| Then I kindly explain to them that they will have a chance to have a real fruit cake, the Oxford Fruit cake. You see the original English fruit cakes were made well in advance, were made with hand candied fruit and were aged for up to six months wrapped in clothe soaked in rum. Then, most important of all, they are finished with a layer of marzipan on the top and bottom of the cake. When you bite into it there is an explosion of flavors and textures as the dates, raisins, figs, candied cherries and pineapples and three different kinds of nuts all vie for your attention. That is a real fruit cake and we will be making my version of it this week.
Fruit cake is a feast cake, at no other time of the year would you put in the effort that is required for this special treat. It also means that once people get a taste for it they will look forward to it all year.
Why do this now in early December instead of closer to Solstice? As I said, it has to have time to age, plus the candying process for the fruit peel does take a few days. As you read this recipe it is going to seem like there are things that are really hard, but none of it is, it is just time consuming. Like all great works, the time is well spent when you can not only knock the socks off of those that like fruit cake but convert those who had something nasty and inferior pressed on them claiming to be fruit cake.
We have a lot to do, so enough chit chat, lets bake!
The Oxford Fruit Cake
Ingredients:
For Candied Fruit Peel:
1 Grapefruit
3 lemons
3 oranges
8 cups sugar
2 quarts water
For Candied Cherries and Pineapple:
1 can pineapple chunks (drained)
1 can cherries in water (drained )
8 cups sugar
8 cups water
For Fruit Cake:
8 oz dried figs
8 oz dates
8 oz candied fruit peel
4 oz candied cherries
4 oz candied pineapple
8 oz dark raisins
8 oz white raisins
8 oz currents
4 oz walnut halves
4 oz pecans
4 oz whole almonds
½ cup dark rum, plus a little extra for plumping the raisins and currents, and for wrapping the cake
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg (freshly ground preferred)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (normally we'd cut this in half above 5000 feet, but not this time)
½ teaspoon baking soda (again, above 5000 feet use the same amount)
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 eggs
For Marzipan:
1 pound confectioners sugar
1 pound almond paste
1 cup light corn syrup
Equipment:
11"X15" baking pan
Candy thermometer
Cheese clothe
Method:
You have to start three weeks ahead, one week for candying the fruit, then you bake the cake and let it age for two weeks before covering with marzipan and serving.
Candying fruit peel is easy, but it does take some time, it will take up three pots for three days. Yes, of course you could use candied fruit peel you buy in a store, but you won't be able to control the quality, it is your call.
Method for Candied Fruit Peel:
For all the candied fruit you are going to make more than you need. I do this because this is the only way I have found to get the quality I want. Having enough sugar syrup for the later boiling is very important, do not try to cut this method and recipe down, it will not work, trust me, I know from experience!
Quarter the fruit and remove the peel (including the white pith, trust me, you'll want it). At this point you can use the fruit for whatever you like, you are just interested in the peel for this application.
Cut the peel into strips that are 1/3 of an inch wide or so. Length doesn't matter. Put the peel in a bowl of water, one for each kind of peel. Soak for 1 hour.
Transfer the peel into three sauce pans or large pots and cover each mound of peel in the pots with water so the top of the water is one inch above the peel. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain into a colander and return to the pots. Repeat this twice more. What we are doing is breaking down the structure of the peel and leaching out the bitterness in the pith, don't try to skip a repetition, you will not be happy with the results! The last time put the peel in three different bowls. This is a good stopping place if you started this in the evening, just cover the bowls with plastic wrap and let them sit out until you are ready for the next step.
In a large pot combine the 8 cups of sugar and 8 cups of water. Clip on your candy thermometer (don't even think about trying this without one, they only cost about $20 and are so useful for other things). Bring the water to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Once the sugar is dissolved let the mixture boil undisturbed until it reaches 220 degrees. If you live above 5000 feet like I do, you will want to reduce that temperature by 12 degrees, approximately, to 208 to account for the lower air pressure and lower boiling temperature of water.
When the sugar mixture reaches the right temperature split it evenly between the three pots, then add one type of fruit peel to each. Over low heat simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand uncovered for 8 to 24 hours.
Return the syrup to a boil and boil until one of them registers 226 degrees (214 above 5K feet). Remove from heat and let stand uncovered for 8 to 24 hours. The peel should start to look translucent at this point.
Now most of the water is boiled out of the syrup so you want to be right on top of these or they can burn. Return the syrup to a boil and cook until it the temperature comes up to 228 (216 above 5K feet). Remove from heat and allow to stand for 8 to 24 hours uncovered.
Reheat the pots until the syrup just melts, drain in a colander. Then turn out onto a wire cooling rack with some wax paper under it. Using a couple of spoons separate the pieces and allow to dry over night. In the morning test to see if the pieces are sticky, if they are, toss in sugar and then store in an air tight container for up to 4 months. They will look like this:
Congratulations! You've made your first candy!
Method for Candied Cherries and Pineapple:
Because they are already soft fruits they don't require quite the level of preparation as the fruit peel. You can use the same method for both the cherries and the pineapple, but don't do them in the same pot, as the cherries will make the pineapple a very unappealing color.
In a large pan, bring 4 cups of water and sugar to boil. Clip on your candy thermometer and let it cook until it comes to 228 degrees (216 above 5K feet). Carefully add the cherries or pineapple. Reduce the temperature and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand for 8 to 24 hours uncovered.
