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Fruitcake has to be the most polarizing dessert of the holiday season. You either love it or you hate it… my family is no different.
My dad loves it, his gaggle of sisters do not. I like it, but not like he does. He’s like the old man from A Christmas Story with a turkey.
The dad-man’s dad (Pop-pop Stephens) used to make fruitcake and when I called one of dad-man’s sisters for the recipe, she put on pop-pop’s wife who, and I quote, “It was a poundcake from a box mixed with a container of fruit and all the liquid replaced with brandy and rum with some spices, Linda.” Then my aunt went on to explain that it took a bottle of brandy, a bottle of rum and the month of November. Evidently, he’d pour a like a cup (a rocks glass) of each on a 9 inch round cake and flip the cake back and forth every other day.
Needless to say, I don’t use that recipe. I altered that recipe and mixed it with two or three other vintage recipes I found online and in my vintage cookbooks. The one thing I do have in common with my pop-pop is letting it sit for over a month and flipping it back and forth.
Recipe Card
Rum Fruitcake
Description
Fruitcake has to be the most polarizing dessert of the holiday season. You either love it or you hate it… my family is no different.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Combine candied fruits with lemon zest and juice. Add ⅔ cup of rum and toss to coat the fruit with liquor. Cover bowl and let it sit overnight.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 in springform pan; line pan with a parchment round.
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Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
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In a large stand mixer mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix until combined, scrape sides of bowl and beater.
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With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in 3 batches and mix until combined. Fold in fruit and liquid.
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Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread out in an even layer. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center. As soon as the pan is removed from the oven pour ¼ c of rum over the top of the cake.
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Cool the cake to room temperature before removing it from the pan. Wrap cake in two layers of plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature.
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Once a week for at least 4 weeks, unwrap the cake and generously brush the cake on all sides with more rum.
Note
It took me about ½-¾ c extra of rum for my cake, but I do not liberally soak my cake.
Make alcohol free by replacing extra rum with simple syrup of your choice.
I totally understand if you don’t want to use rum and soak the crap out of the fruitcake. My mom-mom VV’s petite fruitcakes are my preference. Winter is a time for family, good will and love. I love giving any time of year, but Christmas baking is my holy grail. Happy Holidays and happy baking!
Handpicked Recipes
Rum Fruitcake
Fruitcake has to be the most polarizing dessert of the holiday season. You either love it or you hate it... my family is no different.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Combine candied fruits with lemon zest and juice. Add ⅔ cup of rum and toss to coat the fruit with liquor. Cover bowl and let it sit overnight.
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 in springform pan; line pan with a parchment round.
-
Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Set aside.
-
In a large stand mixer mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater. Add eggs, one at a time. Mix until combined, scrape sides of bowl and beater.
-
With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in 3 batches and mix until combined. Fold in fruit and liquid.
-
Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread out in an even layer. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center. As soon as the pan is removed from the oven pour ¼ c of rum over the top of the cake.
-
Cool the cake to room temperature before removing it from the pan. Wrap cake in two layers of plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature.
-
Once a week for at least 4 weeks, unwrap the cake and generously brush the cake on all sides with more rum.
Note
It took me about ½-¾ c extra of rum for my cake, but I do not liberally soak my cake.
Make alcohol free by replacing extra rum with simple syrup of your choice.
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