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Fruitcake. Discuss.

Discussion in 'Drink, Smoke, and Fine Dining' started by Nurburgringer, Dec 26, 2011.

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  1. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #1 Nurburgringer, Dec 26, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    This year I finally have my very own kitchen so re-started an annual tradition of baking holiday fruitcake.
    Got hooked on Stollen while living in Germany (great ones are sold at the Christmas Market in Dresden), it's not made with molasses like the stuff we're used to here but the principal is the same: a generally dense cake with dried fruits and nuts, usually soaked with spirits.
    This year I followed this basic recipe, doubled, but for fruit I soaked a tropical mix (mango, pineapple, papaya and coconut from Target's very good "Archer Farms" label) plus raisins in dark rum and Jim Beam, and added toasted macadamia nuts ($9.99 for a 2 lb jar at Target(!)).
    Baked them 3 weeks before xmas, spritzing with brandy every 3-4 days while aging in the cool basement. They take 3-5 weeks to hit their prime IMO.
    Came out great - passed out the little ones to the neighbors and the larger ones to family and close friends. Smeared with some softened butter and coffee on the side it makes a great breakfast or desert.
    They were so popular, next year going to make a triple batch.
    Anybody else into this, the fruitiest of cakes?
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  2. MITYRARE

    MITYRARE F1 Rookie

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    #2 MITYRARE, Dec 26, 2011
    i can almost smell how great your house must smell right now.... I LOVE fruitcake.

    ... I'll eat Claxton if nothing else is available, but home made is so much better... I dropped in on an old friend a while back and they were in their production line that day making theirs.... love it!


    beev
     
  3. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #3 Nurburgringer, Dec 27, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    oh yeah, between the fruitcake and my wife's pumpkin ginger spice cupcakes the castle has been smelling awesome!

    Just had a couple slices with my afternoon coffee. Yum!!!
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  4. MITYRARE

    MITYRARE F1 Rookie

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    #4 MITYRARE, Dec 27, 2011
    you better not release your address or I may stop by the next time i'm in Milwaukee

    ... I hang out with the Fiat Lancia group there at least once a year....and I would imagine you know Lorenzo Reina? He has fixed me breakfast once and fixed my car too!

    Good people over there.

    beev
     
  5. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #5 Nurburgringer, Dec 27, 2011
    beev check your PM, and do let me know next time you're in town!

    Lorenzo and Franca attended my wedding last year.
    If you see a 1:18 Ferrari 308 in a glass case next to Lorenzo's desk in the garage, read the plaque. I gave this to him for all he did to help get my car back in fighting form.
    He always invites me and the wife to watch F1 races at his house, the food they put out for the Italian GP is worth the visit alone!
    The Reinas are indeed fine people, we love em.

    PS: and thanks for the reminder, have to send them a fruitcake :D
     
  6. MITYRARE

    MITYRARE F1 Rookie

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    #6 MITYRARE, Dec 27, 2011


    Thats so cool. He will know me as the Canadian with the Thema 8.32.... Lots of car knowledge in that man.

    He had a Lambo Silhouette that needed a mild restoration....by the time I came home and started researching parts availablity etc. he had sold it... very rare car indeed. Sometimes you just have to buy fast and sort things out later.

    beev
     
  7. otaku

    otaku Formula 3

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    #7 otaku, Dec 31, 2011
    I love fruitcake if done well. I also enjoy christollen (german fruitcake) and of course panettone
     
  8. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #8 Nurburgringer, Jan 1, 2012
    Yesterday our local 'upscale' supermarket was selling ~2lb Dresdner Stollen (made locally) for $25 :O

    A poker buddy was over on Friday so I broke out one of my FC loaves. His reaction "mmmmmm, that's good. I always thought fruitcake was bad!" LOL
    Had to send a small loaf home with him for his wife and kids to try.
     
  9. Far Out

    Far Out F1 Veteran

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    #9 Far Out, Jan 4, 2012
    My grandma, who originally comes from southern Saxonia, usually makes roughly a ton of Stollen every year... I should tell her to sell it to the US and get rich :eek:
     
  10. Zack

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    #10 Zack, Jan 4, 2012
    I love fruitcake as well. Had plenty over the holidays. I like the ones they sell at Whole Foods...but yours sounds like it is in another league. Yum yum. Got any left? How much? :)
     
  11. It's Ross

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    #11 It's Ross, Jan 4, 2012
    My lovely and talented Viennese wife has a family recipe for Fruchtebrot that has made me a believer. This one is loaded with spice, nuts, fruit of course and some bits of bitter chocolate. Nothing like the vile loaves the word implies here in the U.S. She will NOT share the recipe.
    I just took a break from this thread to consume four slices, thanks for the reminder it was in the fridge.
     
  12. Zack

    Zack Formula 3

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    #12 Zack, Jan 4, 2012
    Sigh, here we are, having a nice discussion about a food we appreciate, and along comes some self-appointed "connoisseur." I am happy for you and your secretive Viennese wife, but the ones for sale in the US are certainly not vile. They taste great. Even my German friends think so. What's with the food snobbery?

    I am not a fan of bitter chocolate. Yeuch!
     