Bring the syrup back up to 228 (216 at 5K feet or above), reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand overnight. Bring the syrup up to a boil, then pour the fruit and syrup out into a colander. When the syrup has drained turn the fruit out onto a wire cooling rack to dry. When just tacky (about 8 hours) toss the fruit in a bowl filled with sugar to coat the outside. Store in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
Method for Fruit Cake:
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and set a rack in the middle position. I know this is a low temperature but with all the sugar in the candied fruit we don't want to burn it and make the cake sour.
In a medium sauce pan, combine the raisins and currents, one cup of water and half a cup of rum. Bring to a boil and then remove from the heat. Allow to stand 10 minutes then drain and allow to cool. This will plump up the raisins and currents.
Prepare your baking pan. You will want to butter the bottom and sides of the pan (even if it is Teflon) and then cover the bottom and sides with parchment paper. If there were ever a time to use parchment paper, this is it. After all the work you have already done, don't screw it up by skipping this step!
Pick over the dates and cut them into ½ inch pieces. Stem and cut the figs into ½ inch pieces. Cut the fruit peel, cherries and pineapple into ½ inch pieces. In a large bowl (the biggest you have, trust me) combine the nuts, the candied fruit, and the rest of the fruit. Add ½ cup of rum and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 24 to 48 hours.
There is not a lot of cake batter in this recipe, just enough to hold all the fabulous fruit and nuts together.
Sift the flour and other dry ingredients together, except the brown sugar. Using your stand mixer or hand beaters, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Then add the brown sugar and continue to cream until it gets even lighter.
Beat in about 1/3 of the flour mixture. Then beat in two of the eggs, then another 1/3 of the flour, one egg and then the rest of the flour. You will have a fairly stiff batter now. Remove the plastic wrap from the bowl of fruit and rum. Give it a good stir. Pour the batter over the fruit.
Now, you can try to fold this in with a spatula, but years of doing this has taught me that the best tool for this is your hands. Just wash them well and dig into the bottom of the bowl and bring the stuff on the bottom to the top. Keep repeating this until you see that the batter is evenly distributed.
Pour (sort of, more like a combination of turning dough out and pouring) the batter into your pan and use your hands to press it into evenly into the pan. Wash your hands and then cover the top of the cake with a sheet of parchment paper. This will keep it from drying out in the long low temperature baking. Press the paper onto the cake so it is all evenly covered.
Slip it into your hot oven and bake for 1 hour. When it is done the cake should be firm and no longer wet but not dry. You can remove the top parchment paper to check. It will look like this when it is done, golden brown and studded with fruit and nuts.
Place on a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan. When it is cool turn it out . Sprinkle the top of the cake with up to ¼ cup of rum. Soak a length of cheese clothe long enough to wrap the entire cake in rum then wrap the cake in it. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Place in a cool dry place for at least two weeks, but up to 4 months.
Method for Marzipan:
This requires a food processor, I have tried it without one and it is an unholy mess and yields a really crappy marzipan. If you don't have a food processor, you can usually find 7 oz tubes of marzipan at most big grocery stores this time of year. Use that and no one will ever know you did not make everything in your fruit cake yourself.
A word on almond paste; it too is sold in 7oz tubes. That means you will have to buy three to get the full pound. Don't skimp those last two ounces! Without them the marzipan will be really sticky and hard to work, and will not make enough to cover the cake completely. Just save any leftovers for filling for almond croissants or really kick ass almond cookies. If you put it in a plastic bag and press all the air out it is good for at least three months.
In the work bowl of a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, combine the ingredients in this order, the almond paste ( be sure to break it into several pieces) the powdered sugar and ½ cup of the corn syrup.
Plus 12 to 14 times until the whole thing forms a dough. Turn out onto a work surface dusted with powdered sugar. Knead the mass together and then put in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap until you are ready to roll it out.
In a small sauce pan, heat the other ½ cup of corn syrup to a simmer. Paint the top of the fruit cake with the hot corn syrup.
Divide the marzipan in half and return one half to the bowl. Dust an area on your work surface that is bigger than your cake. Roll the marzipan out until it is longer and winder than the cake. If you have a cutting board that is this big it is the ideal thing for transferring the marzipan to the cake, just line it up and invert it over the cake. If you don't have a cutting board that big, just fold the marzipan carefully in the middle an place on the cake then unfold. Don't worry if you get tears in this sheet, it is going to be the bottom of the cake anyway and will let you practice for the top, which everyone will see.
Press the marzipan down on the top of the cake so it adheres to the corn syrup. Let it stand while you roll out the other piece of marzipan. Be sure to re-dust the work surface with powdered sugar.
When the marzipan sheet is ready, use a baking sheet to invert the cake. Paint the top of the cake with the remaining corn syrup and then place your sheet of marzipan on top. Press down on the marzipan to make a good seal.
The cake is ready to serve! Cut it into 2"x 2" squares and serve with tea or coffee. To store the cake cut it into 4"x 6" rectangles and wrap in plastic wrap.
Okay, I know that is a lot, but if you follow these instructions you will be able to create a real English fruit cake. It will be a symphony of flavors and textures sure to covert even the most ardent of fruit cake haters into one of the faithful who look towards your kitchen once a year for a very special treat.
The flour is yours.
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