Fantastic Light Fruitcake Recipes

MOIST LIGHT FRUIT CAKE (THE BEST EVER)!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160 °Celsius. Grease and line cake tin with parchment paper and wrap the tin with 2 layers of brown paper or baking strips.
• Chop the fruits if you like them chopped and mix with ground almond. Leave aside.
• In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in all essences, lemon juice, and molasses and mix well.
• Gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients alternately with orange juice. Mix until flour is well incorporated in the batter.
• Add the mixed fruits into the batter and mix well.
• Pour batter into a greased and lined cake tin and bake for about 2 hours and 10 minutes on the lowest rack.
• Remove cake from the oven and let it rest in the tin for 10 minutes. Remove cake from tin and let it cool completely.
• Once completely cooled, wrap it neatly in parchment paper, followed by cling wrap and foil and store in a cool, dry place for 1 week before icing or cutting the cake.

LIGHT FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• In large bowl, combine the raisins, cherries, glazed pineapple, mixed glazed fruit, and citron. Mix well. Stir in the brandy to coat the fruit. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let stand for about 24 hours to macerate the fruit, stirring occasionally. When ready to mix up the cake, add the coconut and lemon and orange rind. Stir well.
• Prepare 8-inch square fruitcake pan that is 3 inches deep and has a removable bottom: Lightly spray the bottom and sides of the pan with cooking spray. Line the pan (bottom and sides), with brown paper or double thickness of parchment paper. Lightly spray the paper.
• Preheat oven to 275°F.
• In large bowl of stand mixer and using the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until mixture is light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure ingredients are all incorporated. Beat 1 additional minute. Beat in the vanilla, almond, and lemon flavorings. Stir in the drained crushed pineapple.
• Sift together 2¾ cups of the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In measuring cup or small bowl, combine the orange and lemon juices along with the reserved ¼ cup of pineapple juice.
• Add the dry and wet ingredients to the beaten butter and sugar mixture in three additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Transfer batter to a very large bowl.
• Sprinkle reserved cup of flour over the macerated fruit and toss ingredients lightly and quickly. Gently fold the fruit mixture into the batter.
• In clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the batter.
• Transfer batter by large spoonfuls into the prepared baking pan. Use a knife to evenly spread the batter in the pan, smoothing the top. Add a few cherries as decorations to the top of the cake, if desired.
• Place small pan of hot water on the lower rack in the oven. Place fruitcake in center of middle rack and bake for approximately 5 - 5¼ hours or until cake is firm to the touch and cake tester inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. After about an hour or so of baking, loosely tent cake with tin foil to prevent it from browning too much. Remove cake from oven and place on rack. Let cake cool in pan for about 40 minutes before carefully removing from pan by inverting it on a tea towel and removing the paper. Carefully turn the cake top side up on to a wire cooling rack.
• Let cake cool completely before brushing well with brandy and wrapping in brandy-soaked cheesecloth, followed by plastic wrap and tin foil. Store in a sealed plastic bag in a cool, dry area. Remove wrapping and brush cake top and sides with brandy once a week for 2-3 weeks as the cake "ages" before cutting and serving.

GRANDMA BETTIE'S LIGHT FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line two loaf pans with parchment paper.
• Coat cherries, raisins, almonds, and pineapple with 1 cup flour.
• Beat sugar, butter, and eggs together until creamy. Sift remaining flour with baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture; stir in vanilla and almond extracts. Fold in the fruit and almond mixture. Spoon batter into the prepared pans and spread evenly.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Wrap cakes tightly and let age in a cool place for 2 to 4 weeks.

CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Soak cherries, mango, cranberries, currants, and citron in 1/4 cup rum for at least 24 hours. Cover tightly, and store at room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Butter a 6x3-inch round pan or loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix into butter and sugar in three batches, alternating with molasses and milk. Stir in soaked fruit and chopped nuts. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons rum.
• Cut out one piece parchment paper and one piece cheesecloth, each large enough to wrap around the cake. Moisten cheesecloth with 1 tablespoon rum. Arrange cheesecloth on top of parchment paper, and unmold cake onto it. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with remaining rum. Wrap the cheesecloth closely to the surface of the cake, then wrap with paper. Place in an airtight tin, and age for at least 10 weeks. If storing longer, douse with additional rum for every 10 weeks of storage.

FANTASTIC LIGHT FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add eggs one at a time.
• Add extract, orange juice and soda water.
• Add cherries, pineapple, and pecans until all is added. I used to mix all by hand, but now I have a larger mixer that works well and I only mix the cherries, pineapple and pecans by hand.
• Drop batter by spoonsful into lightly greased and floured pans. Batter will be very heavy.
• Bake at 275 until firm to touch.
• This will make 2 large bundt pans, or a loaf pan and several small pans for gifts. The small pans take about 55-60 minutes and the large tube pans take about 65-80 minute The bundt pan will take longer. You can cut the recipe in half since the batter is so heavy and each half makes a whole bundt pan or one large and three smaller loaf pans.

OLD FASHIONED LIGHT FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after additions; stir in brandy flavoring. Combine dry ingredients, pecans, candied fruit, and raisins; mix well. Add fruit to creamed mixture, blending well.
• Spoon batter into a well-greased 10-inch tube pan or two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans lined with brown paper. Bake at 275F for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Brush top with honey 30 minutes before cake is done; then decorate with additional candied fruit and nuts, if desired. Remove from oven when cake tests done; when completely cool, wrap cake tightly in cheesecloth , and then in aluminum foil, or an airtight container.

HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°. Combine fruit and nuts. In another bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Pour over fruit and nuts; stir to coat. , Transfer to a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 2 hours. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly and store in a cool place. Bring to room temperature before serving; slice with a serrated knife.