storing baked goods?

[enjoy the ride]

Are you saying I'm a "nimrod"?

I don't like commerical fruit cake but someone must eat those things otherwise we would be building houses out of them. I have never had a homemade one. I wonder if making homemade candied fruit would make a difference.

 

[chicknwhisperer]

My FIL loves fruitcake and I don't drink so that would be a great recipe to have since I don't need to buy the liquir. Thanks I would love it.

 

[patandchickens]

Golden Fruitcake (note for fruitcakeo-phobes and those weirded out by mysterious store-boughten candied fruit thingamajigs -- this does not contain any o' that stuff, just dried apricots and golden raisins and walnuts, plus maraschino cherries as an optional addition)

1 lb dried apricots, cut up
1 15-oz. box golden raisins
2 10-oz. jars maraschino cherries, drained (THIS IS OPTIONAL)
1/4 c orange juice (ONLY IF YOU'RE NOT USING THE CHERRIES)
1 c coarsely broken walnuts
1/2 c margarine or butter
1 c granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c flour

If using maraschino cherrries, lay them on double thickness of paper towels to drain, then cut into quarters and drain again on paper towels.

Grease well then flour well a 10" bundt pan or 9" angel food pan. Preheat oven to 300 F.

Place all fruits and nuts in large bowl. Chuck in a half cup or so of the flour and stir well to coat 'em all with flour.

In another bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in salt, vanilla, remaining flour. Also add the orange juice if not using maraschino cherries.

Fold batter into fruit, then turn into the prepared pan. Bake about 1 hour or so for the 10" bundt pan, or 2 hrs or so for 9" angel food pan, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. (I find this is one recipe where I really have to check the cake, not rely on timing).

Cool in pan 15 minutes, then remove carefully to wire rack to finish cooling.

Wrap well in foil and refrigerate for at least 3 weeks before serving. If you eat it too soon, it will be dry and not very tasty... aging in fridge lets moisture and flavor distribute out of the dried fruits and cherries and into the cakey part.

(Note: I've never actually made it without the maraschino cherries. I think I'd just substitute some other fairly "moist" dried fruit if I didn't want to use the cherries, myself...)


Pat

 

[patandchickens]

Candied Orange (or other citrus) Peel

6 oranges, preferably organic
1/2 c sugar plus more for dredging in


Peel the orange in strips roughly 1 - 1 1/2" wide (you will be cutting them up further later on). Eat the orange, or whatever you wanna do with it -- you are only going to use the peel. Cover it with water, bring to boil, simmer 5 minutes, drain. Repeat 2-3 more times. This removes bitterness and softens the peel somewhat.

Cut peel into 1/4 - 1/2" wide strips.

Combine cut up peel, 1/4 c water and the 1/2 c sugar. Boil til liquid is pretty well absorbed and peels are tender, about 15 minutes ish.

Put them by twos and threes, or sparse handfuls, into a bowl of more sugar (shaking off any excess liquid first) and move them around so they get well coated with sugar. Dry on rack overnight or longer depending on your humidity.

Store in airtight container once well dry -- mine usually keep well for 3 wks or so, after that they start to dry out and lose some flavor and become better for use in baking than for eating out of hand.

Also good with any other citrus peel - I especially like grapefruit and pommelo. Lime and clementine are good but somewhat unrewardingly thin, for my tastes. You can make several types at once, just boil/simmer each type separately so's not to mix the flavors.

(n.b. I have seen simpler, two-step recipes for candied orange peel, but never tried them. They may work just as well, I dunno. I've used a longer one, involving the parboiled peel sitting in sugar syrup overnight, and it wasn't any better than this recipe, fwiw)

Pat

 

[enjoy the ride]

OK- I wasn't going to say anything but having seen this word twice, I must say that it is not a word that should be used in a public forum to another poster who was only trying to be helpful.

The definition of "nimrod":
nimrod
1. A mighty hunter. Now chiefly used in this sense outside the United States.
2. A slow-witted person.

Since I can't possibly interpret you use of the word meaning I am a mighty fruit-cake hunter, I can only assume that you meant the second definition. Not funny IMO.

 

[ScottyG]

On another note, biscotti keep for a few weeks, and are good when kind of dry... better for dipping in coffee or wine. Mmm.

 

[Cassandra]

I wanted to suggest a different route, kinda.

Why don't you gift people in shifts? Like starting the weekend after thanksgiving and figure out how many people you want to bake for an divide them into four. Bake for one quarter of the group each week in between. You can gift the ones first that you know won't mind getting their presents kinda early.

I mean, with all the endless eat-together gatherings in the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's hard to imagine that someone would scoff at a home-baked goodie given on ANY day in that month.

JMO

Cassandra

 

[poppycat]

I probably am a fruitcake nimrod, having used one as a stand for my computer moniter for a number of years, until I gave it away in a white elephant gift exchange. But, honestly, I can't eat that store bought stuff. It just won't go down.

I will try pat's recipe for giggles, omitting the maraschino cherries.

(I always thought that the most notable thing about Nimrod is that his wife, Semiramis, was also his mother. So calling someone a nimrod is like calling them a really bad word. Still, I think "fruitcake nimrod" is pretty funny. I'm going to use it next time someone cuts me off on the freeway.)

 

[patandchickens]

OK- I wasn't going to say anything but having seen this word twice, I must say that it is not a word that should be used in a public forum to another poster who was only trying to be helpful.

The definition of "nimrod":
nimrod
1. A mighty hunter. Now chiefly used in this sense outside the United States.
2. A slow-witted person.

Since I can't possibly interpret you use of the word meaning I am a mighty fruit-cake hunter, I can only assume that you meant the second definition. Not funny IMO.

I'm totally sorry, enjoy the ride, I did not mean to offend you. People who grow up in different places have different vocabularies and interpretations thereof. I've gone back and edited it out.

Many apologies,

Pat

 

[Cassandra]

What? I love the word ******. And I totally forget about it for years at a time until I hear it again. It never fails to give me a fit of giggles. I will probably go 'round affectionately calling my husband and sons ****** for the next two days!

I just gotta say, home made fruit cake is just.... MILES different from the store-bought stuff. (Building houses out of it, indeed! I almost fell out laughing at that!)

My dad's mother used to make them. Normally, I couldn't stand to eat anything she cooked. (I don't want to start any fights, but she was a yankee and, well... they don't even have good stuff to cook with up there like self-rising flour, or grits, or Blue Plate mayonnaise. And I AM kidding, before you get your panties in a bunch.) Honestly. I hated to go to her house when I was a kid, especially if I knew we were going to be expected to eat something.

But she made this fruit cake. OMG!! I was probably about 10 or 12 the first time I ever tried it. Until that day, I'd SERIOUSLY thought that fruitcake was like pretend food for decorations (like a garnish, kinda... something you wouldn't dream of eating.) But this stuff was so good. It had a thick, moist, spicey brown cake with little bits of real fruit and nuts in it. It was awesome.

So... ye ******* of little faith... give it a shot!

Cassandra

<oops. Sorry about the nimrod comments. I will edit them out too>