  13. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #13 Nurburgringer, Jan 4, 2012
    Nice! Ask her if she also knows how to make Silesian Himmelreich , a specialty of the area. If so, beg/bribe/blackmail her to make it :)
    I LOVE german food....

    hehehe 3/4 of a loaf for me, 1 for our best friends.
    Like I said, next year I'm upping the quantity!
    It's really easy and fun IMO to make, people appreciate the homemade gift, go for it!

    Interesting, never had it with chocolate.
    I'm with Zack though, generalizing all US fruitcake, like the typical ones your see in supermarkets, as vile isn't fair. Not in the same league as your wife's (or mine!), but nothing inherently wrong with them. I'll happily scarf some down if nothing else is around.
     
  14. It's Ross

    It's Ross Formula 3

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    #14 It's Ross, Jan 7, 2012


    My referrence, "Nothing like the vile loaves the word implies here in the U.S.", is to the widely held reputation as the inedible, artificial and eternally lasting cake nobody wants. It is the butt of many jokes here.

    I am not personally passing judgement on fruitcake in general, German's pallettes or bitter chocolate.
     
  15. Zack

    Zack Formula 3

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    #15 Zack, Jan 7, 2012
    It's not inedible.
    It's not artificial.
    It's not eternally lasting--in fact, it barely lasts a day because it is so delicious.
    The beliefs you espouse are not widely held.
    Vile is a strongly judgmental word.
     
  16. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #16 Nurburgringer, Jan 7, 2012
    Last edited: Jan 7, 2012
    back on topic - saw boxed Panatone at the Mexican supermarket today for $5. Mostly natural ingredients, should have bought one. Had to order a birthday cake for my wife's 30th in 2 weeks. Getting a banana strawberry layer with yellow cake, whipped icing and chocolate drizzled all over the top.
    Same bakery in El Rey that did our wedding (sheet) cake last year.

    Last night at my poker game I sliced up the last bigger loaf of 2011 FC. They would have eaten more if I had it.
    Wish I could edit the first post in this thread - after almost 6 weeks the cake is incredible. Next year when I make many more loaves will try aging some 2-6 months+. Need to buy a 1.75 of nice Brandy and a spritzer :)

    Ross - please ask your wife nicely if she'd share that recipe with us underprivileged American fruitcakers ;)
     
  17. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #17 Nurburgringer, Oct 21, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    It's that time of year again!

    Bought all the ingredients today for a 4x batch of the recipe linked above. Right now 5lbs of dried fruits are taking an overnight brandy and rum soak in the the fridge, tomorrow night it's bake time.

    Gonna try some dark chocolate chips in a couple loaves per Ross' suggestion. Also have a big bag of pine nuts I may toast and combine with the pecans, haven't decided yet.

    Oh boy I can hardly wait!
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  18. drjohngober

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    #18 drjohngober, Oct 21, 2012
  19. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #19 Nurburgringer, Oct 24, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Fruitcakapalooza 2012 hit a small snag last night.
    Don't know how I did it without a stand mixer last year, but after "creaming" five sticks of unsalted butter with 1-1/4 cups brown sugar with a handheld mixer (that I almost threw against the wall in frustration), mixing in the 5 eggs resulted in a grainy, disgusting mess. Tossed it and planned on going to Target today for a real mixer (in addition to another 1-1/2 of butter) until I took a look at Craigslist for "KitchenAid" this morning on a whim. Well hello! Classic K45 for $65, called him up, went downtown at lunch and came home with a tank of a mixer for $60. Little dent on the top adds character IMO.
    Now THIS creams the damn butter and sugar!
    Batter is airier than last year, but didn't seem to rise much more.
    Folding in the fruits and nuts was a two person job.
    House smells divine....
    Now really hard part: waiting to dive in mouth first when I spritz the loaves with brandy every 4-5 days while it ages in the cellar...
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  20. TexasF355F1

    TexasF355F1 Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #20 TexasF355F1, Oct 24, 2012
    This might be one thing you cook I don't want anything to do with.


    :D:p
     
  21. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #21 Nurburgringer, Oct 24, 2012
    And this might be the one thing I cook I don't mind that some people won't care for.
    More for me mwhah hahahahaha :)

    All cakes are now safety entombed in big tupperware cases in the basement with the first of about 8 applications of brandy slowly seeping throughout....
     
  22. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #22 wax, Oct 24, 2012
    Wow, Kurt - I can only imagine how wondrous the place most smell. We receive Stollen and/or Panettone from the folks before Christmas. Of them, I much prefer the Stollen laced with Marzapan by a factor of 10:1.
     
  23. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    #23 GuyIncognito, Oct 25, 2012
    not a fan of fruitcake but that looks like a really cool kitchen!
     
  24. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #24 Nurburgringer, Oct 25, 2012
    Thanks we've been in the house for 1.5 years, the PO really went to town on the kitchen.

    Nice! My pop bought a stollen every year since I can remember but I never appreciated it until my 30's after living in Germany. I'd bring back a big loaf with me from the Dresden Striezelmarkt, there was no other present he'd want more.
     
  25. venusone

    venusone F1 Rookie

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    #25 venusone, Oct 27, 2012
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