About FruitCake:


Fruit cake (or fruitcake) is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and (optionally) soaked inspirits. A cake that simply has fruit in it as an ingredient can also be colloquially called a fruit cake. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated. Fruit cakes are often served in celebration of weddings and Christmas. Given their rich nature, fruit cake is most often consumed on its own, as opposed to with condiments (such as butter or cream

Australia

In Australia, fruit cake is consumed throughout the year, and is available at most major retail outlets. The cake is rarely eaten with icing or condiments.

Bahamas

In the Bahamas, not only is the fruit cake drenched with rum, but the ingredients are as well. All of the candied fruits, walnuts, and raisins are placed in an enclosed container and are soaked with the darkest variety of rum, anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months in advance. The cake ingredients are mixed, and once the cake has finished baking, rum is poured onto it while it is still hot.

Canada

The fruit cake is commonly known as a Christmas Cake in Canada and eaten during the Christmas season. Rarely is it seen during other times of the year. The Canadian fruit cake is similar in style to the UK version, as it is in most Commonwealth countries. However, there is rarely icing on the cake and alcohol is not commonly put in Christmas cakes that are sold. The cakes also tend to be void of any decorations and are shaped like a small loaf of bread. Dark, moist and rich Christmas cakes are the most frequently consumed, with white Christmas cake rarely seen. These cakes tend to be made in mid-November to early December when the weather starts to cool down. They are a staple during Christmas dinner and a gift generally exchanged between business associates and close friends/family.

France

In French, as in some other non-English speaking countries, it is simply called "Cake".

Germany

The Stollen, a traditional German fruit cake usually eaten during the Christmas season, is loaf-shaped and powdered with icing sugar on the outside. It is usually made with yeast, butter, water, flour, zest, raisins, and almonds. The most famous Stollen is the Dresdner Stollen, sold at the local Christmas market.
In Bremen, Klaben is traditionally sold and eaten during the Christmas season. Unlike the more famous Dresdner Stollen, Bremer Klaben is a kind of Stollen which is made without powdered sugar on top.

Ireland

In Ireland, a version of fruitcake called barmbrack is eaten on Halloween. The slices of the cake contain different objects, each signifying a different fortune for the person who finds it.

Italy

Panforte is a chewy, dense Tuscan fruit cake dating back to 13th-century Siena. Panforte is strongly flavored with spices and baked in a shallow form. Genoa's fruitcake, a lower, denser but still crumbly variety, is called Pandolce

India

Fruit cake is a rich dense cake packed with dry fruits and nuts flavoured with spices usually made during Christmas. In India, this is found everywhere during Christmas season, although it is also available commonly throughout the year.
New Zealand
Fruit cakes arrived in New Zealand with early settlers from Britain. An early form was the plum duff that was boiled in a muslin cloth and served to migrants on board ships as a treat. Until the 1960s fruit cake was generally homemade but since then they have become commercially widely available in a range of styles. Light coloured fruit cake is often sold as tennis cake or light fruit cake all year round. Most New Zealand wedding cakes are finely iced and decorated fruit cake often several tiers high. Most fruit cake is eaten in the Christmas period. It is dark, rich and made from multiple dried fruit. Homemade cakes may use brandy or sherry to enhance flavour rather than as a preservative. They may be square or round, iced or uniced. A Christmas cake is usually simply decorated with a Christmas scene or the words Merry Christmas. An uniced, soft version, known as Christmas pudding is often eaten with hot custard as Christmas dessert. The pudding version includes suet and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

Portugal

Although French in its origin, Bolo Rei is a traditional fruit cake enjoyed during Christmas season and a staple dessert in any Portuguese home during the holidays. Included is the characteristic fava bean and, according to tradition, whoever finds the fava bean has to pay for the cake next year.

Romania

Cozonac is a fruit cake mostly made for every major holiday (Christmas, Easter, New Year).

Switzerland

Birnenbrot is a dense sweet Swiss fruit cake with candied fruits and nuts.

Trinidad and Tobago

Fruit cake, also called black cake is a traditional part of the Christmas celebration. The cake incorporates a large quantity of raisins and rum and becomes a staple dinner item between the Christmas season and New Years'.

