- 1 Cup butter (I use Golden Crown)
- 1 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 4 large eggs (1 cup) or 5 medium eggs
- 3 cups all purpose four
- 1/2 cups flour (to dredge fruits and nuts)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 5 Tablespoon prune juice
- 3 Tablespoons Molasses
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (mix in molasses)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1 1/2 cups nuts (Combination of walnuts, pecan, cashew, pili or almond slivers)
- 1 1/2 cups dates
- 1 1/2 cups fruit glaze (combination of local and imported fruit glaze)
- 1/2 cup cherry brandy
- Extra Cherries, fruit glaze,nuts for decorating on top of cake
- Cherry brandy to brush top of the cake (use wine or even a fruit juice of your choice)
INSTRUCTIONS:
Fruit Mix
- Soak fruits in 1/2 cup cherry brandy overnight.
- Drain the fruits for 1 hour. Set aside.
- Dredge fruit and nuts with 1/2 cup flour so they won’t sink in batter. Shake off excess flour and use in the recipe.
Preparing the Baking pan
- Don’t use waxpaper.
- Use thick cellphane (1 piece only) and use enough to cover the cake after baking.
- You can also use aluminum. More messy but more sure.
Batter
- Heat oven to slow.
- Cream Shortening and add sugar slowly until fluffy.
- Beat in egg one at a time, beating after each addition until light.
- Blend Flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg.
- Stir in alternately with milk, molasses, juices and vanilla beginning and ending with flour.
- With 1/2 cup flour. add to fruit mixture.
- The batter is then mixed to the fruits. Add the nuts on top of the batter.
- Put batter in cellophane lined or aluminum lined pans (4 pans)
- Bake for one (1 1/2) hour to 2 hours at 300 F. ( But do check the temperature based on the pan you use. Never bake beyond 325 F)
- IMPORTANT: To prevent dryness in the fruit cake, use the banyo maria. Place the pans in a larger pan containing an inch of water, the result of which is bake-steaming the fruit cake batter.
- At 45 minutes baking time, remove pans from oven and decorate top with cherries, nuts and fruits.
- Cover pan with overlapping aluminum foil to prevent burning.
- Bake one hour or so until done. Test for doneness by placing a metal/wooden skewer in center of cake. If it comes out clean, cake is done. Be careful not to over bake.
- Always cool fruitcakes completely in pan and remove when cold.
After Baking
- Keep cellophane or aluminum intact with the cake
- After baking and the cake has cooled down, brush the top of the cake with cherry brandy
- Wrap the whole cake with the overlapping cellophane or aluminum , then more aluminum foil to cover the whole cake ending with colored cellophane.
- It’s important to drain the fruit mix for 1 hour. This is because alcohol destroys the cake batter.
- Nuts are not placed in the batter; rather it is placed ON TOP of the batter. I still mix in the buts anyway. I use a combination of nuts.
- Never use peanuts but do use pili, cashew, walnuts, or black walnuts.
- The batter is mixed to the fruits so that the emulsion in the batter is not destroyed.
Storage
- Once a week, brush the cakes with more liquor/cherry brandy. (or wrap the fruit cake with cheese cloth soaked in liquor)
- Seal the cakes in plastic wrap or in plastic storage bags.
Source: Pinoy Food Blog
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