December is National Fruit Cake Month and I am going to start if off by soaking my fruit for our Annual Fruitcake, something my husband loves.  All the years of my Childhood and into Adulthood, my Mother made Fruitcakes every single year.  She made enough so that my Father could take some to his Co-Workers and we still had more than enough for our consumption.  I have actually never been a great fan of Fruitcake, but like Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving, I still make Fruitcake and I still do eat it.  So here goes.  My Fruit Cake Making Saga!

Day One – Sunday December 1st – gather together all the Fruit that I am going to use and cut up what needs cutting – place them all together in a large bowl and pour some Wine over them.  Brandy is the usual Liqueur to use but I have Marsala Wine and think I will use that.  Strike that – went to the Beverage Store and purchased Gran Marnier – Brandy but Orange flavored and not too strong.   For Non-Alcoholic Fruit Cake, try using Orange Juice or Sparkling Apple Cider.  Both work quite well!  I added just enough Gran Marnier to moisten the Fruit and then covered the Bowl and let it sit overnight.

Day 2 – I prepared the Batter and baked the Cakes.

Make sure the Fruit is in a LARGE BOWL so that you have enough room to incorporate the Batter into the Fruit.  Before preparing the Batter, prepare the pans.  Cut parchment paper or waxed paper to fit the bottoms of the pans.  Spray the bottoms of the pans with a Vegetable Spray and then insert the prepared paper. 

Next prepare the Batter and add it to the Fruit.

Once all the Batter is evenly mixed with the Fruit and the Fruit is evenly distributed throughout the Batter fill the pans about 3/4 full.  As you can see from the Photo I used loaf pans.  One 10″ TUBE PAN can be used instead.

Bake in a slow oven for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on wire racks;  be sure the cakes are completely cool before removing from the pan.  Turn the pans over and the cakes should come right out.  If the don’t, gently loosen with a straight-edged spatula and then try again.

Wrap the Cakes tightly in plastic wrap and allow to age for several days or weeks before serving.  If liquer on the cakes is desired, place the each cake on a large piece of cheesecloth placed on plastic wrap. Lightly douse with Gran Marnier, Brandy or Rum.  Wrap tightly with the Cheesecloth and then the plastic wrap.  Finally wrap the whole thing in Aluminum Foil.

If desired, more Liquer can occasionally  be added through the Cheesecloth.  JUST REMEMBER, THE MORE YOU ADD, THE STRONGER TASTING THE CAKES WILL BE.  HOWEVER, THE LIQUER DOES KEEP THE CAKE MOIST AND ALLOW IT TO LAST AND TASTE GOOD THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS.

For the complete recipe go to  /holiday-fruit-cake/