Does anyone have a fruit cake recipe delicious enough for people to actually eat it?

Hope must spring eternal with fruit cakes, because it keeps turning up every Christmas at our house - people usually give us one as a gift, and every once in awhile I've tried a hand at it.....but homemade or not, every year we keep throwing it away.





Since fruit cake and Christmas seem to go hand in hand, there MUST be some good recipes out there, right????





I wouldn't push for it, except this year we're having a HUGE family get-together and dinner for the holidays, and it was decided that I should bring the annual fruitcake.





I would like to try and make this work....SO - got any tried and true recipes for fruit cake that people actually eat and enjoy?





Or should I just throw tradition in a barrel and bring something like a double chocolate cake, and put a cherry on top so I can technically call it 'fruitcake'?





Does anyone have a fruit cake recipe delicious enough for people to actually eat it?
Well, I've never made fruitcake so I can't really help there, but you COULD make a cake with fruit.





http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Pavlov鈥?/a> It's really quite light, which is especially nice for a desert after eating so much during the holidays. Also, you can load it with fresh fruit like pomegranate seeds and orange sections (or well thawed frozen--you could even use canned mandarins or something like that)--and how can fresh fruit ever go wrong, you know?Does anyone have a fruit cake recipe delicious enough for people to actually eat it?
My best friend gave me an awesome recipe site that works in English speaking countries only though: http://recipestoolbar.com. You type what you want to know about food, and great recipes will come out instantly. You just have to download it. It's free and safe then you can use the rest of your life. Try it! Have fun cooking. I hope this will help.
This is the one I';m making this year; have not made it yet, though, but it looks good to me. I can't stand citron and green cherries (WTH?) and will use fruits like dried apricots, craisins, real dried cherries, and candied pineapple instead of that weird jellied fruit mix in unnatural colors you buy in clear containers at the grocery store.








Creole Christmas Fruit Cake w/ Whisky Sauce





For the Simple Syrup:


1 cup granulated sugar


1 cup water


1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest, cut in strips


2 tablespoons lemon juice





For the Cake:


1/2 pound mixed dried fruits, such as blueberries, cranberries, cherries, raisins, and chopped apricots


1/2 pound, (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature


1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar


2 ounces almond paste


4 large eggs


1/2 cup Grand Marnier, or other orange-flavored liqueur


2 cups bleached all-purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking powder


1/8 teaspoon salt


1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Pinch freshly grated nutmeg


1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted


1/2 cup pecan pieces


1/2 cup walnut pieces


1/4 cup bourbon





Make a simple-syrup by combining the sugar and water in a medium-size heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the lemon zest and juice and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from the heat.





Combine the dried fruits in a large mixing bowl. Pour the simple-syrup over them, toss to coat and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the syrup.





Cream the butter, sugar and almond paste together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle at low speed, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat until the mixture is fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing in between each addition on low speed and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add 1/4 cup of the Grand Marnier and mix to incorporate.





Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium-size mixing bowl and blend well. Add this mixture 1/2 cup at a time to the butter mixture with the mixer on low speed, each time mixing until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. The batter will be thick.





Add the warm fruit and all of the nuts a little at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.





Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.





Lightly grease a bundt pan with butter or non-stick baking spray. Pour the batter into the pan and bake until golden brown and the top springs back when touched, about 45 to 50 minutes (turning the pan to ensure even browning after 30 minutes.)





Cool the cake for 20 minutes in the pan, then remove and continue to cool upside-down on wire racks.





Make tiny holes with a toothpick randomly on the rounded end of the cake. Combine the remaining simple syrup with the remaining 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier and the bourbon. Wrap the cake in a layer of cheesecloth and pour 1/4 cup of the syrup over the top of each cake. Store in a plastic zip bag for 3 or 4 days until the cake is slightly stale. Sprinkle syrup over cakes once every 2 to 3 days until all of the syrup is used. Let the cakes age for up to 3 weeks before eating.





For the Whiskey Sauce:


3 cups heavy cream


1/2 cup bourbon


1/2 cup granulated sugar


1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch





Combine 2 3/4 cups of the cream with the bourbon and sugar in a medium-size nonstick saucepan over medium-heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar.





In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/4 cup cream. Add this to the cream-and-bourbon mixture and simmer stirring often, until the mixture thickens, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve warm with the fruitcake.





The sauce may be stored, after it has cooled, in an airtight container for 24 hours. When ready to serve, warm over low heat.





--Emeril Lagasse, 2003



I actually make what my husband refers to as ';The world's only edible fruitcake'; I use crushed pineapple, peaches, pears, cherries, and raisins. I let the fruit ferment in a glass jar for 30 days before I make the cake, but I think I can figure out how to speed the process up so you'll have time to bake it by Christmas. First get a pint of Peach brandy or peach schnapps. Buy regular size cans of the pineapple, peaches and pears,drain the peaches and pears and dice into small pieces. Simmer the brandy with the canned fruit and 1 drained jar of cherries(chop these in half), and 1 cup of raisins for about an hour. Cool and seal in a zip bag for as long as you can in the fridge. On the day you plan to bake the cake you'll need 1 box yellow cake mix, 1 box instant vanilla pudding, 4 eggs, 1 stick of butter and 3/4 of a cup of the liquid from the bag. Mix all this with a mixer til the batter is light and fluffy. Stir in the fruit and add 1 cup of chopped nuts if you like them. Grease and flour 1 tube pan and 1 regular size loaf pan. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes for the loaf pan and about 1 hour and 10 minutes for the tube pan. Use the toothpick test to make sure they're done. It really is delicious.
BRANDY YULE CAKE





1 1/2 c. almonds


1 1/2 c. walnuts


8 oz. pitted whole dates


1/2 c. EACH pitted prunes and apricots


1/2 c. raisins


1 c. candied whole cherries


3/4 c. flour


3/4 c. sugar


1/2 tsp. baking powder


1/2 tsp. salt


3 beaten eggs or Egg Beaters


Brandy





1. Grease 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan and line with waxed paper.


2. Mix first ingredients in large bowl. Sift dry ingredients. Mix with fruit and nuts until all are coated.





3. Mix eggs and 1 tablespoon brandy. Add to fruit and nuts and mix until all are coated.





4. Press mixture into pan.





5. Bake in 300 degree oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes.





6. Cool in pan about 10 minutes, then turn on rack and peel off paper. Cool thoroughly. Wrap in several layers of cheesecloth moistened brandy. Wrap in foil.