Old Fashioned Appalachian Fruitcake Recipes

Steps:

• 1. You can use a variety of dried fruits. I used raisins dried cherries prunes and dried cranberries in the one pictured. 1 1/2 - 2 cups of each of the 4 fruits.. Take your dried fruit place in dish and almost cover with your liquid. Brandy rum of juice. Cover and allow to soak at least 2 hours. Ya want them plump and moist. If not they will be very dry after baking.
• 2. Mix flour salt baking powder and soda in a bowl and set aside
• 3. Butter in to pan and melt. While melting add molasses and brown sugar. If you like things a bit sweeter you can add more brown sugar. Continue to stir over low heat.
• 4. Take your fruits and dump it all into the butter and sugar mix. Add ginger cinnamon and nutmeg. And orange zest and juice. Cook over low.
• 5. Take your whisked egg and add it to the flour. Mix it in much like you would cutting in butter or lard for a biscuit. You want no bigger then pea sized clumps
• 6. Add about 1 cup of fruit batter to flour stir and continue a cup at a time untill half is mixed with flour ( tempering the eggs in a way) then you can dump it all in along with the nuts and mix by hand. You don't have to mix to much.
• 7. Place in greased and floured pan ..I use a Bundt.. 350° preheated oven.. place rack just above center and place a pan with water on shelf under the cake. for 45 minutes Check at 45 it may take up to 15 more depending on humidity and oven .. don't forget the steam pan of water. It helps keep things moist.
• 8. Cake is done when it has slightly pulled edges from pan and knife is inserted and comes out mostly clean. A crumb or 2. Is ok.
• 9. Let rest in pan 20 minutes or so then take a knife and gently run it around the, edges or the pan place plate ontop of pan and flip it turning cake on yo plate
• 10. Once cool. Take the powder sugar ginger vanilla and milk mix together and slowly spoon over cake . Done!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Grease and flour a tube pan.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, soda, spices, eggs, lemon rind, vanilla, 1/2 cup brandy, fruit, nuts, and melted butter or margarine. Mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake for 1 hour, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
• Wrap cooled cake in foil. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons brandy over the cake everyday for 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 8x8-inch baking pans.
• Bring water and raisins to a boil in a saucepan; cook until raisins are plump, about 2 minutes. Drain and cool raisins; reserve raisin water.
• Mix 3 cups flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Place pecans and 2 tablespoons flour in a resealable plastic bag; close and shake bag until pecans are coated. Pour pecans into a colander and shake off excess flour.
• Whisk sugar, oil, eggs, and cooled raisin water together in a bowl; fold in candied fruit. Stir flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, into sugar mixture until fully incorporated; fold in raisins and pecans. Fill the prepared pans a little over half full.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Lower temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C); bake until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 more hour.