Fruitcake

[BlackShanglan]

It's in the oven at last. I'm savoring the lingering taste of brandy and waiting for the house to start smelling delicious.

Mine has dried cherries, apricots, pineapple, and figs, currants, raisins, slivered almonds and whole walnuts, flavored with brandy, mixed spice, and fresh orange and lemon zest. What's in yours?

 

[fifty5]

It's in the oven at last...
What's in yours?

Unfortunately, no-one in our house has both the talent and the time to make our own, so we just get store-bought.

Thanks, Shang, for wafting the wonderful aroma of home baking into my life.

 

[glynndah]

It's in the oven at last. What's in yours?

Dried cherries and pecans. Orange zest in some of them, but since I don't like the taste, there are some plain ones (cupcake-sized) just for me.

 

[lance gt]

It's in the oven at last. I'm savoring the lingering taste of brandy and waiting for the house to start smelling delicious.

Mine has dried cherries, apricots, pineapple, and figs, currants, raisins, slivered almonds and whole walnuts, flavored with brandy, mixed spice, and fresh orange and lemon zest. What's in yours?

I think I like the sound of yours Shang, so that's what I'll make tomorrow.

 

[impressive]

Hi, Shang. Good to see you.

 

[BlackShanglan]

My goodness, so many fondly remembered folk on this thread! It's wonderful to see you all, Imp, Fifty5, and my favorite good little witch. Lance, it's nice to meet you.

The fruitcake has been cooking about three quarters of an hour now, and the scent now pervades the house. It turned out to be quite a straightfoward recipe, too, if anyone wants it - no fiddling about whipping egg whites or anything. Most of the work was just chopping up the fruit.

 

[Angeline]

My goodness, so many fondly remembered folk on this thread! It's wonderful to see you all, Imp, FiftyFive, and my favorite good little witch.

The fruitcake has been cooking about three quarters of an hour now, and the scent now pervades the house. It turned out to be quite a straightfoward recipe, too, if anyone wants it - no fiddling about whipping egg whites or anything. Most of the work was just chopping up the fruit.

Hiya Shang. I usually hate fruitcake, but your recipe sounds really yummy. I'm about baked out for the holidays though. Yesterday I made blueberry rugeleh and spiced biscotti with pistacios and dried cherries. Tomorrow I'm baking an apple pie and making another batch of chocolate chip cookies since eagleyez and I polished off the first one. Eep.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Hiya Shang. I usually hate fruitcake, but your recipe sounds really yummy. I'm about baked out for the holidays though. Yesterday I made blueberry rugeleh and spiced biscotti with pistacios and dried cherries. Tomorrow I'm baking an apple pie and making another batch of chocolate chip cookies since eagleyez and I polished off the first one. Eep.

Ooh, that sounds delicious. I have yet to venture into making biscotti myself, but if I do, I will definitely go for cherries.

 

[lance gt]

A pleasure to meet you Shang. Any chance I can get you to post the recipe in the AH Recipe Book? It would make a great addition. Enjoy the season and hope it holds promise of a good times to come.

 

[BlackShanglan]

A pleasure to meet you Shang. Any chance I can get you to post the recipe in the AH Recipe Book? It would make a great addition. Enjoy the season and hope it holds promise of a good times to come.

I shall do it as soon as I locate the thread.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Ooh, that sounds delicious. I have yet to venture into making biscotti myself, but if I do, I will definitely go for cherries.

Biscotti is my favorite joke when welcoming people over the internet!

 

[Angeline]

Ooh, that sounds delicious. I have yet to venture into making biscotti myself, but if I do, I will definitely go for cherries.

Would you like the recipe? I'll paste it here if you want to check it out.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Would you like the recipe? I'll paste it here if you want to check it out.

Yes, please! Thank you very much.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I eat Claxton Fruitcake; its not as popular as it was 50 years ago, but I dont think you can do better. When I was a kid Sears and A&P had excellent fruitcakes. I've baked a few.

 

[lance gt]

Would you like the recipe? I'll paste it here if you want to check it out.

Could you paste it in the recipe book like Shang did Angeline, that way everyone can have a chance to make some too. I'd love to try and make some Biscotti, so I'm looking forward to it. Thanks Hon

 

[lance gt]

Thanks for posting it Shang.

