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Post by feather on Nov 1, 2020 9:46:28 GMT -6
Oh how I miss fruit cake, packed with dried fruit and nuts.
I found these two healthy recipes for fruit bread, they don't use oil or refined sugar, but they have lots of flavor in the date paste or syrup and the fruits and nuts.
and
Care to share your recipe for fruit cake or christmas bread?
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Post by Tim Horton on Nov 2, 2020 11:42:22 GMT -6
LOVE....LOVE... A dense, but not sticky fruit cake.. More a overstuffed spice cake kind of thing.. Also on my favorite lists... Most any kind of sweet dough Christmas bread with candied fruit and such.. Will provide detailed taste test results for any samples submitted.... Hint, hint, nudge, nudge...  |
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Post by feather on Nov 2, 2020 11:52:58 GMT -6
LOVE....LOVE... A dense, but not sticky fruit cake.. More a overstuffed spice cake kind of thing.. Also on my favorite lists... Most any kind of sweet dough Christmas bread with candied fruit and such.. Will provide detailed taste test results for any samples submitted.... Hint, hint, nudge, nudge... I have this horrible thought, that I should send you a big fruitcake, require you to only cut off 2 inches of it for taste testing, then you are required to give a detailed description. At that point, you must wrap it again, and send it along to another member. They in turn must do the same. The 'traveling fruitcake'.
Do you remember...I have a foggy remembrance of one of the forums HT I think, they had traveling trolls being sent to members and then sent along to another, and another? |
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Post by Tim Horton on Nov 2, 2020 16:58:12 GMT -6
At that point, you must wrap it again, and send it along to another member. They in turn must do the same. The 'traveling fruitcake'. +++ I'm SURE... the balance of the cake would get lost in the "mail" that goes by dog sled here.. Never to be seen again.. But I'm sure it would be good to the last crumb... I did send it on... honest...  - - - - - - Do you remember...I have a foggy remembrance of one of the forums HT I think, they had traveling trolls being sent to members and then sent along to another, and another? +++ Not familiar with that one... Sorry... |
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Post by feather on Nov 2, 2020 20:53:44 GMT -6
those darn dog sled mail carriers!
lol
Stollen, a recipe from the Milwaukee Journal 1986
1 quart scalded milk 1 lb butter 1/2 cup warm water 1 and 1/2 cup sugar 1 t oil of lemon 1 and 2/3 t salt 18 cups flour 1 lb raisins 1 lb currants 1/4 lb citron (skip it I don't like it) 1/2 lb almonds chopped
Make the bread part, add the fruit and nut part. (dust the fruit with flour so it stays in the dough)
Let rise, knead, form, rise, bake 350 deg F 35-40 minutes. makes 4 to 6 loaves. I usually kneaded the bread after the first rise, then divided it into loaf portions. I put almond paste that was sweetened, into the middle of the loaf, so each slice had some almond paste in the middle.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
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Post by cabinfever on Nov 3, 2020 15:47:33 GMT -6
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Post by feather on Nov 3, 2020 16:00:58 GMT -6
outside-oslo.com/julekake-norwegian-christmas-bread/It's a richer yeast bread. Sub wwpastry flour (w/ or w/o regular ww flour), date paste for sugar, flax and water for eggs, skip the butter. If you can make bread, you can make this wfpb. I get it to rise a little better by adding a tsp of gluten to each cup of ww flour, it makes it stretchy, so the yeast bubbles are contained by the stretchy gluten making it rise. (I wouldn't use citron, but use something else, personal preference.) I want to see pictures.  |
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Post by Tim Horton on Nov 6, 2020 1:50:00 GMT -6
Stollen is what I remember as a kid... Much like in the pictures cabinfever posted..
I don't think I have had it since I got a drivers license..
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Post by jwal10 on Nov 7, 2020 12:13:08 GMT -6
I like a good fruit cake, more fruit than cake, moist. We make a apple cake with applesauce, chopped unpeeled apples, lots of home dried fruit, cranberries, cherries, raisins, prunes, orange peel, soaked in orange juice. We chop them, stew for a bit in lightly sugared fruit juice and add to the dry ingredients. Mostly oatmeal, a little flour, baking powder and a mixture of nuts. Make great breakfast muffins too....James
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Post by karenbc on Nov 7, 2020 19:51:54 GMT -6
What is oil of lemon? Lemon extract? I'm not familiar with it.
