Grandma's Fruitcake
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 8 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 8 servings
- Calories
- 525
- Total Fat
- 23
- Saturated Fat
- 11
- Carbohydrates
- 73
- Dietary Fiber
- 3
- Sugar
- 44
- Protein
- 8
- Cholesterol
- 94
- Sodium
- 282
- Total: 3 hr 30 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 40 min
Ingredients
Fruitcake:
Vegetable shortening, for greasing the pan
3/4 cup dried apricots, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 cup dried tart cherries, halved
3/4 cup dried or candied pineapple, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/4 cup candied orange peel, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (see Cook’s Note)
1 cup granulated sugar
One 8-ounce block cream cheese, at room temperature
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Candied orange slices and fresh cherries, for garnish, optional
Apricot-Rum Simple Syrup:
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons dark rum
Directions
- For the fruitcake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over 2 sides to use as handles for lifting out the cake once it’s cooked.
- Combine the dried apricots, dried cherries, dried pineapple, pecans and candied orange peel in a medium bowl. Measure out 1/3 cup flour, then add 2 tablespoons of it to the dried fruit and toss to coat well. Sift the rest of the flour in the measuring cup plus the remaining 1 1/3 cups flour with the baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
- Place the sugar, cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture until almost fully incorporated. (Be careful not to overmix. A few streaks of flour should remain in the batter.) Fold in the dried fruit mixture, stirring until no streaks of flour are visible.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- For the apricot-rum simple syrup: Meanwhile, combine the apricot preserves, boiling water and rum in a small bowl, whisking until combined. Brush the warm cake thoroughly with the apricot-rum simple syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake for 15 minutes before removing the cake from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Garnish with candied orange slices and cherries, if desired.
Cook’s Note
We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, which is less dense than Morton. If you use Morton, just use a little less.