The Fruitcake Bowl

 

Long before we got together, the late Mr. O-P was making fruitcake. It was as much of a tradition for him as was putting up a tree. I had never made a fruitcake before, so this tradition was new to my experience. It is an arduous task, I can tell you. It’s also an expensive one. Over the years as I watched him make this, I had suggested he get a larger bowl. He was a bit of a messy cook under normal circumstances, but this generally made for a kitchen disaster.One spring I was out shopping with my mother, and spotted what I thought would be the perfect fruitcake-making bowl. I made the purchase, lugged the stoneware behemoth to the car, sneaked it into the house, and waited to present it to him at my parents’ annual brunch on Easter Sunday, filled with Easter grass and goodies. It wasn’t the right season, I know, but when you find special things, you need to buy them.

His reaction was a bit different than I had expected. For one thing, it’s heavy. I mean really heavy. When I put it on his lap, I thought the weight was going to send it right onto the floor. The bowl is 14” wide by 9” tall, and weighs 15 pounds. It’s also a real booger to store. He mentioned all of this on the way home in the car. I tend not to think about such things in the throes of shopping passion.

I won’t say that I regretted this purchase, although I did, but because I had bought it, and designated it as the official fruitcake bowl, it became so. Every November it had to be hoisted up from the basement, washed, and pressed into service. I still have that bowl, and let me tell you bringing it up from the basement at my advanced age is not easy. Combine that with the mixing of the fruitcake ingredients, and you’ve got quite the cardio workout.

This is my first year making fruitcake on my own. The year after Jim passed away number two son, Andrew, came to make it with me. After that, I thought I would probably never make a fruitcake again, because the process made me a bit melancholy. This year I cast that aside, dug in, and I’m rather proud of myself. I used this fruitcake as the cover picture for my Christmas card the first year I celebrated as a widow. The recipe was inside. You can also find it here.

As I write this, the bowl is safely stored away on a shelf in the basement, and I’m ready to collapse in a heap. My family likes fruitcake, so they’re eager for their portions come Christmas. Do you have any similar baking equipment that means something special to you? Tell me about it.

My 2018 Christmas Card

A week or so ago I mentioned on my personal Facebook page that I had just finished designing my Christmas card for this year. A lot of people wanted to see it, and I think they were probably expecting a lot more than what I actually did. I went for sweet and sentimental, with a nod towards Jim, a man I think about every single day. I wanted to share something that was a part of his life for as long as I knew him, with all of his family and friends.

A number of years ago I did a blog post about Jim‘s fruitcake. You can read it here. This was something that he did every year, and it was as much a part of Christmas as the presents and the tree. I still have a large wedge of the last fruitcake that he made in December 2015 in the back of the fridge. I just can’t throw it away. This year my number two son, Andrew, and I decided that we were going to revive Jim's tradition and use his recipe to make a fruitcake to share with family and friends. I thought that perhaps I would be able to finally part with that last wedge of Jim's cake, but instead I put it into the freezer. When I fall off my perch, one of my sons can throw it away then, but I just cannot get rid of it.

 So here is my Christmas card for this year, the front, the interior, and the back. I’m happy with the way that it turned out, and I know I am going to delight so many people with this card. (UPDATE: I just received a message from one of Jim's nephews who said the card brought tears to his eyes.) The photo on the back of the card is of our first married Christmas in 1995. What happy days.

Southern Fruitcake

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something pretty controversial: fruitcake gets a bad rap. Yes, I am a supporter of the holiday fruitcake. I have always liked fruitcake, even when I was a kid, and as such, do not get the bad press over this traditional holiday comestible with its beginnings dating back to Ancient Rome. Now, as with any edible, there are good ones and bad ones. Who hasn't had a soggy pie crust, and yet do you blame pie? I think not!  So here, to change your opinion about this unappreciated dessert, is a recipe dating back, not quite as far as Ancient Rome, but to1980. It is a white fruitcake as opposed to the dark molasses-based cakes that tend, in my opinion, to not be quite as good. It's a recipe that Mr. O-P makes annually, slices of which have become a traditional addition to the holiday cookie tray. No one who enters our garland-bedecked doors has left here a fruitcake virgin, and everyone has gone home with a piece or two to enjoy later because, brace yourself, they liked it!

Southern Fruitcake

(As appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 1980)

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 cups butter, softened

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

7 large eggs, separated

3 cups plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided

2 cups (1 pound) candied cherries

2 cups (1 pound) candied pineapple, cut in chunks

1-1/2 cups golden raisins

1-1/2 cups dark raisins

1/2 cup (4 oz.) candied lemon peel

3 cups pecan halves or pieces

1/4 cup plus, dark rum or brandy

Special equipment:

10" tube pan

Package of cheesecloth

Preheat oven to 250° F.

Line the bottom, side, and tube of a 10" tube pan with parchment paper.  When pan is lined, spray all parchment with PAM, or a similar product.  Set aside.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg yolks alternately with 3 cups flour.

In a very large mixing bowl, mix all fruits and nuts, and toss with remaining 1/2 cup flour, making sure that all pieces are coated.

Stir the butter/sugar batter into the bowl of mixed fruits and nuts.  

As the batter will be quite stiff, thoroughly mixing the fruits and nuts with the dough cannot be done by an electric mixer; so it must be mixed by hand, although it will be difficult and will take a while.  

The process is complete only when all of the pieces of fruit and nuts are well mixed into the batter.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.  Fold the egg whites into the batter/fruit mixture a little at a time until thoroughly mixed.

Spoon batter into tube pan lined with parchment paper.  Lightly press down on the batter with a spoon or spatula to eliminate any air pockets.

Bake for 2-1/2 to 3 hours until a tester or long tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove pan from oven and place on a rack.  Pour 1/4 cup of rum slowly over cake.  Let cake cool.

When cool, remove the cake from the pan, peel off the paper, and wrap the cake in a few layers of rum- or brandy-soaked cheesecloth.  Store in an air-right container in a cool place to age one or two months, adding additional rum or brandy as needed to keep cloth moist.*

Note: Batter can be baked in paper-lined muffin tins, but reduce baking time to 1-1/2 hours.  It can also be baked in two paper-lined load pans for about 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

*Although the cake does indeed improve with age, it can be eaten at any time.

This post is linked to:

Metamorphosis Monday  
Melt In Your Mouth 
Amaze Me Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Food on Friday

Foodie Friday