Fruit Cake

Like many of you, I have been getting a little sick of sweets. But tonight I decided to get back on that horse one more time...and the results were better than ever.

A friend has told me about this specific cake several times. He calls it a Plum Cake, but I've seen many recipes simply call it a Fruit Cake. The cake usually calls for dried plums and many other kinds of dry fruit, so I'm sticking with Fruit Cake.

Anyway, this is nothing like the Fruit Cake many of us are accustomed to eating around the Holidays. You know, the one that never spoils and gets regifted multiple times before being thrown out? I guess they eat this kind of fruit cake in India during the holidays...and it's delicious. Its got loads of dry fruit, a fluffy texture and a pleasant spice to it. If that's not enough, it's got brandy too!

Although I made some changes and conversions, this is a recipe I relied on heavily for this cake.

Step One
Ingredients:

1 cup prunes, chopped
3/4 cup figs, chopped
2 cups assorted sweet dry fruit, chopped (I went for a tropical mix sold at the grocery store)
2 cups assorted nuts, unsalted
Zest of a large orange
1 cup brandy or golden rum

Anywhere from a day to a week before you plan to bake the cake, prepare these ingredients. Combine all dry ingredients with the brandy and let it soak in your fridge. I waited two days and the fruits tasted great.



Step Two
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons of powdered spiced (nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, clove etc.)
2 sticks of butter
5 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp brandy

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine fruit mixture with flour and baking powder. Mix well. Toss in your powdered spices. In a sauce pan, make a simple syrup using 1 cup of the sugar and a few tablespoons of water. You'll know it's done when it looks like caramel. Careful not to burn anything or overcook the syrup.

Whip butter and remaining two cups of sugar together. I used my hands, which was fast and easy. Add you're eggs with a few tablespoons of flour and mix well. Add the flour-fruit mixture to the butter and mix well. Add in vanilla, orange juice and brandy. Fold in syrup. Add the whole mix to a baking dish or two. Bake for about 40 minutes at 350 and then lower the temperature to 250 for 10 more minutes. My yield was two cakes, and one will certainly be gifted!