It will barely cover the fruit and it'll look like it's not enough, but it will be great. Alternatively you can mix the fruit with the batter.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes depending on your oven. A toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean when the cake is ready.

QUICK FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Prepare quick bread batter according to package directions. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 9x5-in. loaf pan. , Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

THE BEST FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Combine the raisins, currants, apricots, figs, prunes, dates, walnuts, pecans, orange zest, lemon zest, candied ginger, pumpkin pie spice and cloves in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add 1 cup of the brandy, orange liqueur and molasses and stir to coat. Cover and set aside to macerate overnight. (Alternatively, cover the bowl and microwave 2 minutes, or until very hot. Leave covered and let sit until almost all the liquid has been absorbed into the fruit and nuts, about 2 hours.)
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Spray two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and line each with 2 pieces of parchment, one lengthwise and one crosswise, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each side. Spray the parchment with cooking spray.
• Sprinkle 1/2 cup flour over the soaked fruit mixture and toss to coat. Whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
• Cream the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium-low and beat in the flour mixture until the batter is blended and smooth. Pour the batter over the fruit mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until all the fruit is coated in batter.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared pans, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans, the tops spring back slightly when pressed and a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack and brush with the remaining 2 tablespoons brandy. Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 15 minutes. Carefully remove each cake from its pan using the parchment overhang and place on the rack to cool completely.
• To store, wrap each loaf tightly in plastic and then foil. The wrapped fruitcakes can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 3 months.

QUICK FRUITCAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in the pecans, dates and fruit. , Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

QUICK FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• The day before baking: Cook raisins, water, and sugar for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add whiskey and honey, stir to combine. Add butter and let it melt in the hot mixture. Cool to room temperature, overnight is best.
• Prepare pans: grease pans with shortening, line with parchment paper and leave a 2" collar extending above all the sides. Grease the inside of the parchment paper.
• Preheat oven to 275°F Adjust rack to center position.
• Reserve 1/2 dozen whole cherries and several whole nuts to use as decoration on top of cake. Adhere with a little batter or syrup.
• Measure fruit and nuts into a large bowl. Sift together the flour, spices, baking powder, soda and salt into another medium bowl. With your hands, blend the flour mixture into the combined fruit and nuts. Make sure the fruits are not stuck together, and are coated with flour. Set aside.
• In your largest mixing bowl, beat eggs well. Alternately add to the beaten eggs, the floured fruit and nuts, and the raisin mixture. Combine with large spatula or with bare hand.
• Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake for about 2 hours (time will vary with size of pan) until cake shrinks from sides of pan slightly. After 1 ½ hours, decorate tops of cakes with reserved fruit and nuts, by adhering them to the top of cake with reserved batter. Return to oven to finish baking. Turn off oven, leave cake in oven 10 minutes with heat off. Remove pans from oven, allow to cool on racks 10-15 minutes. Peel paper off cakes carefully while still warm. Cool on rack completely.
• To store cakes, wrap in muslin moistened with sherry, and place in zip lock bag or tin. Check periodically and add sherry to keep moist. Slice about 1/2 inch thick to serve, with hot tea, coffee, or egg nog. Can be stored for a year or more if kept moist with sherry or whiskey.