Free Range Fruitcake

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Best EVAR! (And I hate fruitcake. I've made this recipe for a few years now, at least 6 per holiday season. We've got one stashed away presently that's been ripening since last Christmas.

One question for chef's out there: I'm on a low-fat, low-sugar diet now, and I'd like to see if there's some way to adapt this recipe a bit to lower the fat. (I can just use Splenda to sub for sugar, but subbing for fat is way harder. Any suggestions? I don't just want to experiment endlessly because this recipe is a bit on the pricey side with all that quality dried fruit. Thanks.

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This is the only fruit cake I will eat! I make it every year and love it! Specially with real organic butter! My mouth is watering already!

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I haven't made this fruitcake yet (planning to next week but to answer Tuliedulie's query: I used to make a cake very similar to this one and the directions specifically stated that the cake had to be refrigerated before slicing. It, too, fell apart if sliced at room temperature. Hope this helps.

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I come from a long line of fruitcake bakers and this is one excellent fruitcake! I seem to be having 1 tiny issue though. The cakes fall apart when I try to slice them. Too much fruit? Fruit in too big pieces? Maybe I am spraying them with too much Gran Manier_hiccup? Any thoughts?

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I've made this every year since this episode first aired. It's become a Xmas tradition. For people who think "fruitcake" is gross, I tell them it's rum spice cake. I sometimes have to substitute fruits, nuts, or booze depending on what I have or what I can find, but keep the same amounts. I usually make it some time around Thanksgiving to give it time to "cure". I keep it in a plastic cake carrying container... thingy. It snaps shut so it seems to keep things airtight enough. DO NOT KEEP IT IN METAL. I found out the hard way the booze corrodes it over time. This is a recipe I can see myself handing down to descendants.

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I made this cake number of times and it turns out just perfect. the taste is out of the world.

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I made two batches of this 10 days before Christmas. I soaked the fruit in dark rum, used preground spices - 1/4 tsp cloves and 3/4 tsp allspice, one full cup of nuts and brushed with cognac. I baked one batch in 4 small loaf pans and the other in a large loaf pan. The pans are dark so I lowered the heat 25 degrees. The result was delicious!! I would say that I prefer the small loaves and it was tastier after two weeks. This will definitely be a holiday tradition for me. My only "complaint" would be that I would like more nuts. Next year I will replace one cup of the fruit for a second cup of nuts.

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This is the best fruitcake ever, ever, ever.
Even those who said they hated fruitcake, loved it.
I doubled the recipe and made 8 small loaves-it
was perfect-there is no room for improvement.
Next year there will be 16.

Thank you AB.

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I usually modify recipes I come across to suit my tastes, but this one I made exactly as directed by A.B., right down to the overnight fruit soak in rum.

The result had all the right notes - dried fruit with real flavors rather than candied sickly sweetness, enough alcohol to make it really tasty without being inebriating (safe for kids, even my fuss-budget had seconds, the right amount of nuts, and the spices are perfect. I made a double recipe and baked in 4 small loaf pans; brushed with brandy and wrapped in parchment paper, then into zip-locks with about 2 tsp brandy in each to keep moist.

The result is a perfect fruitcake, no lie. Everybody who tried it wanted more.

It needed to age for about 10 days before the first bite, the spices are a bit bright/astringent before that - it just continued to get better the longer it was stored. I'd have liked to keep one for a few more weeks, but three weeks out, they're gone.....

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My husband is not a big cake fan, but after he tasted this cake he asked for the second serving which really surprised me.