United Kingdom

In the UK, fruit cakes come in many varieties, from extremely light to rich and moist. The traditional Christmas cake is a round fruitcake covered in marzipan and then in white satin or royal icing (a hard white icing made with softly beaten egg whites). They are often further decorated with snow scenes, holly leaves, and berries (real or artificial), or tiny decorative robins or snowmen. In Yorkshire, it is often served accompanied with cheese. Fruit cakes in the United Kingdom often contain currants and glace cherries, an example of this type being the Genoa cake. One type of cake that originated in Scotland is the Dundee Cake, a type of fruit cake which does not contain glace cherries. This is a fruit cake that is decorated with almonds, and which owes its name to Keiller's marmalade.

United States

Typical American fruit cakes are rich in fruit and nuts.

Mail-order fruit cakes in America began in 1913. Some well-known American bakers of fruit cake include Collin Street Bakery inCorsicana, Texas, and The Claxton Bakery in Claxton, Georgia. Both Collin Street and Claxton are Southern companies with access to cheap nuts, for which the expression "nutty as a fruitcake" was derived in 1935. Commercial fruit cakes are often sold from catalogs by charities as a fund raiser.
Most American mass-produced fruit cakes are alcohol-free, but traditional recipes are saturated with liqueurs or brandy and covered in powdered sugar, both of which prevent mold. Brandy (or wine) soaked linens can be used to store the fruit cakes, and some people feel that fruit cakes improve with age.



Recipe:


Ingredients:

For Soaking:
  • Mixed Dry fruits – 3 cups ( I used Tutti Frutti (Dried Papaya) , Raisins ,Dried Mango
  • Dry Nuts - 1 cup ( I Used Cashews and almonds)
  • Rum / Brandy / Apple Juice /Orange Juice – 1.5 cups (I used apple juice)


For Caramel:

You can also use Store Bought Caramel Sauce / Syrup for this.

For Cake:
  • Plain flour (maida) – 2 cups
  • Baking powder – 1¼ tsp
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Sugar – 1 cup+ 2 tbsp
  • Unsalted Butter – 250 gms (1 cup + 2 tbsp, approx) @ room temp
  • Eggs – 4 @ room temp
  • Vanilla essence – 2 tsp
  • Jam – 1 tbsp (I used apricot)
For Spice Powder:
  • Cloves – 1/2 tsp or 2 whole
  • Cardamom – 1/2 tsp or 2 whole
  • Cinnamon – 1/2 tsp or 1/2 inch



Method:

Soaking of Fruits:

I chopped only mangoes but others i used as is.  You can use dried fruits of your choice. If you are using dates/apricots etc; chop it into small pieces & soak it in apple juice for 1 week. If You Dont have time or forget (Like me) you can soak all fruits in juice and microwave for 2 min and let it sit for 30 min.This should do.For me it worked perfectly.

Preparing Spice Powder: If you are using whole:

Grind all the spices with a pinch of sugar, to a fine powder & keep aside.


Cake Preparation:

1.Preheat the oven @ 350 degree or 180 C , before baking.
2.Drain the soaked fruits & keep aside.

3. Toss the drained fruits and nuts in 1-2 tbsp of flour. This will prevent the fruits from sinking to the bottom of the cake. 





4.Mix plain flour with baking powder , baking soda,Salt and Spice Powder and mix well with a fork or you can even sieve them.I usually mix them ,i don't sieve).



5.Break Eggs into a bowl. Keep aside. 

6.Take a bowl and whisk or if u have stand mixer be ready.
7.Cream in together sugar and butter until well blended.
 



8.Add Vanilla Essence.

9.Add eggs and beat them.Beat it till it forms a smooth paste. Then add caramel & spice powder & beat again. 
10.Add the sifted flour in 2 batches. Beat after each addition. Add Fruits and nuts and Add jam & combine. 






11.Grease the baking dish and line it with baking sheet (How To line round baking pan). Pour the batter into the prepared tins. 



12.Bake in the pre heated oven for 40-45 mins in middle rack or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. 

The baking time can vary depending on the oven & also the size of the tin used.










Tips:


  1. I used a 9 inch round tin & 9 inch loaf tin for baking the above qty. 
  2. If you feel that the top of the cake is getting over browned, cover it loosely with aluminium foil.
  3. You can store the cake @ room temp, in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks. 
  4. However you can refrigerate it for a month in an air tight container.