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Post by feather on Nov 7, 2020 19:58:28 GMT -6
What is oil of lemon? Lemon extract? I'm not familiar with it. Same dissolves same..... So for lemon oil, it can be just oil taken from the peel, distilled and pure, OR it can be the oil of lemon that dissolves in a carrier oil, usually the carrier oil is tasteless and colorless.
There are different things that dissolve in alcohol, some lemon oil (but not much), and other flavors come out of the peel in an alcohol solution, an extract.
They are similar but based in either oil or alcohol/water solutions. Not exactly the same flavor. Lemon oil is stronger than lemon extract.
Both work in baking.
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Post by karenbc on Nov 9, 2020 14:08:36 GMT -6
Last evening I laid out all the ingredients to make a Christmas Cake - today was the perfect day for it - snowing really solidly.
The recipe made a big angel food pan and a loaf pan. In the oven now at 275F for 3 hours. I haven't made a full sized Christmas cake before.
*Edited to add: Cake is baking, house is smelling wonderful!
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Post by feather on Nov 9, 2020 15:41:50 GMT -6
Last evening I laid out all the ingredients to make a Christmas Cake - today was the perfect day for it - snowing really solidly. The recipe made a big angel food pan and a loaf pan. In the oven now at 275F for 3 hours. I haven't made a full sized Christmas cake before. *Edited to add: Cake is baking, house is smelling wonderful! Snowing outside, special cake baking, house smelling wonderful, that would put me in the holiday spirit! Looking forward to pictures or hearing about it.  |
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Post by Tim Horton on Nov 10, 2020 0:32:45 GMT -6
Most...Most beautiful as they cooled on the counter... She is going to have to hide this or eat a slice before I cave in and start on it..
I can't remember the Swedish word my grand mother used to use for Christmas bread, like Stollen..
She would also make a similar bread in the shape of a wreath... There is a word for that, but it doesn't come to mind..
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Post by feather on Nov 16, 2020 18:35:44 GMT -6
More Fruitcakes. Make the kind you like, with the fruit and nuts you like, with as little or as much cake as you like.
It came from an old Betty Crocker cookbook. The batter: 4 cups sugar. 3/4 cup baking molasses 3 cups oil, veg, canola etc. 3 cups orange juice 6 cups flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder 2 Tablespoons cinnamon 1 Tablespoon nutmeg 1 Tablespoon salt 12 eggs Mix all together and pour over fruit dredged with 3 cups flour. The fruit: 8 cups golden raisins 4 cups whole pitted dates 10 cups candied pineapple and cherry's 6 cups pecan halves. Dredge with the 3 cups of flour. Pour the batter over the fruit, mix well with a large spoon (or your hands) Bake at 275 for 3 hours.  don't they look beautiful?
More:
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Post by feather on Nov 24, 2020 9:24:38 GMT -6
I was trying to put myself into the Christmas Spirit last night. I started searching old forums and a cooking forum that's been around 20 plus years, to read more about fruitcake.
One of the things that came up a number of times, was that people ARE changing their fruitcakes to include more dried fruit and less candied fruit. People ARE also making them to their taste, with the fruits and nuts they like. That's what I'm doing for fruitcake this year.
I came across some lovely websites of classic and traditional fruitcake recipes. So I'm sharing them here in case anyone is still looking at recipes (like me).
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Post by feather on Nov 24, 2020 9:42:08 GMT -6
This one is oil free, egg free.
And I like this one but it looks a little wet. Also eggless and oil free.
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Post by feather on Nov 25, 2020 10:57:56 GMT -6
My first test cakes are in the oven 250 deg 2 and 1/2 to 3 hours. went to 4 hours. I ran short of batter. 1 lb 3 oz fruit and nuts (nuts are only 1/3 of it) soaked in 12 oz rum overnight. (Apricot, currants, raisins, prunes, pineapple, red candied cherries, green candied cherries, craisins, (those last three have added sugar) walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds) Batter, 8 oz of date paste, 1 t baking powder, 1/4 cup water with 2 T flax meal, (there were a few ounces of unabsorbed rum) 1/2 cup of ww pastry flour. Parchment lined 6 inch round cake pan and casserole pan. One is decorated with blanched almonds, the other is half full. Upon beginning baking, the full one had risen about 1/3 inch, looks good. Taste test later this afternoon after they cool to room temperature and then refrigerated. Glaze the top of the full one if it is a go, with apricot jam.
