Fruitcake

Hello, everyone! This time we would like to share an incredible recipe for a super delicious Fruitcake. We hope you will love it!

Part 1.

• Raisins (light and dark) – 1300 g | 45.85 oz
• Dried cranberries (lingonberries, cherries) – 500 g | 17.65 oz
• Prunes – 350 g | 12.35 oz
• Dried apricots – 350 g | 12.35 oz

You can change the composition to your taste, but try to save the total amount!

Part 2.

• Butter – 500 g | 17.65 oz
• Sugar (better cane) – 500 g | 17.65 oz
• Eggs - 8 pcs | 8.00 items

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Part 3.

• Flour – 620 g | 21.85 oz
• Baking soda – 1/2 tsp | 1.00 tsp
• Spices – 3 tsp (1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cardamom, 0.5 tsp cinnamon, 0.5 tsp nutmeg) | 3.00 tsp
• Chopped walnuts – 200 g | 7.05 oz
• Cognac (or rum) / 0.00 to taste

You will also need a large hermetically sealed container and a large bowl.

1. To achieve a uniform and dense cake structure, you have to chop the dried fruits finely (dried apricots and prunes; if the raisins are large, then cut them in half). Soak the fruit mass in 100 g (3.55 oz) of cognac at least overnight, or better for a couple of days, shaking the container every 12 hours and turning it over (a day with the lid up, and a night with the lid down).
2. Whip the butter with sugar until creamy, and gradually add the eggs.
3. Mix the flour with spices and baking soda; then, mix it with the dried fruits aged in cognac. Mix the mass thoroughly so that each piece of fruit is covered with the flour. It is necessary for the dried fruits not to settle to the bottom of the cake when baking.
4. Stir in the egg-butter mixture.
5. Place the mixture in a dish lined with baking paper. Smooth it with a damp hand. It will help the surface not to crack when baking.
6. If you are a lucky owner of a steamer, then you can immediately put the cake in the oven. Set the temperature at 115C (239F), the humidity at 90%, and the fan at minimum.
7. If you have an ordinary conventional oven, then put a bowl of water on the bottom, and keep adding it during baking. Even before laying out the mass, the mold must be wrapped with the paper folded in several layers. Also place the mold on several layers of parchment (baking paper). Cover the mold with foil just as well. The foil can be removed about an hour before the end of baking. But the main thing is not to dry the cake. It must stay moist. The baking temperature is 130C (266F).
8. The baking time may vary depending on the oven (for about 5 hours). You need to be careful.
9. The finished cake is evenly golden in color, and dense. The skewer test is not informative, as the cake should remain moist.
10. Cover the finished cake with a towel, and let it cool in the oven. After the cake has cooled completely, take it out of the mold, and soak it with cognac; wrap it with paper, foil, cling film, and then in a bag or sealed container; and leave it for at least two weeks. The perfect ripening time is one and a half months. During this time, soak the cake with cognac about once a week, and turn it over.
11. Bake the cake in a 30x30 cm (11.8 x11.8 inch) mold; the fruitcake is about 6 cm (2.4 inch) high. After ripening, cut the Fruitcake into pieces of the required size. It can be divided into two molds 20 or 22 cm (7.9 or 8.7 inch) in diameter, but then it will be higher.

A hermetically sealed Fruitcake can be stored for a year or longer. The spices and alcohol are natural preservatives.

Bon Appetit!