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| General Category : Cakes |
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| Food Group : Eggs, Grains, Fruits, Nuts, Cheese/Other Dairy |
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| Preparation Method : Bake |
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| Other Criteria : Christmas |
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| For lovers of fruitcake (and there are many of you out there despite all the fruitcake jokes), this is a new twist. The tropical fruit flavours blend together to a lighter-tasting and less sweet cake because most of the fruit is dried rather than candied. You might even convince some self-declared fruitcake haters that they didn't know what they were missing. Bulk and health food stores have lots of dried tropical fruit, but East Indian grocers usually carry the best range. Don't worry if you cannot find all the different kinds, you can always substitute the same quantity of another kind of fruit. |
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Ingredients
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1-1/2 cups (375 mL) dried mango, chopped |
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1-1/2 cups (375 mL) dried papaya, chopped |
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1-1/2 cups (375 mL) dried or candied pineapple, chopped |
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1 cup (250 mL) dried guava or figs, chopped |
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1 cup (250 mL) green or golden raisins |
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1 cup (250 mL) black raisins or seeded lexia raisins |
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1 cup (250 mL) chopped dates |
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1-1/3 cup (325 mL) dark or amber rum |
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1-1/2 cups (375 mL) shredded coconut |
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1-1/4 cups (300 mL) macadamia nuts or chopped brazil nuts |
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1-1/4 cups (300 mL) slivered or chopped blanched almonds |
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1/4 cup (60 mL) honey |
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1/4 cup (60 mL) molasses |
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Cake: |
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1 lb (500 g) butter, softened |
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2-1/2 cups (625 mL) packed dark brown sugar |
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11 eggs |
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1 tsp (5 mL) rosewater or vanilla |
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1 tsp (5 mL) almond extract |
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4-1/2 cups (1.125 L) all-purpose flour |
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1 tbsp (15 mL) mace |
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2 tsp (10 mL) cinnamon |
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2 tsp (10 mL) ground allspice |
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1 tsp (5 mL) salt |
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1/4 tsp (1 mL) baking soda |
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Preparation
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Line well-greased cake pans (see Note below) with brown or parchment paper. Wrap outsides with triple thickness of folded newspaper; tie with string. Set aside.
In large nonreactive bowl, stir together mango, papaya, pineapple, guava, raisins, dates and 1 cup (250 mL) of the rum. Cover and let stand overnight or for up to 2 days, stirring twice. Stir in coconut, macadamia nuts, almonds, honey and molasses.
Cake: In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Stir in rosewater and almond extract. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, mace, cinnamon, allspice, salt and baking soda. Stir one-third of the flour mixture into butter mixture. Add fruit mixture and any liquid; stir until combined. Add remaining flour mixture, mixing thoroughly.
Pour batter into prepared pans, smoothing tops. Place pan of water on bottom rack of 275°F (140°C) oven. Bake cakes on centre rack, covering tops loosely with foil after 1 hour, until firm in centre and tester comes out clean, 2 to 2-1/2 hours for 4 inch (10 cm) square pan, 3 to 3-1/2 hours for 6-inch (15 cm) square pan or loaf pans, and 4 to 4-1/2 hours for 8-inch (2 L) square pan. Let cool completely on racks. Prick cakes all over top with skewer; brush with remaining rum. Remove cakes from pans. (Make-ahead: Wrap in plastic wrap; overwrap in foil and store at room temperature for up to 2 months. Or, wrap in a few layers of rum- or brandy-soaked cheesecloth before wrapping in plastic wrap; store for up to 6 months.)
Makes one 10 lb (5 kg) cake, about 64 servings.
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More Information
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Note:
This recipe will make one 4-inch (10 cm) square, one 6-inch (15 cm) square and one 8-inch (2 L) square fruitcake (which can be used for traditional three-tier cake); or four 8- x 4-inch (1.5 L) loaves; or two 8-inch square cakes. |
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Nutritional information
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Per serving: about 239 cal, 3 g pro, 11 g total fat (5 g sat. fat), 35 g carb, 3 g fibre, 50 mg chol, 122 mg sodium. % RDI: 4% calcium, 9% iron, 9% vit A, 7% vit C, 8% folate.
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Source
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Homemakers Magazine: Dec./Jan. 2006
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