Sherry Fruitcake Food

TRADITIONAL BRITISH RICH FRUITCAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• The day before baking, place the dried fruits in a large bowl. Add the tea and stir well. Cover and let sit at room temperature overnight.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 325 F/170 C/Gas Mark 3. Line the bottom and sides of a greased 8 x 3-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
• Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl.
• Using an electric hand whisk or fork, cream the butter and the sugar until the mixture is light, smooth, and creamy.
• Beat 1 egg into the creamed butter, then beat in 1/4 of the flour. Repeat until all the eggs and flour are used. Add the treacle, brandy, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Stir gently using a spoon or spatula. Stir in the baking powder.
• Drain the dried fruits and add to a separate large bowl with the ground almonds , glacé cherries, and candied peel. Stir well to combine. Add the fruit mixture to the cake mixture, folding gently, until all the fruits are incorporated into the mixture. Fold gently so as not to "flatten" the cake mixture.
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake pan and gently smooth and level the surface.
• Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until dark golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Remove to a rack and let cool, about 40 minutes.
• Remove from the cake pan and place on the rack to cool completely before serving.

FRUITCAKE WITH SHERRY

Steps:

• Bring first 7 ingredients to boil and boil for 3 minutes.
• Let cool or can be left till next day.
• Add 2 beaten eggs, the essences, sherry, flour and baking powder.
• Stir till combined and pour into a prepared 20cm cake tin.
• Bake at 140 degrees Centigrade for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Remove from tin and store in cake container for at least 3 days before cutting. It gets more moist the longer it is left.

CHERRY FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Using a tube pan (line bottom with two greased layers of greased waxed paper, and grease sides of pan); or using two loaf pans or eight mini-loaf pans (line bottom/sides with two greased layers of waxed paper). Be generous with shortening on the layer next to the cake.
• Cut pineapple, red and green cherries in half; cut dates in 3 pieces.Using hands, combine pineapple, cherries, dates, and pecans in a large bowl. Add sugar, mix well, and set aside for 10 minutes.
• Beat eggs& vanilla until light and fluffy; pour over fruit and nut mixture. Using hands, mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour on above mixture until"syrupy", again, using hands.
• Preheat oven to 275°F Add cake mixture evenly to pans and pack down tightly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, approximately 90 minutes for a tube pan; 1 1/4 hr for 2 loaf pans; and check starting after an hour for mini-loaf pans.
• Remove cake (s) from oven, cool slightly, and remove waxed paper while still warm.

MINI FRUITCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat over to 350°. In a small saucepan, heat sherry, sugar and margarine until sugar is dissolved. Cool. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, beat egg and vanilla; stir into cooled sherry mixture until thoroughly combined. Add sherry mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened., In a large bowl, toss fruits and nuts to combine. Stir in batter. Fill 30 greased mini muffin cups with 1 tablespoon of mixture. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 15-20 minutes. Cool in pan 3-4 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

CHERRY-ALMOND FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 4-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment or wax paper.
• Place the raisins and sherry in a small saucepan and heat gently for 5 minutes so the raisins will absorb the sherry. Remove from the heat and stir in the cherries and 3 tablespoons of the ground almonds. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and almond extract, and stir in the remaining ground almonds. Fold in the raisins and cherries.
• Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks and fold gently into the cherry batter with a large metal spoon.
• Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the loaf pan. If desired, turn the cooled cake over, poke a few holes in the bottom, and drizzle it with a few tablespoons of sweet sherry. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

SHERRY FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter with sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
• Separate the eggs and beat in the whites. Sift flour in the baking powder and gradually fold into the butter-sugar mixture with the salt. Mix well and add the ground almonds, candied peel and cherries. Add the currants with the soaking sherry. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in.
• Grease an eight-inch round cake tin and line it with wax paper. Pour in the batter and decorate top with whole almonds. Bake one hour, then turn heat down to 300 degrees. Bake an hour more. The cake is done when a tester inserted in center comes out slightly sticky but pretty much clean.
• When cooked and while still hot, pour the remaining sherry over cake by spoonfuls and leave until cake is cold. Cover with sherry-soaked cheesecloth, wrap in aluminum foil and store in a tin or sealed plastic container.

CHERRY WALNUT FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300°F.
• Lightly spray or wipe four 3x6x2 inch loaf pans with vegetable oil. (I used muffin cups which worked out great).
• In a large bowl, combine cherries, dates, and 1/2 cup sherry; set aside for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In a separate large bowl, mix flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add the nuts. Add the egg and egg whites. Mix well.
• Stir the flour mixture into the fruit mixture. Place 1 cup of batter into each loaf pan.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and immediately pour the remaining sherry over the loaves.
• Keep in a tin, well wrapped with plastic wrap, for up to two weeks.

MY GRANDMA'S FRUITCAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease several baking sheets. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda in a bowl; set aside.
• Beat together the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, alternating each addition with about 2 tablespoons of milk until all the milk is incorporated and the dough is soft. Beat in the sherry, and mix in the nuts, raisins, dates, pineapple, and cherries until thoroughly mixed. Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are set and the bottoms are very lightly browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

SUPERB ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING

Steps:

• Blend the fruits, citron, peel, spices and suet and place in a bowl or jar. Add 1/4 cup cognac, cover tightly and refrigerate for 4 days, adding 1/4 cup cognac each day.
• Soak the bread crumbs in milk and sherry or port. Combine the well-beaten eggs and sugar. Blend with the fruit mixture. Add salt and mix thoroughly. Put the pudding in buttered bowls or tins, filling them about 2/3 full. Cover with foil and tie it firmly. Steam for 6-7 hours. Uncover and place in a 250°F. oven for 30 minutes. Add a dash of cognac to each pudding, cover with foil and keep in a cool place.
• To use, steam again for 2-3 hours and unmold. Sprinkle with sugar; add heated cognac. Ignite and bring to the table. Serve with hard sauce or cognac sauce.