EDIT: taste test, we tested the smaller one. It was very good and had no taste of Rum, thank God (I wouldn't have liked that). Mr feather said it was really good. yay.
The next ones: 1/3 more fruit and batter, (add cinnamon) and use a different variety of fruit and nuts (adding in dehydrated cherries, dehydrated peaches, pecans, hickory nuts to be included, cashews possibly). |
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Post by feather on Nov 25, 2020 19:57:47 GMT -6
First fruitcake, ready to glaze dry and wrap (plastic, plastic, foil, freezer), to keep or give away at Christmas.
It's been years since I made one. It turned out pretty good. Only 6 inches across. |
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Post by feather on Nov 27, 2020 11:39:04 GMT -6
Fruitcakes #2, mostly fruit and some ground almonds and cinnamon in the batter.
Batter: 1/2 cup water 2 T flax seed ground (mix into water let sit 5 minutes)
1 t cinnamon 1/2 t almond extract 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour 8 oz date paste (equal parts dates and water, boiled, then cooled and blended in the food processor) weigh out 4 oz ground almonds Mix by hand, this is a stiff batter.
Weigh out 3 oz dehydrated pineapple in 4 oz spiced rum for 1 hour
Then 32 oz total of this assortment: red candied cherries green candied cherries raisins prunes, scissored into strips
Mix together by hand, pressing and smoothing into 2 6-inch parchment lined cake pans/casseroles.
Bake at 300 deg F for 1 and 1/2 hours.
Edit: taste test, mr feather found this a little too sweet and he liked the texture of the #1 fruitcake better w/whole nuts and the plain date paste batter, instead of the ground almonds in the batter. I found it too sweet with the candied cherries but liked the ground almonds in the batter a better 'chew'. I could also smell the almond extract and I liked that a lot. I prefer the dehydrated fruit to the candied.
Prune paste could be subbed for the date paste. The dehydrated pineapple in rum, is so tangy, really good in either one.
The texture of a slice is very dense and solid, very pretty.
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Post by Tim Horton on Nov 27, 2020 23:46:40 GMT -6
Sweetie said.... I haven't made a full sized Christmas cake before. *Edited to add: Cake is baking, house is smelling wonderful! - - - - Well... When she finely deemed it ready to slice.. It came out WONDERFUL... Rich, chewie, packed with fruit and nuts with a very flavorful dense cake binder.. It lasted longer than you might expect as a 1/2" slice cut in half is about all you can handle at one time.. What a woman... |
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Post by feather on Nov 28, 2020 12:22:55 GMT -6
Tim Horton , you are one lucky guy. It's hard to get a good picture of a slice of fruitcake. I'd sure like to see how yours turned out. I'll live if I don't, but only barely.
#3 fruitcake--chocolate cherry fruitcake
2 lbs 11 oz weighed: dehydrated cherries, craisins, raisins, currants, chocolate, hickory nuts. 12 oz rum soaking for fruit. Batter: date paste type
Adding: vanilla extract
#4 fruitcake--golden tropical fruitcake
2 lbs 11 oz weighed: dehydrated sweetened mango, dehydrated pineapple, dried apricots, almonds. 12 oz rum and 1/2 cup of water for soaking the fruit (the dehydrated pineapple took most of the liquid and needed more to soften up).
Batter: peach paste type Adding: cinnamon
#5 fruitcake 2 lbs 11 oz weighed: dehydrated peaches, currants, dehydrated sweetened papaya, raisins, candied red and green cherries, dehydrated pineapple, walnuts, pecans. 12 oz rum for soaking. Batter: plum-prune type
Adding: cinnamon and vanilla
Fruit paste batter: 12 oz fruit paste, 3/4 cup water, 3 T flax meal, 1/2 cup ww pastry flour (optional 1 t vanilla or 2 t cinnamon) (The flax meal gives it structure, holding it together. Whole wheat pastry flour works and for some I used just whole wheat flour and it was just as good. I dropped the baking powder as it seems to be unnecessary for this type of fruitcake, mostly fruit/nuts very little 'cake'.)
Baked 250 deg F for 3 hours.
The only refined sugars were found in the dehydrated sweetened mango and papaya, craisins, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and candied cherries. All the other fruit, the majority, was just dehydrated. The flavors are so very concentrated in the dehydrated fruits, each bite is a delight.
