Bake your fruitcake and eat it, too

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

The classic and oft-reprinted dollar fruitcake recipe -- now with caramel icing.

BRENDA ENGBAEK wrote in requesting the recipe for dollar fruitcake, a recipe that goes back to the 1930s and has been reprinted many times in the pages of the Free Press. Based on the absolutely overwhelming response, this is a tried-and-true Recipe Swap favourite, and I thought I'd offer it once again, while adding an optional icing. Thanks to Mary Ann Richter, Anne Thoroughgood, Joan Gohl from Flin Flon, Bonnie Lenton, Madeleine Bedard of St.Pierre-Jolys, Emily Lucko, Christine Hansen, Cheryl May from Keewatin, Linda Sutton, Bev Russell and Selkirk's Beverley Bell. (I hope I haven't left anyone out.)

Diane Mayes from Pierson recently enjoyed a bowl of wild rice soup in Fargo, N.D., loved the nutty taste and texture and is hoping someone might have a good recipe. And Nadja Fernando wants to know if anyone has a recipe for Gunn's sugar bow ties, also called kichlach. If you can help with a recipe request, have your own request, or a favourite recipe you'd like to share, send an email to recipeswap@freepress.mb.ca, fax it to 697-7412, or write to Recipe Swap, c/o Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6. Please include your first and last name, address and telephone number.

Dollar fruitcake

500 g (1 lb or about 3 cups) sultana (golden) raisins

250 g (1/2 lb or about 1 cup) candied cherries, halved

500 ml (2 cups) mixed peel

125 ml (1/2 cup) blanched almonds, chopped

125 ml (1/2 cup) walnuts, chopped

500 ml (2 cups) sifted flour

5 ml (1 tsp) baking powder

1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt

228 g (1 cup) butter

250 ml (1 cup) white sugar

3 eggs

60 ml (1/4 cup) fruit juice (orange, apple, grape, pear)

2 ml (1/2 tsp) brandy flavouring or almond extract

Preheat oven to 150C (300F). Line a 22-25 cm (9-10 in) tube pan with greased brown paper or greased heavy-duty aluminium foil. Wash and plump raisins by pouring boiling water over them; dry thoroughly between towels. Combine all fruits, peel and nuts in a large bowl. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift over fruit and nut mixture, stirring well until all fruits and nuts are coated. In a large bowl, cream butter and gradually blend in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour-fruit mixture alternately with fruit juice and flavouring. Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 2 1/4 - 2 3/4 hours, or until cake starts to pull away from side of pan. Let cake cool very well in pan on rack, remove from pan, wrap well and store in an airtight container.

Tester's notes: The ingredients now cost considerably more than a dollar, but the results are worth every penny. I had never made fruitcake before -- my mom makes a big batch and sends to everyone in the family -- and I had built it up in my mind as something daunting. Actually, it was quite easy, and this is a very forgiving recipe, as you could change the type of fruit and nuts to suit your family's taste. (I used dark raisins, for example, because I had a surplus, rather than the golden raisins more common in light fruit cake.)

A few tips: The foil isn't just to prevent sticking; it also insulates to prevent over-browning during the long baking time. If you've had problems before with the crust browning before the cake is done, you might want to try a double layer. Fruitcakes get even better over time, with or without periodic "feedings" of brandy. (Some readers' cake have been mellowing since October!) Just keep them well-wrapped.

(Bonus fun fact: The first ingredient in some glace mixes is rutabaga!)

Caramel icing

(adapted from Chatelaine)

500 ml (2 cups) white sugar

60 ml (1/4 cup) white corn syrup

75 ml (1/3 cup) whole milk

114 g (1/2 cup) butter (no substitutions)

1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla

Fill a clean sink with about 5 cm (2 in) cold water. In a large heavy saucepan, mix sugar, corn syrup, milk, butter and salt. Place over low heat and stir until butter is melted. Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil 2 minutes or until a light golden colour. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. (Be careful -- mixture will boil up.) Place pan in cold water and beat well, 2-3 minutes for a drippy glaze, 4-5 minutes for a fudgey frosting. Ice cake immediately as mixture will start to stiffen.

Tester's notes: A solid cake needs a solid icing, and many traditionalists use a triple layer of strained apricot jam, marzipan and royal icing to top their fruitcakes. This icing -- which is almost like a creamy caramel fudge -- is a bit easier. If you plan to let your cake mellow for a few weeks, make the icing only when you are ready to serve it. Once iced, the cake can be kept a week in the fridge.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 14, 2011 D4