Rich Brandied Fruitcake Food

RICH BRANDY CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• The night before you cook this place all the fruit fruit peel and nuts into a bowl and soak for 12 hours in the brandy and orange juice; Stir every time you go into the kitchen!
• pre-heat oven to 275ºF/140ºC.
• Grease and line with greaseproof paper an 8 inch/20cm round cake tin.
• Sift the flour salt and spices into a large mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar together until the mixtures fluffy.
• Beat the eggs and add them a little at a time.
• Fold in the flour and spices.
• Stir in the fruit that has been soaking along with any excess liquid.
• Mix in the treacle.
• Spoon into the cake tin and spread out evenly.
• Cover the cake with a double square of greaseproof paper with a small hole in the top.
• Bake the cake on the lower shelf for 4& 1/4- 3/4 hours.
• When the cake is cold wrap in double greaseproof paper and store in an airtight tin.
• Feed the cake every two days for the first 2 weeks with a spoonful of brandy and/or orange juice and/or glacè cherry syrup.
• First poke little holes in the cake with a knitting needle or a skewer.
• Come Christmas you will have a very very rich fruit cake.
• Use royal icing to ice it or almond paste and royal icing, I don't like almond paste!

RICH BRANDIED FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• In large glass bowl, stir candied peel, raisins, currants, cherries, brandy and pineapple. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 12 hours or microwave at high for 3 mintues or until steaming, stir.
• In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beat in vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves, stir into batter, one-third at a time. Scrape fruit mixture over batter, sprinkle with pecans and almonds. Stir just enough to coat fruit and nuts evenly.
• Spoon into two 9x5 inch and one 5-3/4 by 3-1/4 inch parchment paper lined loaf pans, packing with back of spoon. Tap lightly on counter. Bake in center of 300 degree oven for about 1 1/4 hours for small loaf and 2 hours for large loaves or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on rack for 30 mintues. Turn out, right side up, onto rack. Let cool completely.
• Note: After one hour of baking place a piece of foil loosely over cakes. I assume this is to prevent the cake from browning too much.

RICH CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Line a 8-inch round, or 7-inch square tin with 3 layers of paper.
• Having said that, I find it easier to line it with one, then wrap the OUTSIDE of the tin in several layers of newspaper, tied with kitchen string.
• Weigh and measure ingredients.
• Sift flour salt and spices.
• Cream butter and sugar.
• Gradually add the eggs to the creamed mixture.
• Mix well.
• It may look a bit curdled at this stage, but that's OK.
• Add the fruit, nuts, then the flour and liquid.
• Stir gently and thoroughly. I do this with my (clean) hands.
• Place in the prepared tin, hollowing out the centre a little to allow for rising.
• You can decorate the top with blanched whole almonds now if you wish.
• Bake in a 325°F oven (decreasing the temp gradually as the cake cook) for 3- 3 1/2 hours.
• When baked, leave in the tin for at least 10 minutes before turning out-until completely cold is better though.
• This is good made in about October, and stored wrapped in foil in an airtight container until Christmas.

RICH FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• The night before, pour 75ml of the brandy over the fruit, cover and leave to sit, letting the fruit soak up the alcohol.
• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line a deep, 25cm square cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside, so that it comes about 2.5cm above the sides of the tin, and secure with string.
• Sift the flour, spices, cocoa powder and ½ tsp salt together. Mix a third of this mixture into the soaked fruit. Cream the butter, zests and sugar until light and fluffy, stir in the treacle, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in half the remaining flour mixture. Once mixed, fold in the fruit mixture followed by the remaining flour mixture.
• Spoon into the prepared tin, smoothing the top with a palette knife. Bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hrs 30 mins, checking the cake with 15 mins to go. When a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, it's ready.
• Leave to cool in the tin for 30 mins then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. To store, peel off the baking parchment, poke holes into the cake and feed with the remaining brandy. Wrap well in cling film. Will keep for three months.