 

[Angeline]

Could you paste it in the recipe book like Shang did Angeline, that way everyone can have a chance to make some too. I'd love to try and make some Biscotti, so I'm looking forward to it. Thanks Hon

It's there.

 

[lance gt]

It's there.

Thanks Angeline, it looks like a nice recipe to try. Have a Merry Christmas

 

[BlackShanglan]

It's there.

Huzzah! Many thanks, and a very happy holidays and new year to you.

 

[fifty5]

My goodness, so many fondly remembered folk on this thread! It's wonderful to see you all, Imp, Fifty5, and my favorite good little witch. Lance, it's nice to meet you.

The fruitcake has been cooking about three quarters of an hour now, and the scent now pervades the house. It turned out to be quite a straightforward recipe, too, if anyone wants it - no fiddling about whipping egg whites or anything. Most of the work was just chopping up the fruit.

So many thanks for your fond remembrance.

That scent is pervading mine too (if only inside my head) - and, I'd guess, so many more as well.

Since a vegetarian lives here too, I really need a traditional farmhouse kitchen with room for two ovens. We actually do quite well with meat/not-meat and two veg (including the spuds), but so many of the alternatives need more oven space. Casseroles, then, later, mincing the leftovers to make pies; roasts, and the same follow up. Offering a veggie equivalent absorbs the extra energy - and aside from her dislike of meat, she doesn't like marmalade tarts either!

Even as a student living in a caravan (in winter, the super-cooled water bucket would freeze while I watched due to the vibration of climbing into the 'van) my culinary repertoire was wider than it is now!

Your home cooking aroma is a real 'blast from the past' and I'm truly grateful.

 

[Angeline]

Huzzah! Many thanks, and a very happy holidays and new year to you.

Thank you, and the same to you and yours.

 

[cherrybl0ss0m]

I haven't made a fruit cake, but all those that have tried it sound yum! I've just prepared Trifle at the moment with jelly, peaches, whipped cream, sponge cake and strawberries, yum!

 

[TE999]

Hey Shang! Welcome back.

Your concoction of fruitcake sounds mighty tasty. Not like those bricks they sell in the supermarkets; however they can be perked up with a liberal dousing of rum.

Are you listening sarahh?

 

[Recidiva]

Huzzah! Many thanks, and a very happy holidays and new year to you.

Merry Christmas!

Here's a lovely recipe for some of my favorite Christmas bourbon balls.

Almost as nice as seeing Shanglan, but hardly anything's really that good.

BOURBON BALLS

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
bourbon
1 stick butter, softened
1 lb confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
8 oz semi-sweet or unsweetened chocolate
1/2 oz paraffin wax
pecan halves

Cover the chopped pecans with bourbon. Cover and let sit 24 hours. Pour off the excess bourbon and liquify the pecans in a food processor. Add butter, sugar, vanilla, corn syrup and cream of tartar, When smooth, chill until firm. Melt chocolate and paraffin together in double boiler. Then form bourbon mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter. (I use a melon baller to do this.) If mixture becomes too soft, place in freezer until it firms up again. (I like to put the mixture into two containers and put them both in the freezer to chill. That way, when one gets a little too warm, you can put it back in the freezer and take out the other one and work with it. This keeps the process moving.) Drop the balls one at a time into the melted chocolate, and place them on waxed paper. Top each with a pecan half. Chill until chocolate sets -- about half an hour. (I usually find that once the chocolate has hardened, I need to go around each one and cut off the excess around the bottom that spreads out a little. But you may be a more skillful chocolatiere than I -- let me know if you have any success in making the perfect chocolate ball -- mine are always a little not-perfect. Adds to the charm.) Store in closed container in a cool place.

 

[SlickTony]

It's in the oven at last. I'm savoring the lingering taste of brandy and waiting for the house to start smelling delicious.

Mine has dried cherries, apricots, pineapple, and figs, currants, raisins, slivered almonds and whole walnuts, flavored with brandy, mixed spice, and fresh orange and lemon zest. What's in yours?

Now that sounds delicious--none of that nasty artificially colored candied fruit that you can't even tell what it was. I could eat some fruitcake like that.

My parents used to put up fruitcake every year, wrapping it in brandy-soaked rags and the whole nine yards. Then my mother discovered a recipe for pannettone bread and hasn't made fruitcake since.