Fruitcake loses doorstop image

This fruitcake is light on weight-heavy on flavor

Fruitcake is one of those desserts that often gets passed over at the holiday table. It could be that the sight of green candied cherries sickens some people, or jokes about using a weighty cake wedge as a door stop. I read about a Jay Leno episode where the host ate a slice of 125-year-old fruit cake.

This is surely a testament to the dessert’s staying power. Historical references illustrate this point:

• Egyptians placed the fruit and nut treat into coffins for the long afterlife journey
• Queen Victoria reserved her birthday fruitcake for a year to show restraint
• Crusaders packed it along during their quest for the Holy Grail

So how long can a fruitcake be edible? About three months, if well preserved in a dry, cool spot. Fortunately, mine didn’t last that long. We finished the last slice last week, about a month after Christmas. It was still good, a little more dry than the first two weeks, but the whiskey I added provided a great aroma, along with the nuts and fruits.

Fruitcake can be either light, made with granulated sugar, or darker, with brown sugar and molasses. I opted for the lighter version. The following recipe is one of the shortest and most simple I’ve seen, but it really is the best one I’ve tasted. I was searching for a replacement one year after making a long and complicated version that was dry and tasted like rye bread with fruit baked in.

This one is made with Bisquick. Yes Bisquick. The result was light and tasty. I’m not sure my fruitcake would last as long as the storied desserts of yore. That’s OK. I’d rather it be eaten quickly than hidden at the back of the pantry.

I also made a thin, almost gossamer marshmallow/eggnog/whiskey icing to break tradition of thicker, white icing seen on some commercial cakes. Hope you enjoy and share some of your favorite fruitcake recipes (or disasters)!

Whiskey Fruitcake With Marshmallow Icing

3 cups Bisquick

3 eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup whiskey

1 pound candied mixed fruit*

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

* Barry’s Farm offers a selection of candied fruit at amazon.com if you are making this “off-season” and grocery stores do not have it in stock

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans or a Bundt cake pan. Mix all ingredients in large bowl. Bake for about 1 hour.

Marshmallow Icing

1 cup butter, softened

7-ounce jar marshmallow creme

1 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/3 cup eggnogg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon whiskey

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter at medium speed until smooth. Beat in marshmallow cream. Add remaining ingredients and mix until blended, about three minutes. Spread on cake while still warm.

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Posted by admin on Jan 27 2011. Filed under Seasonal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry