Fruitcake of the Future
Fruitcake —- the controversial culinary dessert that conjures up more divided opinions than politics. Some find it tasty, colorful and a requisite for a truly nostalgic holiday. The other side? Well, they see it as dense, too sweet, and only a byproduct of yesteryear’s limited food preservation methods. No matter where you stand, it’s a classic and we have a modern recipe for you to try.
A bit of history: Hard for us to realize today, but before refrigeration one way to preserve the fruits from the summer in the colder months was in a cake. The summer fruit was dried and cut up, pecans were shelled, and sugar was run through a sieve. All these ingredients were then baked into a cake that could be stored in a root cellar – many times wrapped in cheesecloth, where the temperatures were cooler.
With this kind of loving preparation, you can see why the gift of a fruitcake was received with the greatest appreciation.
Texas has its own unique history with fruitcake – Collin Street Bakery located in Corsicana, has been baking up and selling this notable desert since 1896 when “young German entrepreneur, Augustus “Gus” Weidman, journeyed to the heart of Texas with nothing but a whisk and a dream. “ In 1958 after decades of being a well loved local bakery, owner Bill McNutt expanded into the national and international market by creating a mail-order fruitcake business. With a world wide market, the central Texas location in Corsicana still serves as the home for Collin Street Bakery.
I was honored to speak with retired pastry chef Alan Harvey who was recruited from London to work with Collin Street Bakery. “They had written a story in the magazine British Baker saying they were looking for only the best bakers. I applied and was hired along with two other UK bakers.”, said Alan.
“The McNutt’s- owners of Collin Street Bakery are a lovely family.” Their dedication to quality is assured by owning their own fruit and pecan orchards. When making the fruitcakes, every cherry, pineapple, and pecan has to be in exactly the right place. They also developed a streamlined distribution system to fill the world-wide orders,” added Alan.
You can order their famous DeLuxe Fruitcake by going to: https://collinstreet.com/products/deluxe-fruitcake
Now to that Futuristic Fruitcake I promised you! My friend, Kim Neal of Lakeway bakes a fruitcake every year for her father-in-law and the recipe she and I baked together might just change your mind about fruitcake. Light, flavorful, and with just the right touch of citrus – it’s a heavenly accompaniment to a steaming cup of coffee.
And did I mention that it is also beautiful? Baked in a bundt pan, with a drizzle of icing, it earns the honor of being displayed on your loveliest cake stand.
Spoiler alert: You may have trouble sharing it with your friends or keeping it until the holidays!
Futuristic Fruitcake
Equipment
- 1 bundt pan
Ingredients
Dried Fruit and Liquor
- 3 cups mixed dried fruit cranberries, apricots, fits, plums, golden raisins, currants
- 1/4 cup brandy
- 1/4 cup amaretto
Cake Batter
- 1 cup butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp orange extract
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 3 3/4 cups cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 cups chopped pecans and/or walnuts
- 8 oz tub candied cherries
- 1 cup mixed candied fruit finely chopped
Toppings
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- half and half to thin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. Butter bundt pan well, covering every spot completely.
- Add the dried fruits to the brandy and Amaretto in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 90 seconds and stir. Let cool.
- Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the baking powder, salt, and orange extract.
- Thoroughly beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Blend in flour and orange juice - alternating. Begin and end with flour.
- Fold in the soaked undrained fruit, candied fruits, and nuts.
- Spoon the batter into our pan and smooth out the surface. Bake for about 70-90 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick into the center. When comes out without wet batter it will be done.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Then invert onto a plate.
- Combine 1/3 cup orange juice and 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brush over the entire surface of warm cake. Let cool completely and set sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
- Add just enough half and half to 2 cups powdered sugar to make a thick glaze. Let sit for a few minutes until all lumps dissolve. Spoon the glaze over the surface of the cake. Let harden and then slice.
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