Free Range Fruitcake

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Love this recipe. We've made it the last 3 years. But we don't limit ourselves to only 3 fruits. I go to the local food co-op and get all the dried fruits, nuts and spices - they're fresher that way. This year we have mango, papaya, pineapple, figs, prunes, apricots, raisins, currents, dates, sour cherries, and probably a couple others I've forgotten. I have to add a bit of extra rum because these are drier fruits. I too add the juice of the orange I zest. This year I added a bit of Grand Gala (orange brandy along with the rum. This year it's a triple plus batch - you can never have too much of these fruit cakes!!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

Last night, in preparation for Christmas, I put a homemade country ham to "sleep", made some Ancient Mead (ok this may be for Valentines day, and made Alton's fruit cake. I don't like fruitcake, but people who drive badly get the honor of being called a fruitcake by me. At work we have be talking about what we are making, they say its too late to make a good fruitcake for Christmas...bah humbug! I made Alton's but figure as long as it is about 4 cups of fruit....out with all the old! No currants or blue berries, but substituted dates and a few chopped prunes. Why only zest the orange and not use the orange? I cut the amount of butter in half and used the juice of the orange.I used whole white wheat flour and also added flax seed meal for more nuttiness. I made them with little muffin sized bunt pans. Yum! and not too late to make a great cake abundant with fruit and spiced rum (too good to be a fruit cake

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

This is the third year I've made this fruit cake and it seems like it tastes better every year. It's absolutely amazing! I've always used the regular vs. sun-dried fruit and it tastes just as fantastic. I also added pineapple this year. Something else that I did, which I think made it extra special was to use apple cider. I made cider using Williams-Sonoma Mulling Spices and added that instead of the apple juice and it came out sooo good and the mascarpone cheese shown in the video is and absolute must! I always double the recipe and split it between two pans. One just isn't enough.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I loved this recipe and I absolutely do not like fruit cake! Actually I hate fruit cake. I made this as a Christmas present to my boyfriend. This is awesome especially with cream poured over it. I didn't find currents so I added a little of all the others to make up for the amount of currents. Thanks Alton!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

just wonderfull

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

My 3rd Christmas to make this fruitcake for gifting. Absolutely, hands-down, the best fruitcake recipe you can find. Don't bother looking elsewhere. People who don't like fruitcake, including me, love this recipe. And try it like Alton suggests, toasted, with a little mascarpone cheese, "beats the gym shorts off an energy bar any day!" I can't always find sundried fruits, so I just use regular dried fruit, and I use 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp allspice instead of grinding the whole spices, but use fresh, good spices (Penzey's! I make 4 smaller loaves using non-stick paper loaf pans (from King Arthur Baking catalog, and bake approx. 45 minutes. It's the gem of my holiday baking and makes me happy!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

This us the only fruitcake recipe I use, no need to try another. My husband request this every year.
I have made some alterations over the years.
Sometimes I don't have dark rum, light works just fine. Use the dried fruits you like to total 4 cups. I buy 1/4 cup ginger root and make my own crystalized ginger, cooking it a little in a strong sugar syrup and add the small amount of ginger flavored sugar syrup as the ginger.
I use 1 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, cutting sugar back to 2/3 cups. I use whole wheat flour. Add 1 cup chopped pecans, instead of 1/2 cup.
Cook in 4 mini loaf pans - 40 minutes, then another 5 if needed - going another 10 minutes is too much time.

Brought a loaf to work today, the men here love this fruitcake also! Thanks, for a great recipe, Alton!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

This is the BEST Fruitcake I have ever had! I had several half bags of "dried" fruit and just dumped them into the rum. I also added pistachios, in addition to the pecans. It is moist, dense, tasty, and yummy. This will defininitely be a holiday staple in our house.

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I love fruitcake, but hate artificial candied fruit. THIS recipe delivers. You absolutely must make this recipe with Christmas music playing in the background...it's the finishing touch. I used crystalized ginger and doubled the recipe for a bunt cake pan. I used a spray bottle filled with Brandy to spray the cake every three days. YUM!

Flag

Flag This Review?

You must provide a reason for flagging this review.

Please provide the reason why you think this review is inappropriate.

• Submit

or Cancel

I've made this for three years now... pretty closely following the recipe. I do substitute fruits when I am missing a fruit.... tart cherries for cranberries, regular raisins for golden raisins, tart cherries for blueberries are some of the substitutions I've made. I avoid sweetened fruit and use organic. I soak the pecans overnight in water with sea salt and dry them in the oven at less than 150 until they are crispy. I do make a double recipe and use mini-cake pans so i can share. A double recipe makes about 8. They were done at 45 minutes and i had to cook in two batches. I spray the disposable pans with coconut oil and they pop right out. This is one superior fruit cake, moist and rich and not cloyingly sweet.