Any good fruit cake recipes - the one I used this year was too dry.

[hedgehog]

[sinkingfeeling]

1. I used to use the one on the package of Pillsbury's Quick Date Nut Bread.

http://www.pillsbury.com/community/discussions/32/1075/1#

If you scroll down to where the Pillsbury Community Manager responds, you'll find the recipe.

[guardian]

2. Don't have the recipe handy

but I like to triple the actual cake portion of fruit cake. I like to taste the cake part. I don't like recipes that just use cake to glue dried fruit together.

[gkhouston]

3. If you liked the fruitcake otherwise, why not try modifying the recipe?

Off the top of my head, here are some options:

reduce flour
increase eggs/milk/jam/other wet ingredient
use shortening or oil instead of butter
reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees

If you still have the fruitcake now, perhaps you could poke small holes in it and pour some liqueur over it to moisten.

[guardian]

4. if cake is too dry

we generally pour some brandy over the cakes and wrap in cheescloth to help keep the brandy/moisture next to the cake.

[msanthrope]

5. If you liked the taste, try poking holes in it and adding moisture. A good sherry, or

a brandy, added slowly over a couple of weeks will improve it.

[Little Star]

6. I love Claxton Fruitcake but never could find a copycat recipe for it....

I did stumble across this on the internet while looking for the copycat Claxton tho and it looks yummy. Here's the link:
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/recipebox/fruitcak.html

Doesn't that sound wonderful?

[hedgehog]

7. I found a spice cake at Cook's Illustrated that seems like a good start.

I can't re-print it because of copyright restrictions.

Thanks for all the advice!

[Buck Turgidson]

8. Free Range Fruitcake by Alton Brown

I made this one two Christmas' ago. It takes a long time but the cake is wonderful. Alton uses dried fruit rather than those nasty candied glacé fruit. Then spritz the cake with brandy everyday for a couple of weeks. So it is not dry.




http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/free-range-fruitcake-recipe/index.html

[hedgehog]

9. Oh - dried fruit all the way!

[antiquie]

10. inappropriate

Last edited Sun Jan 20, 2013, 09:38 PM - Edit history (1)

[TheManInTheMac]

11. See, that looks edible, but is it fruitcake?

I remember one cook on TV (I think it was the Urban Peasant, you old Learning Channel fans) and he just made a poundcake with fruit in it. Yeah, it's cake and fruit, but I don't think it's fruitcake. I can't imagine how to make a dry fruitcake, nor an edible one either.

[Buck Turgidson]

12. 209 five-star reviews say that it is definitely fruitcake.

Cake + fruit + nuts + brandy = fruitcake