Quick Fruitcake Recipes

QUICK AND EASY BRITISH FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 6-inch round cake pan.
• Place flour in a bowl. Rub butter into the flour until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add mixed fruit, 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, and mixed spice. Stir to combine. Add milk and egg and mix until batter is soft and easy to drop.
• Drop batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle light brown sugar on top and pat down with the back of a spoon.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

QUICK FRUITCAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Butter cake pans, and line with wax paper. Butter the wax paper.
• Sift the flour with the baking soda.
• In a large bowl, combine eggs, mincemeat, condensed milk, fruit, and nuts. Fold in dry ingredients. Pour into prepared pans.
• Bake for 2 hours, or until center springs back and top is golden brown. Cool. Turn cakes out onto wire rack; remove wax paper.

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.

QUICK AND EASY FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the over to 350F (180C). Butter an 8x8 baking dish.
• In a big bowl whisk together the eggs and the sugar just until it all comes together, about 30 seconds, no more.
• Add the flour (and baking powder if using) and wisk together just until the flour disappears and there are no more lumps, about 45 seconds, no more. The batter will be quite thick and there won't be a lot of it.
• Spread the fruit over the bottom of the dish and spread the batter over. It will barely cover the fruit and it'll look like it's not enough, but it will be great. Alternatively you can mix the fruit with the batter.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes depending on your oven. A toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean when the cake is ready.

QUICK FRUIT CAKE

Steps:

• The day before baking: Cook raisins, water, and sugar for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add whiskey and honey, stir to combine. Add butter and let it melt in the hot mixture. Cool to room temperature, overnight is best.
• Prepare pans: grease pans with shortening, line with parchment paper and leave a 2" collar extending above all the sides. Grease the inside of the parchment paper.
• Preheat oven to 275°F Adjust rack to center position.
• Reserve 1/2 dozen whole cherries and several whole nuts to use as decoration on top of cake. Adhere with a little batter or syrup.
• Measure fruit and nuts into a large bowl. Sift together the flour, spices, baking powder, soda and salt into another medium bowl. With your hands, blend the flour mixture into the combined fruit and nuts. Make sure the fruits are not stuck together, and are coated with flour. Set aside.
• In your largest mixing bowl, beat eggs well. Alternately add to the beaten eggs, the floured fruit and nuts, and the raisin mixture. Combine with large spatula or with bare hand.
• Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake for about 2 hours (time will vary with size of pan) until cake shrinks from sides of pan slightly. After 1 ½ hours, decorate tops of cakes with reserved fruit and nuts, by adhering them to the top of cake with reserved batter. Return to oven to finish baking. Turn off oven, leave cake in oven 10 minutes with heat off. Remove pans from oven, allow to cool on racks 10-15 minutes. Peel paper off cakes carefully while still warm. Cool on rack completely.
• To store cakes, wrap in muslin moistened with sherry, and place in zip lock bag or tin. Check periodically and add sherry to keep moist. Slice about 1/2 inch thick to serve, with hot tea, coffee, or egg nog. Can be stored for a year or more if kept moist with sherry or whiskey.

FRUITCAKE (FROM QUICK BREAD MIX)

Steps:

• Combine bread mix and water. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Mix. Spoon into greased and floured pans. Bake 1 hour at 350*.

QUICK FRUITCAKE COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in the pecans, dates and fruit. , Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 325° for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.