Dried Nut and Fruit Cake
- Total Time
- 2 hours 25 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 8ounces (2 cups) walnut halves
- 8ounces (2 cups) pecan halves
- ½pound shelled whole brazil nuts (1½ cups)
- 16ounces pitted dates
- 1box (15 ounces) dried apricots
- 12pitted prunes, halves
- 4ounces mixed candied fruits
- ½cup raisins
- 1½jars (8 ounces each) maraschino cherries, drained (1 cup)
- 1½cups sifted unbleached flour
- 1teaspoon baking powder
- 1teaspoon salt
- 6eggs
- 1cup sugar
- 2teaspoons vanilla
- ¾cup brandy
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Preparation
- Step 1
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Step 2
Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-cup souffle dish or a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan. Line with brown paper; grease paper.
- Step 3
Combine walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, dates, apricots, prunes, candied fruits, raisins and cherries in large bowl.
- Step 4
Sift flour, baking powder and salt over nuts and fruits. Toss lightly until well coated.
- Step 5
Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in a medium-size bowl with electric mixer until fluffy and light. Pour over nut mixture. Stir gently to combine.
- Step 6
Fill prepared dish or pan, pressing cake mixture firmly so it will hold its shape after baking.
- Step 7
Bake for one hour and 45 minutes. (If fruits are browning too quickly, cover with buttered foil). Remove cake to wire rack.
- Step 8
Spoon ¼ cup brandy over cake. Let stand one hour. Invert; peel off paper; turn right side up; let stand on wire rack until cooled completely. Place wire rack in shallow pan; spoon remaining ½ cup brandy over cake.
- Step 9
To store: Wrap in cheesecloth that has been soaked in brandy. Wrap in heavy duty foil or store in tightly covered container. If cheesecloth dries out, dip in brandy and rewrap cake.
- If you don't have time to soak the cake for a month, it will still be good.
Private Notes
Comments
we made it as is and we were doubtful that the flour and binders would be enough .. in the bowl it looked like just a dusting on all the fruits and nuts. shockingly, it worked as promised!
There is something insurmountable about the amount of cognac I used in this recipe. Give it a chance, age it for 5 weeks, if necessary fall into a deep trance, and enjoy one of the oldest and most indelible of all holiday preserves.
This is a good basic recipe but the dried fruit should be soaked for a day or 2 in rum and brandy. I added candied ginger, subbed macadamias for Brazil nuts and left the nuts whole or halved when possible - also toasted the nuts lightly. I used brown sugar and a wider array of fruit, including dried blueberries, pineapples, sour cherries and dates and (very important) added some spices! Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves all add to a fruitcake!
Made this cake without the maraschino cherries. Used only candied cherries. Turned out great. Made two big loaves not one
Made one with cognac and one without any alcohol. Both were very good. Used frozen, quartered Italian plums because we had a power outage and they were almost thawed and we didn't have prunes. Worked well. This is a recipe from my childhood and it lived up to my expectations. I'll definitely make it again and serve it warm with a dollop of whipped cream for guests.
Have been making this not regularly but for years . . .if you can candy your own peel it is worth it. My husband and I think it is indescribably delicious - - will try it with lusardo maraschino cherries this year - - or at least as many as I have. . .color won’t be as vibrant, but the taste might be better.
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