Nutty Fruitcake
You might just be able to win over even the biggest fruitcake haters with this one, as it contains no fluorescent green or red unidentifiable gelled fruit bits. Rather, it is chock full of dried fruits and nuts and then topped with candied fruits and nuts. This is a sophisticated fruitcake, if you can believe it! This recipe makes 6 mini cakes which makes it perfect for gift giving.
For the Fruitcake:
1 cup (120 g) dried cherries 1 cup (160 g) dried apricots, quartered
1 cup (160 g) raisins
1 cup (120 g) dried cranberries
1 cup (120 g) dried pineapple
1 cup (170 g) dried plums, quartered
4 ounces (112 g) pecan halves, broken into smaller pieces
4 ounces (112 g) walnut haves, broken into smaller pieces
1 cup (235 ml) brandy
4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 ounces (170 g) plain or vanilla nondairy yogurt
6 ounces (180 ml) pineapple juice
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) plain or vanilla soy or other nondairy milk
6 mini loaf tins
Nonstick cooking spray
For the Candied Fruit and Nut Topping:
2 cups (284 g) reserved fruit and nut mixture
2 tablespoons (28 g) nondairy butter
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In a large mixing bowl, toss together dried fruits and nuts.
Pour brandy over the mixture, cover, and let sit overnight.
Reserve 2 cups of the mixture and set aside to be used later for the topping.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5).
Have ready all 6 mini loaf tins, sprayed with nonstick spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, pineapple juice, sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and milk.
Add wet to dry and mix.
Fold in fruit and nut mixture.
Divide mixture evenly among the loaf tins.
Bake 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
While the cakes are baking, make the topping.
In a saucepan, combine reserved fruit and nut mixture, butter, sugar, and vanilla.
Heat over medium-high heat until sugar and butter have completely melted, stirring constantly. Take care not to burn.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Allow cakes to cook completely before spooning an equal amount of topping on each.
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