The nuts took up 1/4th to 1/3rd the weight of the fruits and nuts weighed out for each recipe.
These would be considered no added salt, no added refined oil, no dairy (there was no dairy in the chocolate). They could easily be made gluten free by exchanging the WW flour for a gluten free option flour.
We tasted the #3 fruit cake, it is delicious, maybe a little too sweet (for us), like a chocolate cherry, very good. Super delicious in small pieces served with tea or coffee.
#4 is a tropical treat, golden yellow in color, bright and tangy. The peach batter along with the pineapple, really jumps out flavor wise. This is the only fruitcake that is light colored. A small slice of this with some coconut cream pie, would be heavenly.
#5 all the fruit left. Mr feather's second favorite. (his first favorite is #1) The plum-prune batter is tangy and excellent, holds its shape well, and chewy. I'd recommend this batter for a dark fruitcake over the date type batter because it is more tangy.
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Post by jwal10 on Nov 28, 2020 13:07:27 GMT -6
I am just sticking to the oatmeal, raisin, walnut, pumpkin muffins, lol....James
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Post by feather on Nov 28, 2020 13:36:13 GMT -6
#3 soaking w/o chocolate chips #4 soaking
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Post by feather on Oct 26, 2022 14:17:38 GMT -6
Youngest DS wants chocolate cherry fruit cake......and that's also our favorite. I've started getting ingredients together. So far I have the dried cherries.
Batter:
3/4 cup water
3 T flax seed ground
1/2 cup WW flour
12 oz date or fruit paste
1 t. vanilla
2 lbs 11 oz fruit and nuts
(and chocolate)
dehydrated cherries
craisins
raisins (probably using golden raisins)
currents
dark chocolate bars, chopped
1/3-1/4 of lbs is nuts, hickory nuts and or walnuts
Soak the dehydrated fruit in 12 oz rum for a few hours before beginning (or overnight)
Mix together with batter, press and smooth into 2 6-inch cake pans, bake 250 deg F for 3 hours. Wrap and refrigerate or freeze.
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Post by feather on Nov 16, 2022 13:07:56 GMT -6
I have all the fruit/nuts/chocolate for the cakes. The fruit is marinated in bourbon. I'm blanching the almonds for decoration and for more light color since most of the fruit is dark colored. The cake pans/bowls are washed and dried. Next chopping the chocolate before I mix the batter.
Between the chocolate, the nuts, and the fruit, the mix w/batter was a little over 8 lbs. 3 larger cakes and 5 smaller, all round. The smaller ones decorated with almonds.
They are in the oven at 250 deg f, for 3 hours. Once they are done and cooled, we'll wrap them in saran wrap and foil, and then freeze. Mr feather helped with putting parchment in the pans and filling the pans, and also making date paste and the batter. It was sure nice having a hand with all of those things. Then he licked the last bowl, it was sure nice having someone help with that, lol.
edit: Pictures to follow soon. 1 lb craisins 1 lb candied cherries 14 oz dried currants 15 oz golden raisins 3 lbs of dehydrated cherries 24 oz bourbon (cut this back to 16 oz)
marinated for a day 1 lb chopped walnuts 1/2 lb chopped blanched almonds (also used whole blanched for decorations) 18 oz chopped dark chocolate bars Batter for all of it: 3 cups of date paste 1 and 1/2 cups WW flour 9 T ground flax 3 T vanilla extract
1 cup + water until it makes a batter Packed into 8 small cakepans/casseroles/glass bowls lined with parchment Baked for 2.5 hours at 250 deg F, cooled, wrapped in saran then foil, frozen.
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Post by Michigan Gal on Nov 17, 2022 11:37:34 GMT -6
Every Christmas my mother made a large batter of fruitcake. She poured the batter into cans and used the pressure cooker to cook them. This is what she gave to family every year.
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Post by feather on Nov 17, 2022 11:59:06 GMT -6
Every Christmas my mother made a large batter of fruitcake. She poured the batter into cans and used the pressure cooker to cook them. This is what she gave to family every year. That's so nice!
I know some people joke about fruitcake and how much they don't like it. Some people love it. Some like it mostly nuts and fruit, while others love the cake part with much less fruits and nuts.
Last night mr feather was talking with his step daughter about sports and us making the cakes. I think he may have promised her one.
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Post by feather on Nov 17, 2022 13:37:31 GMT -6
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