October 20th welcomes:

National Brandied Fruit Day


It's the beginnings of Fruitcake.
I have never known a fruitcake I liked.

How 'bout you?
Do you like it?
Do you make it?

Here's a recipe from http://southernfood.about.com:

Spiced Dark Fruitcake With Brandy

Ingredients:
8 ounces diced candied orange peel
8 ounces diced citron
8 ounces diced pineapple
8 ounces diced fruitcake mixed fruit
4 ounces whole red candied cherries
4 ounces whole green candied cherries
1 cup currants
1 cup golden or dark raisins
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup brandy or good bourbon
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup molasses


Preparation:
This batter is quite heavy, but a heavy-duty stand mixer can handle it.
Mix the fruit in a large bowl with the orange juice and brandy. Stir gently and set aside to marinate for a few hours.

Generously butter bottom and sides of two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans and line them with parchment paper. Butter the paper thoroughly. You can use brown paper for this if you don't have parchment paper.

Sift the flour with the spices twice. Add the baking powder and salt and sift again.

Put the butter into a large mixing bowl and cream until smooth. Add sugar; using an electric mixer, cream until light and fluffy. Beat the egg yolks slightly and then add them to the bowl. Mix the batter well before you start to add the flour and spice mixture. Stir the batter as you add the flour, a little at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the flour is thoroughly incorporated, add the molasses and stir. Finally, stir in the fruit, along with any soaking liquid left in the bowl.

Put the egg whites in a stainless steel or glass bowl and beat with a clean beater to stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter thoroughly and then spoon the batter into the prepared pans. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let the batter sit overnight in a cool place to mellow.

On the next day, heat the oven to 250°. Place the fruitcake on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. After 1 1/2 hours, cover the pan with a piece of brown paper (do not use foil) or set the pan in a paper bag and return it to the oven.

When the cake has baked for 3 1/2 hours, test the with a toothpick or cake tester. If the tester comes out of the center of the cake clean, the cake is done. Leave the cake in the pan and set on wire rack to cool.

When the cakes are completely cooled, turn out of the pans, leaving the paper lining on the cake. Wrap the cake with parchment, then foil, and pack the cake in a tin. Homemade fruitcakes need air, so punch a few holes in the lid of the tin or set the cover loosely on the tin.

Set the tin in a cool, undisturbed place, and every 3 or 4 days before Christmas, open the foil and drizzle a small amount of bourbon or brandy over the cake. The liquor will keep the cake moist and flavorful and help preserve it as well.




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This Day in History:


October 20th, 1955
"No Time For Sergeants" starring Andy Griffith opened on Broadway.



October 20th, 1968
Jackie Lee Bouvier Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.



October 20th, 1973
William Shatner marries Marcy Lafferty



October 20th, 1991
Singer Clint Black married actress Lisa Hartman in a small outdoor ceremony at his Texas farm.
She was 34, he was 29.

(I had a crush on her when she was on Knots Landing.)




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I hate fruitcake in general, but I made this one year and it was REALLY good.   From Martha Stewart - i think i halved it cause that is a buttload of fruitcake.

Mrs. Maus's Fruitcake Recipe

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 12 large eggs
• 4 pounds candied and dried fruits, such as citron, lemon peel, orange peel, sour cherries, and apricots, chopped
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons ground allspice
• 2 pounds assorted nuts, such as walnuts and pecans
• 2/3 cup brandy
• Glaceed fruits, such as figs, oranges, pears, apricots, peaches, and pineapple, for garnish
• Candied cherries and kumquats, for garnish
• 1 cup apricot jam

Directions

1. Heat oven to 275 degrees. Butter five 6-by-2-inch round cake pans. Butter five 18-by-3-inch strips of heavy brown paper, and fit them into each pan to form a collar.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in 2 cups of the fruit and the molasses, blending well. Remove batter to a large bowl. Sift together flour and allspice, and add to mixture, one cup at a time, mixing well between additions. Reserve 1 cup assorted fruit to use later, for decorating. Add remaining fruit and nuts, stirring with a spoon. Divide batter evenly among pans.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 3 to 3 1/2 hours. While cakes are still warm, brush them with 1/3 cup brandy mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar. Let cool in pans on a wire rack. Gently remove cakes from pans, leaving paper collar intact. Decorate cakes with glaceed and dried fruits.
4. Heat apricot jam and remaining brandy in a small saucepan over medium heat. Strain, and brush over fruits to hold in place.

 

Emokid is throwing slomo dove at my face, I guess that means he flipped me the bird

I like fruitcake but in small doses.

I think they've force fed it to Brits for decades so it's just basically a food group now. Same with plum pudding. We were all introduced to those early on so they are as normal and accepted as potatoes are.

I miss my mom's cake, she used to make one every Christmas.