How to Make the Best Fruitcake

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Alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. No candied fruit. So delicious!

My husband makes this fruitcake every year starting around Labor Day. Everyone loves them, even folks who say they don't like fruitcake.

First, measure out all the dried fruits you need.

Aside from the dried fruits, you will also need: *orange zest *lemon zest *minced crystallized ginger Macerate all the fruits, zests, and ginger in a cup of golden rum.

Non-Alcoholic Option:

Substitute 1 oz rum extact and 7 oz cold water. It sounds like a lot of extract, but it works, I promise. We like the non-alcoholic version better than the original!

Grind your spices in a spice grinder or grind them using a mortar and pestle. Either way, you'll get better flavor when you grind your own spices rather than using pre-ground.

Cook fruit (and soaking liquid) together with apple cider, ground spices, and butter. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmmer for 10 minutes. Cool until it's just warm, about an hour.

Whisk together, flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and stir into the warm fruit mixture until thoroughly combined. Add eggs, one a time, and stir until incorporated. Batter: done!

Yeast Package

My husband bakes 1 batch and divides it among 4 cardboard baking pans for giving as gifts. A full batch will also make 1 9" x 5" loaf.

After baking, cool cakes and spray with brandy. Store cakes, wrapped at room temperature, spraying them once a week for 6-7 weeks. For non-alcoholic cakes, wrap well and store in the fridge.

Jar

Cut with a serrated knife. My favorite way to eat it is toasted with cream cheese spread on the slices. Enjoy! See the next slide for more food gift ideas!

More Holiday Food Gifts

Pecan Angel Slices (my Favorite!

Peppermint Brownie Bark

Butterscotch Hard Candy

Some of my favorite recipes for sharing with friends.